Good quotes from Claire Weekes for TMSers

Dear everyone,

I’m a huge fan of Claire Weekes, a psychologist from the 1960s, whose healing strategies are still unsurpassed. This forum is constantly preaching her, and for a good reason! I myself have been able to diminish my symptoms from 16 to 4 in one year from applying her advice. And I literally branded Claire Weekes on my brain to do it. I read her short book, Hope and Help for Your Nerves at least 5 times through. Then I read parts of her book every single day for a year, to let it soak in.

Even if you don’t have the exact symptoms she describes, her advice applies to you, because TMS IS ANXIETY. It applies.

I can’t recommend reading this book enough. Soak it in. Memorize it. It could save your life. ❤️

Quotes from Hope and Help for Your Nerves, by Claire Weekes:

A nervously ill person is so easily bluffed by his feelings of the moment because they are so hard to bear and therefore seem so important. Very strange feelings, indeed, may sweep over the nervously ill person momentarily from time to time. And recovery lies in passing right through these moments again and again until they no longer matter.

Go quietly through the day accepting all. And when you do it this way an unknown power within you will be doing the work of healing.

You don’t have to do the actual healing yourself; you wouldn’t know how to. You haven’t got quite the uphill job you think, have you?

By your anxiety you are producing the very feelings you dislike so much.

It takes time for a body to establish acceptance as a mood and for this eventually to bring peace.

“Letting time pass” is such an important part of your treatment and why I emphasize it again and again. Time is the answer. But there must be that background of true acceptance while waiting for time to pass.

You may find that one minute you can accept, the next you can’t.

Symptoms can be intensified only by further fear and its resulting tension, never by facing and accepting.

Float past all suggestion of self-pity and fear, and go on with your work.

Imagine yourself going forward as if you are gently swimming breast stroke in deep, cool water or on a cloud floating through the door. When you think of floating you relax and this helps.

Don’t be impressed by a thought.

I have seen patients so tensed by continuous fear that they were convinced they could not walk.

Paralysis lies in your thoughts and not your muscles. Free your muscles by floating past obstructive thoughts.

Frightening thoughts can be very persistent, almost obsessive, to a tired mind.

Accept your symptoms until you know acceptance as well as your own name. Acceptance should be written on your own heart.

The strength to recover is within you, once you are shown the way. I assure you of this.

 

I love this! It's the cliff notes of her book!

 

"Float past all suggestion of self-pity and fear, and go on with your work."

I think this is what Helmut means when he says 'allow then engage' i.e. feel the sensation/thought (don't resist it) then engage with your activity (whatever that might be).

This is how I try to live my life now ... allow then engage ... engaging in mood enhancing activities are really key to this.