Monday, May 9, 2011

Wacky Wisdom 4 Positive Living

If you find yourself facing the same fear repeatedly, you may be able to defeat it by using the "Attitude Reversal" method, as shared by Viktor E. Frankl in Man's Search for Meaning:

A young doctor consulted Frankl, a psychiatrist, because he had a fear of perspiring heavily around his patients, causing himself embarrassment.  The young doctor was so afraid of perspiring that the fear itself often brought on a bout of perspiration, and he would find himself sweating excessively. 

Frankl suggested that the next time he felt this anxiety coming on, rather than trying not to break out in a sweat, he should deliberately try to show people how much he could sweat.

Frankl says that even thought the doctor had suffered from his phobia for more than four years, after only one therapeutic session, he overcame his fear.

This "treatment" replaces the fear with an absurd wish,which can deflate the power of the anxiety.

Similar advice is often successful in helping insomniacs.  When they tell themselves to stay awake, they often fall asleep. Why? Because they remove the anxiety they fell over "trying" to fall asleep.

Going Bonkers Magazine. Copyright 2011