Michael W. Clune writes about a unique event that happened during his childhood: he staved off a panic attack by reading. While reading Ivanhoe, he thought he was about to have a heart attack. He only learned later that it was actually a panic attack. So he read the entire book, all night long, without stopping, in order to delay what felt like the inevitable. Here’s how he puts it:
“I suspended the heart attack in Ivanhoe. Like when you shake a solution of oil and vinegar. As long as you shake it, the oil and vinegar are suspended in one another. When you stop, they separate. So long as I read Ivanhoe my heart attack stayed suspended in the story.”
This is from the article “The Anatomy of Panic,” in the recent issue of Harper’s. Recommended.
Have you ever used a book to delay the destruction of your life?
That’s so interesting and scary. In psych terms the need to control is rooted in the fear of uncertainty. Maybe that’s too simple of an explanation. But on surface level makes sense. The company I work at is going through some changes which of course provides anxiety of the unknown. I’ll need to pay attention if anyone becomes controlling as that may just be due to environment and just temporary.
I never went to a book for warding off anxiety but I have forced myself to not enjoy a flight during the flight thinking that if I was so brazen to not being nervous and enjoy the flight , it, the flight would be doomed. Yes, it’s crazy. I finally got over this by allowing myself to enjoy the flight and lived to tell.
The brain is an interesting beast….