MENTAL HEALTH
Anxiety Will Not Be Ignored — It Is A Persistent Jerk
How I faced my debilitating fear of flying, that grew into a fear of elevators, cars, ALL closed-in spaces, etc., etc.
In the 1987 thriller Fatal Attraction, a married man has a fling with a woman who he dumps. She becomes singularly obsessed with him. She will not leave him alone, threatens to ruin his career and marriage, and in the most famous scene from the movie, boils his daughter’s pet bunny on the stove.
This is anxiety.
It cannot be cajoled, reasoned with, hung up on, or blocked on Twitter. As Glenn Close famously says in the movie, “I will not be ignored!” Anxiety daps to that. I thought I could ghost anxiety, Heisman-stiff arm it, ignore it. The takeaway? Don’t do what I did kids!
Enter Anxiety. Thanks Lufthansa.
It was the trip of a lifetime — a twelve day cruise on the Mediterranean to celebrate our anniversary. The ports of call in Italy and Greece were stunning. I even won the grand prize in cruise ship Bingo — a complementary upgrade to a suite with a guest bath, a living room and even a butler — Ronald. Sitting on our private deck in my plush robe, I gazed across the turquoise waters of the bay in Syracuse…
