A driving force: Averageness and exceptionality

“Everybody hopes to be superior and fears to be inferior. That’s the picture of human beings.” ~Dr. Abraham Low, Manage Your Fears, Manage Your Anger, p. 154 “There are very few people who do not think of themselves as being of a superior breed, as ranking above the ‘common herd’, that is, as being excpetional. With […]

Holiday challenges? Bring it on!

The winter holidays are a perfect (hope that’s not temperamental lingo) breeding ground for lowered feelings, comparison temper, unbridled sentimentalism, regrets about the past, fears about the future, and setbacks. At least for me. I say, Bring it on! Of course it’s already started–regardless of whether I want it to. Christmas is a week away, […]

Needed: Tools for coping with anxiety

Recently posted a comment on a New York Times article entitled Understanding the anxious mind. It’s all well and good to write lengthy articles about anxiety, but what anxious people (probably the majority of people in our society/in our time) need are tools to help them cope. Dr. Abraham Low developed a simple, self-help, peer-led, […]

De-startling myself

One of Dr. Low’s many brilliant insights is the role of the startle for us nervous people–although it actually applies in many situations and for many different kinds of people. In a nutshell, many of the things that trigger symptoms (such as shakiness, a pounding heart, sudden tension, etc.–which can easily be followed by fearful […]