You may have heard of Lucinda
Bassett and the Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety. I remember hearing
her on radio
commercials
talking about a book or audio
program. You may have seen her infomercial or an appearance on a talk show,
notably Oprah.
As you can guess form the name of her business,
Bassett focuses on helping people overcome stress, anxiety, and fear. That is the
purpose of her book, The Solution.
The first part of The Solution is
a description of the problem. Of course, a certain amount of fear, stress, and
anxiety are natural. They are our built-in emotional and physical
responses to threats in our environment.
They become problems when we experience them too often, when they capture us in
constrained and unsatisfying lives. The worst part is that much of the fear,
anxiety, and stress we experience is our own doing, responses to worries and
imagined threats.
Worry turns our imagination
into our worst enemy. We seek out
threats, conjure catastrophes, and foresee the worst. Bassett says we can turn
this around. We can train ourselves to use our imaginations positively, to seek
opportunities, to foresee desirable results. This notion is fundamental to most
self-help,
but Bassett frames it a little more interestingly. We can worry positively. A
great worrier can be a great success.
These worries and the habitual behaviors they trigger, are rooted in a
core story. This is another opportunity for reframing. A core story that once
lead to defeat and discouragement can become motivation to strive for something
better. Exercises in the book guide the reader in discovering his core story.
The second half of the book presents six strategies for dealing with
stress and anxiety.
- Detachment is about accepting and letting go of things you cannot change, being honest, and holding on to peace.
- Security is about improving your attitudes and beliefs about money and getting your financial house in order.
- Good health is important to coping with stress. Diet, exercise and sleep are the keys to good health.
- Compassion is a potent antidote to anxiety. Show yourself compassions by stopping the negative messages you repeat to yourself and intentionally practice positive self-talk.
- Reconnects with you dreams and decide what you want, the develop a plan to achieve your goals. Put the plan into action.
- A balanced life looks different for different people, but balance helps us all feel less anxious. Set your priorities, act on them, and live with purpose in the moment.
The strength of the book is Bassett’s own experience. She is someone who was once hindered by anxiety who has turned her imagination from and enemy to an ally. She reframed her core story from one of loneliness and lack to motivation to have a good life of family and abundance. Bassett also enlivens the book with stories of her clients, popular figures, and historical people.
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