Anxious, Part 2

I heard a great interview on NPR's "Fresh Air" yesterday with Dan Gottlieb, a family therapist and call-in host on a Philadelphia radio show.

What sets Gottlieb apart is his story: a quadraplegic for 29 years after an automobile accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Terry Gross asked Gottlieb questions on a range of topics, but I was most taken with his openness about his own anxiety and panic attacks. He described a time when he spent 3 days on a meditation retreat. The night he returned, he awoke in the middle of the night with a terrible panic attack. He said something like, "Couldn't I get more than 5 hours of peace after this wonderful retreat?"

Gross asked how Gottlieb deals with these attacks. I liked his answer. Gottlieb said he looks to the past, remembering that the last time he had an attack, it passed and he got over it. Then he said he steps outside himself and tries to watch himself. He said he observes himself with compassion.

How about that? What if we were able, when anxious, to objectively step back and look at ourselves in love?

Gottlieb said he tries to be tender with his mind as well as his body, which he admits seems to be tiring more easily. "I care for my body like it is a fragile lover that I adore," Gottlieb said.