Reading for the Restless
Hy-per-chon-dri-a (noun)
The frenetic combustion in one's brain that creates external and internal disease and makes one very unpleasant company to family, peers, the medical community and even oneself.
I feel badly that I enjoyed Brian Frazer's memoir Hyperchondriac: One Man's Quest to Hurry Up And Slow Down this much. Frazer describes and explores his dysfunctional family, and the role of those relationships as he grew from a wired youth into an angry man. Frazer hops from one alternative to the next in an effort to understand and manage his anger.
At his wife's suggestion, he enrolled in Yoga classes but found that first lesson did more harm than good. He registered for Kabbalah classes. Enlightenment escaped him, but the experience did underscore his intolerances. His decision to try Distance Reiki demonstrates how desperate he was to find 'the cure' for his anxiety. Reiki offers hands-on healing to one's energy in order to heal the spirit...Frazer engaged in this spiritual healing via email. You've got to read his account of that session.
I'm still not sure whether I tore through this book because a look at Frazer's problems made my own life seem "normal"; or because I've tried some 'out-there' alternative therapies to resolve my health issues. I might accept Reiki over the phone (at least there's some contact with the healer); but email?
The publisher describes Hyperchondriac as "uncomfortably true and always entertaining." That's exactly what it is.
Tags:
[Brian Frazer] [Hyperchondriac] [Anger Management]
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