in the book I Will Find You she writes how anxiety comes genetically, i know
but what about the environment? it may even trump genetics
any who you can't medicate it and you can't avoid it.
i saw a woman on the meadow path, a woman and a dog, an anxious woman
who claims an anxious dog, so we all had to get anxious for her,
all us birders with our golden bird dog, who blessedly
did not notice the anxious woman with her anxious dog
so i didn't even have to control his natural friendliness for the anxious woman and her anxious dog
he didn't even notice
i said, is your dog dangerous, knowing at a glance,
and she said no she just gets anxious when other dogs come near
so she was compensating by avoiding any possible contact and reinforcing and deepening her dog's
anxiety and her own.
i said, now she is actively cultivating her dog's anxiety
one of the birders, an anxious one i do not know,
said maybe it was just born that way
and i said maybe maybe not but like with anxious children
they need help, not fear and avoidance.
well i take anti-anxiety pills and i know
and i said i took them too and they did not work
and the only way is to move toward the anxious object with care
and she said the pills work for me.