The first chapter in Claire Weekes book ‘Self Help For Your Nerves’ is entitled The Power Within You. The chapter has 3 basic premises. 1) the book is written exactly for those having a nervous breakdown. 2) It is easy to read with no technical language. 3) if you follow the advice given you will recover from your nervous illness.
These premises are based upon the fact, for her, that each of us has within themselves the needed resources to help ourselves and find a cure for our malady. What we need is courage and perseverance that we find within ourselves, and direction, which her book will provide. She does not ask for patience as this is a rare quality in a nervously ill person, and so, unrealistic. In speaking like this Dr Weekes shows a sensitivity to the problem that some other ‘teachers’ do not have.
She goes on to say that, the guidance you need is in this small book. The perseverance and courage you can, with help, find within yourself. The strength to recover is within you, once you are shown the way. I assure you of this. Each of us has unexpected power to accomplish what we demand of ourselves, if we care to search for it. You are no exception. You can find it if you make up your mind to, however great a coward you may think of yourself at this moment. I have no illusions about you: I am not writing this book for the rare brave people, but for you, probably a sick, suffering, ordinary human being with no more courage than the rest of us, but – and this is the important thing – with the same unplumbed, unsuspected power in reserve as the rest of us.
I take to what she says in her book and have been quietly pleased that my own book has some similarity with some of her ideas. I suppose after all, that we might have shared some of the same experience and therefore some of the same recovery.
For my own part I believe that there are some things that cannot be done for ones-self through ones-self and that that help must come from some kind of spiritual approach. We shall see what Dr Weekes has to say in later chapters.
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