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A conversation with the symptom

You address the symptom as if it had a purpose — and ask what it is protecting you from.

Exercise 15 minutes

In the conversation with a symptom you stop fighting what bothers you for a moment and ask what it is for. You write three questions and answer them as if you were the symptom: what are you protecting me from, what would happen if you were not here, and what do you need so there is less of you. Answer quickly and do not edit. The exercise is not mystical and does not claim you chose the symptom. It only claims that bodily signs and habits often behave as if they had a job — and that a job is easier to resolve once it is named.

When to use it

With persistent bodily signs, with anxiety, or with a habit you can’t drop. The exercise isn’t mystical; it is a way of stepping out of the fight with yourself.

How it goes

  1. Name the symptom and give it a place in the body.
  2. Ask: When did you first arrive?
  3. What are you protecting me from?
  4. What would you need in order not to be here so much?
  5. Write the answers down, even if they seem nonsensical.

Why it works

Symptoms often have a job. As long as you fight them, the job remains; once you recognise it, the possibility appears that something else could do it.

See also

Counting back by seven You count back from 100 in sevens — an exercise that occupies working memory and breaks the loop of thoughts. The letter you don't send You write everything you would say to someone, uncensored — and you don't send the letter. A letter to your younger self You write a letter to yourself at the age when things were hardest.

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