May 20, 2014

Things Only People With Anxiety Understand

He noted she took the glasses off for this portion, blinked like an owl in sunlight, and
seemed to take a very long breath. The way a diver might, he mused, before
plunging off a high board into a dark pool.

Three Fates

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According to Todd Farchione, a clinical psychologist at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University, there are certain stigmas that society has created for anxiety sufferers, but even more opportunities to overcome them. From touchy phrases to intense fears, below find eight things people with anxiety know to to be true (and what everyone can do to help).





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And one look at Tia had him biting back the rest of the oaths. She was white as a sheet, her  eyes already going glassy with shock.

She doesn’t deserve this, he thought. And he had no doubt it was his hunting her down that had brought this on her.

"You need to sit down."
"What?"
"Sit." 

Brisk now, he took her by the arm and pulled her to a chair, dumped her in it.

"We’ll call security. Can you tell if anything’s missing?"
"My computer." She tried to catch her breath, found it blocked. Fearing an asthma
attack, she dug in her briefcase for her inhaler. "My laptop’s gone."

He frowned at her while she sucked on the inhaler. "What was on it?"

She waved a hand as she drew in medication. "My work," she managed between gulps. "New book. E-mail, accounts— banking." She rooted through her bag again for pills. "I’ve got a disk copy of the book in here." 

But it was a prescription bottle she pulled out.

Malachi nipped it out of her hand. "What’s this?" He read the label, and his frown deepened. "We’ll just hold off on this for now. You’re not going to be hysterical."
"I’m not?"
"You’re not."

She felt the telltale tickle at the back of her throat that presaged a panic attack. "I think you’re wrong."


Three Fates

May 7, 2014

what happens to retired ballerinas?

"Ruth!" Nadine walked through the crowd with the assurance of a woman who knew people would step aside for her. She was small, with a trim build and grace that revealed her training as a dancer. Her hair was sculptured and palely blond, her skin smooth and pink. The angelic face belied a keen mind. More than she ever had as a dancer, Nadine Rothchild, as company founder, devoted her life to the ballet.

Dance of Dreams
 
 
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The ballerina’s life is remarkably long: the regime sets you up with fighting levels of fitness and energy, and there can have been few more superb specimens of nonagenarian erectness and alertness than Tamara Karsavina, Beryl Grey or Yvette Chauvirรฉ. 

So most ballerinas continue to work behind the scenes long after they retire from the stage, passing on the sacred flame either as coaches and teachers (Pamela May, Alexandra Danilova, Lysette Darsonval) or administrators (Merle Park, Elisabeth Platel, Monica Mason, Violette Verdy). This continuity of the bloodline is vital: ballet is an insider’s art, and it does not take kindly to managers being parachuted in from the outside. 





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She faced Ruth directly. "When I first joined the company, Nadine was struggling to keep it going. Nick's coming gave it much-needed momentum, but there were internal problems, financial pressures outsiders are rarely aware of. I know you think Nadine was hard—she undoubtedly was—but the company is everything to her. It's easier for me to understand that now with the distance. I didn't always.

Dance of Dreams