{"id":38500,"date":"2018-05-31T08:00:35","date_gmt":"2018-05-31T15:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/?p=38500"},"modified":"2018-06-01T13:56:53","modified_gmt":"2018-06-01T20:56:53","slug":"making-the-beast-beautiful-an-interview-with-author-sarah-wilson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/making-the-beast-beautiful-interview-with-author-sarah-wilson-0531185","title":{"rendered":"Making the Beast Beautiful: An Interview with Author Sarah Wilson"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"PortraitSarah Wilson is a journalist, an entrepreneur, and the New York Times<\/em> bestselling author of I Quit Sugar<\/a>. Her newest book,\u00a0First, We Make the Beast Beautiful: A New Journey Through Anxiety<\/a>, explores anxiety through a variety of angles and lenses.<\/p>\n

In her new book, Sarah analyzes research and published works about anxiety<\/a> and mental health; tells personal stories about her mental health experiences; and shares advice for managing, living with, and accepting anxiety.<\/p>\n

Formerly the editor of Cosmopolitan Australia<\/em>, Sarah regularly blogs about anxiety, minimalism, philosophy<\/a>, toxin-free living, and anti-consumerism on her website, SarahWilson.com<\/a>. For the past 8 years, she has traveled the world as a nomad, which gave her the opportunity to meet a variety of people. You can follow Sarah on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We spoke with Sarah about her creative processes, her own experiences with anxiety and mental health,\u00a0writing a book about mental health, and more in this GoodTherapy.org exclusive interview.<\/p>\n

Why did you choose to focus your latest book on anxiety?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, it was almost like I had no choice. I\u2019d been writing all kinds of other books, and I was at a writer\u2019s festival to talk about sugar and health. All of the questions were about anxiety, because I\u2019d been starting to write about it on my blog. My publisher was in the audience, and she said, \u201cSarah, it\u2019s time you wrote this book.\u201d I also had been researching the topic for years, trying to investigate different ways to manage my own anxiety. Given that I\u2019m a writer and have access to all of these amazing interviews, I felt a responsibility to do it. Also, I was bored of talking about superficial stuff. I figured we\u2019re all craving a deeper conversation about stuff that matters.

This page contains at least one affiliate link for the Amazon Services\n\tLLC Associates Program, which means GoodTherapy.org receives financial compensation if you make a purchase using an Amazon link.<\/div><\/p>\n

The book is so thoughtfully crafted with synopses of research and published works about mental health as well as your own personal experiences. Can you take us through your process of researching, writing, and arranging this book?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I started out writing it like a normal memoir, and it didn\u2019t seem to reflect what it was like to be inside the mind of a person with intensity and spirit and anxiety. So the way I did it is mini-chapters that dance between memoir, science, quantum physics, philosophy, [and] spirituality<\/a>. I think that\u2019s the best snapshot of what it\u2019s like to explore and live with the anxious experience.\u00a0

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I have bipolar<\/a>, and one of the upsides is that when I research something, I go down the rabbit hole and investigate things deeply. The book was like a patchwork of different ideas that follow a thread, but it follows a journey of explaining, layer by layer, how you can land at a place where anxiety is truly beautiful. In fact, the story comes full circle. The very thing that makes you anxious\u2014what anxiety does is it brings you to a resolution of that very thing.<\/p>\n

You open the book by explaining you\u2019re not a health professional, but you had several mental health and general health practitioners read your book to ensure the accuracy of the information you share about anxiety and mental health. Why was this important to you, and how did it help you shape the final drafts of the book?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was important to me because I\u2019m not a scientist, I\u2019m not a health professional, and I needed to make sure what I was saying was responsible and helpful. It was not just to satisfy my own personal need to make sure I got it right, but also so the mental health community felt included in the process. Because the discussion I have, in some ways, criticizes the way we\u2019ve dealt with mental health. I got various people in Australia, the U.S., and the U.K. to read the book and give it \u201cthe tick of approval.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also meant I could feel confident putting the book out knowing these might be my private musings and research, but I\u2019m also tapping into something bigger. That was a wonderful thing to have behind me when I released the book.<\/p>\n

Why do you prefer to write initial drafts by hand? How does this affect your writing process overall?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always done that, and perhaps that just reflects my age. I did half of a law degree handwriting my essays. I\u2019ve always found that it assists my creative<\/a> process. I can visualize what the trajectory of the story is going to be. I can grab vast quantities of information at once, whereas scrolling through a computer screen, you just can\u2019t.<\/p>\n

When I went through [my research], I found some reasoning behind it. I quote an Australian philosopher who talks about handwriting and walking. They\u2019re two things I promote as great anxiety modulators. The reason is because they go at the same pace as discerning thought, and a big part of anxiety is not being able to piece out your thoughts. I find handwriting to be a healing process, so the writing of the book was quite healing.<\/p>\n

\"First,How have you managed your anxiety while maintaining your successful writing and journalistic endeavors?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, I rattle off statistics about the number of poets with bipolar, and scientists with OCD [obsessions and compulsions]<\/a>, and this kind of thing. I couldn\u2019t find statistics about journalists and writers, but you only have to cast your mind back through history to see how many prominent writers had bipolar, social anxiety<\/a>, some kind of crippling anxious disorder. Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, Nietzsche, Charles Darwin\u2014you know? It goes hand in hand, and I think the anxious experience is very much about a desire to reach out and communicate with fellow humans. I think we gravitate towards writing and journalism, it\u2019s just what we do.<\/p>\n

How did getting diagnosed with Hashimoto\u2019s disease impact how you care for your mental health? Do you have any recommendations for people trying to care for their mental health while coping with a chronic illness?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s almost like they do go hand in hand. It\u2019s like, did I develop an autoimmune disease<\/a> that lead to mental issues, or the other way around? Or are they just symptoms of the same thing? I think it\u2019s all of the above. There\u2019s no point in trying to work out which came first or what\u2019s the cause and effect.<\/p>\n

I find that my management of Hashimoto\u2019s and anxiety is pretty much the same. It\u2019s about inflammation, at the end of the day. A lot of people with anxiety will have an inflammatory disease of some sort. I would say 95% of the things I do to manage my anxiety are also required to manage my Hashimoto\u2019s. Eating-wise, it\u2019s cutting out processed foods and sugar, being moderate with alcohol and coffee. It\u2019s about doing gentle exercise, not hardcore gym work\u2014you\u2019ve got to be gentle. It\u2019s about having routines. Limiting the number of choices you\u2019ve got to make. It\u2019s about meditating<\/a>. And it balances out both. If my anxiety flares, my Hashimoto\u2019s flares, and vice versa.<\/p>\n

Why are meditation and focusing on gratitude such important practices for managing and coping with anxiety?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meditation brings us closer into ourselves. Part of the book is about how a lot of our anxiety, and a lot of contemporary fixes for anxiety, are about reaching outwards. Our entire culture is about that\u2014the answer is out there somewhere else. It\u2019s in a shopping mall, a new holiday, a new boyfriend, or a new car. That reaching out beyond ourselves is actually an intensification of the anxious experience.<\/p>\n

What I talk about throughout the book is coming in closer. Meditation is probably the best practice for doing that. Of course, science shows that it calms our thoughts, slows them down, our fight or flight response is balanced out, all of that stuff. But from an almost spiritual point of view, it\u2019s about being able to sit comfortably with ourselves in this lifetime. And I think that\u2019s the most powerful part of those practices. It retrains your brain<\/a> to be in that state, as opposed to an anxious state.<\/p>\n

You describe a variety of your experiences in therapy over the years. What are some ways you can tell a therapist is a good fit for you? Conversely, what tells you a therapist might not be a good fit?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t necessarily [know] the answer because I\u2019m still on that journey myself. Some people say that for people with bipolar, it can take 5 to 7 years to find a therapist who can diagnose<\/a> and work with you in a way that\u2019s helpful. I think the best advice I can give is to accept that and realize therapy is an ongoing journey.<\/p>\n

I am going through the process, and I\u2019m trying to find someone who can truly challenge me. I\u2019ve read about this; I think I know it all; and I need someone who can challenge me. I think if you\u2019re anxious, you can actually over-research these things\u2014I certainly have. And you think you\u2019re pretty smart with all of this. A lot of our practices, obsessive-compulsive behavior being a prime example, are about trying to protect ourselves from anyone trying to challenge us. It\u2019s like \u201cI\u2019ve got it all under control, go away.\u201d I think you need to find a therapist who can call you [out]. I don\u2019t have advice other than, it\u2019s really normal to struggle and to have your own processes for finding a good therapist<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What are some ways people can help support friends, family, and loved ones in their lives that are affected by anxiety and other mental health conditions?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The book was like a patchwork of different ideas that follow a thread, but it follows a journey of explaining, layer by layer, how you can land at a place where anxiety is truly beautiful.<\/span><\/p>\n

This has been a surprising part of writing the book\u2014that when it came out, so many people who don\u2019t have anxiety but know someone who does read it and got a lot out of it. I love that they wanted to understand their loved one better. There\u2019re two good techniques I\u2019ve shared with people. One is to understand that often, an anxious person looks like we\u2019re trying to control<\/a> the people around us. What I say to non-anxious people is, try to understand we\u2019re not trying to control you, we\u2019re trying to control the circumstances that can be a trigger<\/a> to our anxiety so we don\u2019t ruin the picnic, the dinner party, or our night on the couch watching a movie. When I\u2019ve said that, there\u2019s less defensiveness, and there\u2019s a lot of support and understanding.<\/p>\n

The other is helpful\u2014a lot of my friends and family are starting to do this for me, and I\u2019m grateful for it. When you\u2019re anxious, you can\u2019t make decisions, and when you have to make too many decisions, it can make you anxious. It\u2019s because the same part of the brain modulates both behaviors. A lot of panic attacks<\/a> are about not being able to decide on something, and just being in a state of numb terror. What I say is, if you know somebody who is anxious, and they\u2019re a bit fretty and uncomfortable, make the decisions for them. Don\u2019t say, \u201cWhat can I do for you?\u201d or \u201cShould we go see this movie?\u201d Say, \u201cAlright, we\u2019re going to have pasta, and then we\u2019re going to see a movie, I\u2019ve booked the tickets for 8:30.\u201d That is probably one of the best things you can do because you feel safe, there\u2019s no decisions to be made, you find yourself correcting your anxious spiral, and you end up having a great night.<\/p>\n

How has writing this book helped you understand and manage your own anxiety and mental health in general?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been the most wonderful form of therapy in a way, because it\u2019s forced me to look in the mirror. When I\u2019ve written a book, I\u2019ve had to do the work for my readers and go down a layer deeper, and then another layer deeper. It got me pretty real about it all. Also, it\u2019s a bit like writing a book about not eating sugar\u2014I can\u2019t walk down the street eating a Mars bar. It keeps you vigilant. As I say in the book, vigilance is important. It\u2019s all about the journey, there\u2019s no magic quick fix.<\/p>\n

But more importantly, it\u2019s made me feel less lonely<\/a>. I wanted to have conversations with people, to connect in a better way, and certainly the book has done that. It\u2019s made me feel like there\u2019s people out there with the same condition. That just emphasizes the whole premise of my book, which is, you know what? There is a purpose to this. There\u2019s a reason why we have anxiety. And even if it\u2019s to bring us closer to each other, that\u2019s a pretty good reason.<\/p>\n

It is not uncommon to feel anxious or to have anxiety. If you often feel this way, you can<\/em> reach out to a compassionate counselor<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sarah Wilson, blogger and bestselling author, discusses anxiety and her new book, “First, We Make the Beast Beautiful,” in this GoodTherapy.org interview.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3094,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[542,529,598],"tags":[183,924],"class_list":["post-38500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured-articles","category-good-therapy-announcements","category-interviews","tag-anxiety","tag-mental-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3094"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38500"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38500\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}