perhaps we fear they will overwhelm us One client Jack told me if he did not think about his medical condition so regularly he would begin to feel a tremendous sense of helplessness and vulnerability He felt ineffective and powerless if he was not preoccupied with his health Hyperfocusing on his body and medical care was a way to not feel like a a way to take charge With his obsessive thinking Jack felt like he was doing something This was difficult to experience and express but once Jack understood his real fear we could productively work on helping him feel less vulnerable One way we did this was by looking at what he could control about his medical diagnosis and then using acceptance strategies to deal with the rest Jack became more noticing when his anxiety was triggered He did more to quickly identify the sources of his anxious thoughts He practiced mindfulness daily exercised regularly ate a healthy diet and worked on breathing and positive The rest he turned over to his medical team and the universe Take a few minutes to reflect and journal in your notebook about the following If you did not fill your conscious