When I was interned in Dr.
Eiras Hospital, I began to have panic crises. One day, I decided to consult the
psychiatrist in charge of my case...
"Doctor, I am overcome by
fear; it takes from me the joy of living."
"Here in my office there
is a mouse that eats my books", said the doctor.
"If I get desperate about
this mouse, he will hide from me and I will do nothing else in life but hunt
him. Therefore, I put the most important books in a safe place and let him gnaw
some others. In this way, he is still a mouse and does not become a monster. Be
afraid of some things and concentrate all your fear on them - so that you have
courage in the rest.
"Courage is not the
absence of fear, but the mastery of it."- Paulo Coelho