a cure for anxiety?

I've just started reading "Fish, Flesh and Good Red Herring" which we received as a housewarming gift last year from Jane. It's all about housekeeping and health manuals from times gone by, and is a ripper of a read.

Take for example this "cure" for women suffering from what we would probably now call depression or anxiety:

"W. B. Tegetmeier, a lecturer in Domestic Economy, claimed that a fit of hysterics 'is generally increased by any expression of sympathy' and suggests 'a very effectual mode of cure' which consists of dipping a towel in cold water ... and striking smartly with one end of it on the upper part of the chest.'" (page 17 - check out shelfari below for details)

While the cure is kinda funny - imagine going to a psychologist or psychiatrist for medication or talking therapy only to be hit smartly with a wet towel - it also makes me really thankful that as a society we've moved on in our understanding of mental health and in our sympathy for those suffering from mental illness.

I'm a fan of the following websites which offer real help to people suffering from mental illness

Beyond Blue

SANE

Feeling Like This - a Christian website based in the UK

One of my serious interests - the Pilgrim Penguin isn't only obsessed with bunnies and mice in the cupboard - is thinking about how Christians deal with and teach about mental illness. More soon...