SUNDRY CONDITIONS FOR SELF-MANAGEMENT OF ANXIETY: HOMOSEXUALITY
A man of twenty-two came to see me in great distress. He quite openly said that he was a homosexual. He had been caught by the police picking up another homosexual in a public bar. The police had been very considerate and had made no charge against him, but had advised him to seek the help of a psychiatrist, and to report back to them in a month.
In spite of his distress he kept saying that he was glad he had been, caught. He described his furtive sexual life with casual men. He said he had been actively homosexual since aged twelve or thirteen. On one occasion four years ago, by great act of will he had had no homosexual experience for a month. On further questioning it became clear that he did not really enjoy these experiences. In a way he hated them. But he was so lonely, and so timid toward girls that this type of human contact was preferable to utter loneliness and isolation.
I explained to him that he had been driven to this form of sexual experience by his own introvert nature and not by true homosexuality. He learned to do the relaxing mental exercises. As his anxiety abated, he gradually became friendly with various girls. He found that he could like them and enjoy their company. It soon came about that he was talking of love, and he told me he was having normal sexual intercourse with the girl of his choice. With this there was a remarkable change in his personality.
This man had believed that he was destined to live a life in the shadows as a homosexual. Something happened to him beyond his wildest dreams. It is well to remember that there are many like him.
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