Alternative take: some mental illnesses, anxiety disorders in particular, are exacerbated by knowledge of them and their immediate effects. Anxiety is much easi

Alternative take: some mental illnesses, anxiety disorders in particular, are exacerbated by knowledge of them and their immediate effects. Anxiety is much easier to deal with when you're not anxious about the fact that you are or will be anxious. Maintaining a "stiff upper lip" means learning to ignore unpleasant symptoms, which can both reduce their frequency and severity. There is usefulness in "manning up", to use an increasingly unpopular turn of phrase. I disagree with the increasingly common idea that suppressing one's negative emotions is generally harmful.