How I overcame a florid anxiety neurosis that plagued me for over 10 years as a young woman. It descended, out of the blue, when I was 21 and did not depart for more than a decade. I thought I’d be cursed with it for life. Then, real danger entered my life and a doctor said three sentences to me that changed my perspective and helped me face peril rather than try to control or escape it. This started the process of unravelling the anxiety to the point where some may say I have over-corrected. Jane Caro AM is a Walkley Award winning columnist, author, novelist, broadcaster, documentary maker, feminist and social commentator. Her first novel for adults, The Mother, is a bestseller. She is currently writing another – bestseller, she hopes. She appears frequently on The Drum & Today Extra. She has created and presented 5 documentary series for ABC Compass. She is in demand as a speaker, panel facilitator and MC. She writes a regular column in Nine Media and her opinion pieces and articles appear frequently in The Saturday Paper and The Big Smoke. She is currently developing a TV series about education. She is on the boards of The Public Education Foundation and Every Age Counts. She is an Ambassador for The Older Women’s Network. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx