A New Chapter
May 25, 2004
Soaps In Depth

Catherine Hickland (Lindsay) turns her personal diary into an open book

How ironic that someone with as many careers as Catherine Hickland would be on a show called ONE LIFE TO LIVE. A popular actress and an up-and-coming cosmetics mogul, Llanview’s Lindsay is now adding another title to her ever-growing list of accomplishments – writer. Hickland is currently composing a book that shares the obstacles she’s overcome and how others can do the same in their own lives. And after a dramatic weight loss, Hickland is in the best shape of her life to turn the page on a difficult year.

Coming Out Of The Dark
At the end of 2003, Hickland had battled and conquered a problem with anxiety, a common hazard for multitaskers. And after the three-month bout, Hickland reemerged more confident than ever and ready to share her story with the world. “The book is going to be inspirational, but it’s going to be written with humor,” explains the actress. “I think there’s a lot of people that suffer with anxiety but don’t even know what it is. They feel isolated. I always see immediate release when people talk about it, because it makes them feel like they’re not alone and that there’s hope to be able to get past it, which they can.

“Definitely one thing that I’ve learned is that we live in an anxious world, because we live now in a fragile world. Since 9/11, everything has changed. It’s a more fearful world. It’s really important that people are gentle with each other, and most of all, with themselves. And that’s what I really wanted to convey.”

And having so many accomplishments under her belt, Hickland plans to write about her inspirational philosophy on goal-setting and achievement. “It’s a feel-good book,” she emphasizes. Although the tome is in the early stages, Hickland is optimistic about its future. “I don’t even have a publisher yet. I’m just writing. It’s not something I’m doing like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna get rich off this book.’ It’s something I’m doing completely from my heart.”

Lightening Up
Feeling good and reaching goals are not limited to her book endeavors but are habits practiced in the star’s everyday life. Hickland recently lost 25 pounds in a renewed interest in her health and well-being. “One day I just woke up and said, ‘I’m not happy with the way things are,” the svelte stunner remembers. “I don’t feel as good as I could. I certainly don’t look as good as I could.”

So Hickland did what she does best and immediately got to work at overcoming what stood in the way of her being happy on her own terms. “I don’t want to look a certain way because I’m gonna hit a certain age. I want to defy the stereotype of somebody in their forties. I wanted to see how much I could do with my own will – my will to feel better, to look better, to reinvent myself in a way that a lot of women could do. Because if I could do it, then anybody could do it.

“I really did work hard to lose the weight,” says the persevering star, who now hits the gym regularly. “Of course, I lost a few extra pounds when I was going through a tough time last year. But I worked very hard to get myself on a workout regimen that is livable to me. I really didn’t enjoy [working out] before, so I had to teach myself how to enjoy it.” And though her relationship with food has changed, the busy blonde still has a lot on her plate. So how does she find the time to exercise? “The hour was something I had to find, but you find it when you need it. Giving herself permission to take an hour out of a day to do something took a lot.

“Believe me, my life isn’t always perfect,” she goes on, “and I have stuff happen that sets me back. I know what that feels like to be sad and anxious and scared and all of those terrible feelings that we are shackled by. I have to get ahold of it and be stronger than that, be more than that, be bigger than that. But I enjoy my life, warts and all. It’s not always something that’s, like, ‘Yippee!’ but I live a very full life. The beauty of life is that you can start over as many times as you need to – no matter what. You don’t have to fail! There’s nothing to stop you from doing it again!”

FYI

Favorite CD: “The kids in my office got me on Eminem’s 8 Mile.”

Nickname: “Everybody that knows me now calls me Kitty Cat. And that’s only been in the last six months.”

Favorite Book: You Can Heal Your Life [by Louise L. Hay] because it’s like Life 101. That book is life-changing, and it’s simple.”

Downtime: “One of my favorite things in the world is to lay in bed at night and watch television.”