Lydgate certainly had good reason to reflect on the service his practice did him in counteracting his personal cares.
You have always been counteracting me secretly.
A good technique for counteracting an urge is to count to 10 while slowly inhaling and exhaling deeply,imagining the impulse passing by as quickly as it came.
Counteracting the cult of happiness It is also increasingly recognised that being in a good mood, despite some advantages, is not universally desirable.
