In the September-October issue, Anthony Ferrigno, the Area Leader for New York City Recovery, Inc., described his road to Recovery. In this issue, Carl Blumenthal examines the Recovery Method itself.
Recovery, Inc. is an international non-profit based in Chicago and founded in 1937 by the neuropsychiatrist Abraham A. Low. Its goal is to help people with nervous and emotional disorders reduce their suffering and improve their mental health. There are 29 weekly Recovery meetings in New York City, making it one of the leading self-help groups in the city, and hundreds of Recovery meetings worldwide. For more information about Recovery, contact the area headquarters at 2043 East 64th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11234 or (718) 241-2220.
According to the group, "The Recovery Method is based on cognitive/behavioral principles, consists of practical techniques that identify and manage negative thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and behavioral habits, and can be used on its own or in conjunction with professional help or medication." In other words, Recovery is a group, self-help form of cognitive therapy.
A Recovery Example and Spottings
Recovery meetings follow a tried and true process. In Step 1, the Recovery group member presents as objectively as possible an event which upset the person during the prior week. He or she describes the temperamental reaction in the form of "I began to work myself up…."
In Step 2, the member lists the symptoms and discomfort produced. For Step 3, the person identifies or "spots" the temper; i.e. how positive thoughts were used to control negative situations. Finally in Step 4 the participant describes how he or she would have reacted in the days "Before I had my Recovery training" and the days since.
A Recovery group may range from 5-15 members. In a spirit of free exchange, members offer their "spottings" or positive thoughts of the situation. In Recovery lingo, a "spotting" is like a finger in the dike of an overburdened mental life. To repeat to yourself, "The symptoms are distressing but not dangerous" or "Bear the discomfort and comfort will come" may seem like Band-Aids for serious wounds until the spottings become engrained. Members take turns giving examples of distress in their lives. (All spottings in this article are in quotation marks to give the reader an idea of what a Recovery meeting sounds like.) Here is an example:
A father visits his son after a long separation. Contrary to the father's promise, the father forgets the gift his son wanted. When the son discovers this, he tells his wife about his disappointment and begins getting excited with such symptoms as heartburn, chest pains, shortness of breath, a feeling of unreality; in other words, a full-blown panic attack. How did he "spot" (control) his symptoms? He congratulated himself for not running around like a chicken with his head cut off, talking to anyone and everyone about his anger towards his dad. He went back to basics with the observation that "the symptoms are distressing but not dangerous." Another way to put it: "Bear the discomfort and the comfort will come." Before Recovery, the group member wouldn't have been able to talk to his father. He wouldn't have been able to obtain support from his wife.
Recovery and the Trivialities of Everyday Life
The bread and butter of the Recovery Method is the trivialities of everyday life. Some examples: A customer berated a sales clerk for selling him a broken product. A friend worked himself up over the tensions of a family gathering. One person couldn't cope with the noisy kids playing next door. A woman thinks she is being pushed out of her job by a younger worker. A woman has palpitations over her upcoming divorce. A bachelor fears his time alone in his apartment. And so on…
NYC Voices: A Recovery group leader answered questions about Recovery, such as "What's it like to practice the Recovery Method on a daily basis?"
Leader: It's dealing with life's trivialities. Compared to your mental health, most everything is a triviality. Expect to have disappointments and frustrations in the average daily life. Your coffee pot breaks. You miss the bus. Your co-worker is a pain in the neck. Your boss makes you work overtime.
For instance, I'm in the supermarket with my brother preparing for Thanksgiving. I might have an inclination to leave rather than deal with all the hassles. My inability to control other people creates stress.
I might get angry at my brother because he's a fast shopper or we might disagree on which things to buy. Before Recovery, it was my way or the highway. But now I can control my feelings, thoughts, and will. I can act cooperatively with my brother and the other shoppers.
I'm not as compulsive as I used to be. When I "go into symptoms," when I'm irritable or agitated, when I'm selfish, I drop the judgment against others for the sake of my mental health and inner peace. There is no right or wrong in the trivial events of everyday life, only differences of opinion. If I'm sensitive or irritable because someone hits me with their shopping cart, then I cannot control people but "temper can be a bridge to self-control."
NYC Voices: We notice that many of the phrases have a literary turn of phrase, a rhyme or reason that makes them stick in the brain. Where do the spottings come from?
Leader: Recovery began in Chicago during the Depression. The spottings are words of Dr. Low from his speeches. Psychoanalysis was the only therapeutic game in town and Dr. Low was trying to create a new program with a new language so patients could help themselves. It's not just a matter of repeating the phrases, but of believing and doing, of "moving your muscles." "The muscles are the educators of the brain." After a while, the spottings become intuitive and symptoms begin to go away.
NYC Voices: How successful is the Method?
Leader: I swear by Recovery. I know one guy who used to be very obnoxious. He would fight people. Now he uses humor to subdue himself and others. I know people who have reduced their medication or therapy. But we don't try to supplant the doctor. I just think that self-help is the single most effective level of care besides medication and therapy.
NYC Voices: Is there a place for humor in the Recovery Method?
Leader: Spottings help you be realistic and "the realist seeks peace, order, and balance." Dr. Low said the nervous patient shouldn't take himself too seriously. "Humor is your best friend, temper your worst enemy." I try to bring humor into the group. This group is a mixture of older and younger people. We have some strong personalities. But the meeting structure provides opportunities for everyone to participate and you'll notice that almost everyone does.
NYC Voices: Is Recovery a cure?
Leader: Dr. Low believed in a cure. We're a self-help group. But I believe in a cure by "chipping away at the fear of a permanent handicap." Recovery is not some mystery. Mentally healthy people do it naturally, without any training.