It is no exaggeration that the tragic excuse for a family into which my younger sister, Lois, and I were born, was characterized by a fierce, despairing craziness which, when mixed with alcohol, killed my mother and her sister, my brother and my sister, and almost killed me. Lois and I lived in that appalling […]

I was first treated by a psychiatrist when I was 19. Shy and nervous, preoccupied and fearful, I was called a spoiled brat and told to grow up. By the time I visited a psychiatrist a second time; I was married and had my first child. I was overwhelmed with feelings of inadequacy, fearfulness and […]

Before my Recovery International training, I didn’t have a life. My obsessive-compulsive disorder consumed many of my waking hours. Anorexic, I couldn’t hold a job. I trained at a gym for three hours every day because I thought I was fat. I joined Recovery International three years ago and have held a job for two […]

Having been employed as an ironworker for 25 years, I began to develop both physical and mental stress. My parents’ health declined and eventually they died. Enormous stress forced me to retire on disability. I started experiencing intense and debilitating physical symptoms. I didn’t know why, but I was more nervous than ever. This nervousness […]

My name is Bob and I’m an alcoholic. I am also a nervous person and it helps me to address both issues in Recovery International. In former days, I remember thinking, while alone drinking in a bar, “You should be doing so much more with your life.” Well, today I am, but the road has […]

My life became difficult at age eight. I was filled with fear and feelings of inadequacy. School and being around people got tough; however, I finished high school, got a job and was drafted into the U.S. Army for two years. After discharge, I worked for an oil company for eight years and then became […]

After seven years of suffering, I found Recovery through a friend. I had consulted three psychiatrists and ten psychologists and had two hospitalizations. I had also taken practically every medication available but still suffered panic attacks. I was out of control, thought I was going crazy and was not getting well. When I found Recovery […]

I’ve suffered from panic attacks, and all the terrifying sensations that come from them. Dizziness, heart palpitations, nausea, sweats, feelings of unreality and fear were part of my everyday existence. Physicians said there was nothing wrong with me, but my psychiatrist and psychologist were convinced I had anxiety. After months of therapy, I asked my […]

My illness started right out of the blue. I suddenly felt light-headed and experienced palpitations, head pressure, fatigue and depression, all of which frightened me. One day when I went shopping, panic overcame me at the checkout counter. Leaving my items in the basket, I ran from the store. Eventually, I feared both going out […]

I sat in the back pew near the door during church services for two years so that I would be prepared to bolt whenever my panic became unbearable. Though I never ran out of church, I did run out of other places, and when I began to get help, the medicine didn’t work. Because of […]