Thirty Years
Of Compassion
Annette Serling retires after decades
of devotion to Recovery Inc.
RUTH LITTMANN STAFF WRITER
A
nnette Serling, 77, sym- problems sparked by deep anx- and before long you will be rid of
pathizes with people who ieties. She endured stom- the trouble for hours or for days.
triumph over catastro- achaches and "air hunger," or The symptom will return and
phes like fire and flood but shortness of breath. Doctors told keep returning. But in the end,
crumble under everyday irrita- her she was lucky. There was you will bring it under control by
tions like bad traffic.
nothing medically wrong with plugging away at it.
"Somehow, we get through the her.
Dr. Low's advice clicked with
big things," she says. "It's the lit-
But her distress worsened, Ms. Serling, although most of his
tle things that trigger the tem- and in 1960 Ms. Serling entered contemporaries in the fields of
per and tension in us."
Recovery Inc. in search of help. psychiatry and psychology ve-
Ms. Serling speaks of people Through her involvement, she hemently disagreed with his
in Recovery Inc., a group she led gained self-insight. She came to teachings.
for 30 years before retiring last understand that she could "spot"
The maverick psychiatrist
spring. Founded in
trained in Vienna
1937 by psychia-
Austria, during the
trist Abraham
early part of the
Low, Recovery Inc.
century. He reject-
is a self-help forum
ed Sigmund
for victims of ner-
Freud's school o f
vous symptoms
psychoanalysis and
and fears.
argued that adult
People who at-
behavior is "not
tend Recovery Inc.
driven by instincts,
meetings suffer
but guided by will."
from a-wide range
Although this
of anxieties and
philosophy had al-
corresponding
ready surfaced in
physical ailments.
the field of modern
For instance, some
mental health, Dr.
people become vi-
Low expanded on it
olently sick if the
by developing a
telephone operator
self-help group,
keeps them on
which he later
hold for too long.
called Recovery Inc.
Others convince
He offered clinical
themselves that
help to his patients
their common
at a bargain rate of
headaches are in-
$5 an hour under
dicators of brain
one condition: They
cancer.
must attend Re-
In her groups,
covery Inc. meet-
Ms. Serling has
ings.
helped rabbis,
"His belief was
priests, psycholo-
that individual psy-
gists — "people
chiatric treatment
from all walks of
didn't do the job as
life," she says.
well as group ther-
Many participants
apy," Ms. Serling
have contemplat-
says.
ed suicide at one
Through group
Annette Serling says her husband, Seymour, was supportive of her
time or another.
therapy, Ms. Ser-
involvement
in
Recovery
Inc.
"They
were
ling learned she
bright career people who couldn't her fears and dismiss them as was not alone in her battle with
work because of their symptoms. unpleasant, but nonthreatening. a nervous disorder. Though she
Everybody has nervous tension.
Ms. Serling refers to a life-sav- felt "ashamed" at her first meet-
But there's a difference," she ing passage in Dr. Low's Mental ing, she soon met others who
says. "Nervous patients attach Health Through Will-Training. shared her troubles. Ms. Serling
danger to their symptoms. They This passage, she says, gave her saw that many of these people
work it up. Others forget about the power to overcome her de- were on their way to wellness.
it."
bilitating symptoms:
That gave her hope.
Recovery Inc. does not claim
You can throw off any nervous
She conscientiously attended
to be a substitute for profession- symptom at any time for a few Recovery Inc. and flourished.
al medical and psychological seconds or minutes if you spot it Gaining confidence, she opened
care, but Ms. Serling says it as distressing but not dangerous. her own soap powder business.
saved her from spiraling into an The symptom will come back in She also got involved with com-
abyss of phobias and obsessions. the next minute or so, but you can munity affairs by reading books
Since she was a little girl, Ms. get rid of it again for a short to a blind student and helping
Serling suffered from health while, and then again and again, COMPASSION page 48
Pulse
Healthy Events
Community-Wide
Ethics
"Facing the Future: An Open
Discussion of End-of-Life Is-
sues" will take place 7:15 p.m.
Oct. 12 at Congregation
Shaarey Zedek. The forum, of-
fered by Jewish Family Service
at no charge, will explore the
physical, spiritual, emotional
and legal aspects surrounding
death and dying. The program
will feature a panel moderat-
ed by Sherry Margolis, news
anchor for WJBK-TV 2. For
more information, call (810)
559-1500.
Cancer
Gilda's Club, a support group
for cancer patients and their
loved ones, will host its "Fam-
ily Walk and Block Party" on
Oct. 23 at Cobo Hall in Detroit.
The five kilometer walk begins
at 10 a.m.; the one-mile fun
walk begins at 10:05 a.m.; the
block party begins at 11 a.m.
The entry fee is $15; $18 after
Oct. 15. Make checks payable
to Gilda's Club. To preregister
and obtain more information,
call the club at (810) 851-6557
or the Walk Hotline at (810)
544-9099.
Illness
The Maple Clinic Inc. will pre-
sent Linda Diaz — an oncolo-
gy social worker, author and
speaker — who will address
"Learning To Live With Chron-
ic Illness." The free seminar
will focus on: helping patients
and caretakers cope with anx-
iety, providing community re-
sources for patients and their
caretakers and improving their
communication. The program
will be held Oct. 12 from 7 to
8:30 p.m. at the Birmingham
House. For reservations, call
Lori Edelson at (810) 646-6659.
Volunteers
William Beaumont Hospital's
division of preventive and nu-
tritional medicine in Birming-
ham seeks volunteers for
research studies testing new
oral medications to help dia-
betics lose weight or lower their
blood sugar. Research volun-
teers must be age 18 or older,
in general good health and cur-
rently being treated with only
diet or oral diabetic medica-
tions. Call (810) 645-8158.
Back Pain
On Oct. 19 at 7:30 p.m., Dr.
Stuart Firsten, a chiropractic
physician, will present "Free-
dom From Back and Neck
Pain" at the West Bloomfield
High School. The program will
provide information about the
prevention and treatment of
common spine-related disor-
ders. To register, call (810) 539-
2290.
Paget's
Henry Ford Hospital and the
Paget Foundation will hold a
patient information seminar
on Paget's disease of the bone.
This meeting is an opportuni-
ty for patients with Paget's dis-
ease and their family members
to learn about diagnosis and
treatment. This meeting will
be held at Henry Ford Hospi-
tal on Oct. 22, 9:30 a.m. to
12:30 p.m. The meeting is free
and open to the public. Free
parking is available. Call (313)
876-7040.
Maimonides
A Maimonides Society Mem-
bership Brunch will be held
Oct. 9 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The guest speaker will be Dr.
Mark Rekhter, a physician
from the former Soviet Union,
who will talk on "Medical Ed-
ucation in the former Soviet
Union and the Jewish Physi-
cian." For location and reser-
vations, call the Jewish
Federation of Washtenaw
County at (313) 677-0100.
Stroke
Rehabilitation Services of St.
Joseph Mercy Hospital in Pon-
tiac is offering a monthly meet-
ing of the Stroke Club from
1:30 to 3 p.m. on the second
Thursday of each month. The
focus of the club will be support
and education of stroke vic-
tims, their families and care
givers. The meeting will be
held in the 4 East Dining
Room. Dessert will be provid-
ed. Parking is free. Call (810)
858-6113.
Eyes
Dr. Gerald Mullan, an oph-
thalmologist, will discuss "The
Uses of Laser in Eye Care" dur-
ing a free community program
at Henry Ford Cottage Hospi-
tal on Oct. 11 from 7 to 9 p.m.
Dr. Mullan's presentation in-
volves slides and a lecture. It
will include information about
the basic anatomy of the eye,
glaucoma and its treatment, a
description of secondary
cataracts and how they form,
and other topics. For reserva-
tions, call (313) 884-8600, Ext.
2425.