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.