Spring 2020

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WELCOME TO SPRING!

Wishing you all the best for a happy, healthy, average Spring Season

The long-awaited, sunny days of spring are finally here. The cold and damp have given way to warmth, the snow has melted and the daylight hours are extending and yes, the birds are everywhere with their many songs of the new season. However, along with brighter days and fresh flowers comes startle after startle with the onset of an unexpected health crisis.

And as I write this, the changes are ongoing. There is no better time to use the RI method than when the outer environment creates a bunch of startles. The startles are discomfort, and we know that we can bear discomfort. Dr. Low spoke of exaggerated and prolonged emotional responses. This is emotionalism, “a crazy quilt of senselessly exaggerated fears and angers, either overlapping or following one another.”

We should expect the inevitable setback, and we can excuse rather than accuse ourselves for having more symptoms and temper than usual. We can practice forced objectivity, to look away from the news and find something to focus on that has no emotional content to give our jangled nervous system a rest. (See India in Roaming the Globe for a good suggestion for using muscle control.) Then there is motionless sitting, a tool that calms us down. (See Manage Your Fears, Manage Your Anger, page 353). If you can’t change the situation you can change your attitude toward it. Spot and drop the tempers. Be group minded. Practicing Dr. Low’s amazing method can help us to keep calm and help others.

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Mark your calendars for the next BOOK STUDY!!

Sunday, June 7, 2020
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Mark your calendars for Sunday, June 7, 2020 at 2pm Pacific, 3pm Mountain, 4pm Central and 5pm Eastern. If you DIDN'T receive an email for the last Book Study, please email davesdecafe@gmail.com to receive the conference call number and code. You will receive a reminder email the week before.

This time we will read Constitution, Environment and Temper from Group Psychotherapy.  If you haven't gotten a copy of Group Psychotherapy and wish to read it in advance, the reminder email will have a link to download it.

Happy Spring!! Your grateful editors,

Helen and Dave

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News from Headquarters

Joanne Lamprey, President & Sandra K. Wilcoxon, CEO
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Challenges and Changes: Recovery International – 2019 Annual Report

Dear Friends,

Last year—before the COVID-19 pandemic—we worked to build awareness of our programs and reach new people. We began online leader training, introduced our books on Amazon, and updated our website and database—all that seems so long ago! In response to the global health emergency, we helped leaders implement online and telephone meetings for their groups. As stress levels grew, we opened new remote meetings to serve anyone isolated and in symptoms. We introduced Daily Spots to share our tools with anyone who wanted a calming message. We saw a substantial increase in postings on our Facebook Meeting page and our remote meeting attendance doubled and tripled. As we move forward, we aim to increase Recovery International’s visibility among other mental health organizations and professionals, and we seek to collaborate with new partners. We are developing new workbooks and updating the language in our books to reach new generations.

None of this would be possible without our members and donors. And our programs could not happen without the dedication of hundreds of area and group leaders—our peer volunteers, who mentor others, providing help and hope to thousands of people each year. You are the backbone of Recovery International and we are proud to work with you in eliminating mental health stigma and providing tools to help people manage their symptoms.

A special warm thank you to all of our generous donors! Click here for our 2019 Annual Report, 2019 Year in Review, and Donor Honor Roll.

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Joanne Lamprey, President

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Sandra K. Wilcoxon, CEO

Save the Date

Announcements:

The Recovery International Annual Meeting, usually held in May, has been postponed due to current events. We will notify you when it is rescheduled.

Don't forget to sign up for FREE Daily Spots! Click here

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Do you need help setting up a remote meeting for your group during COVID-19 isolation? We're here to help!

  • Meeting participants: Make sure your group leader has your contact information so they can let you know when meetings are closed and if they are doing remote meetings in the meantime, and to let you know when they are ready to re-open your community meeting.
  • For WebEx online training and scheduling contact: Steve@recoveryinternational.org
    For phone conference training contact: Camille@recoveryinternational.org
    To schedule your conference call contact: Everlean@recoveryinternational.org

If you are setting up your own meeting on Zoom, please let us know by sending email to josie@recoveryinternational.org

Bear the discomfort to try something new, and use your sense of humor when something goes wrong. If you anticipate frustration, you won't be disappointed!

RI staff ROCKS IT

A heartfelt thank you to Lisa, Josie, Everlean, Steve, Camille, Gilda, Debbie and Sandra for transitioning so quickly and courageously to the new normal, working from home. Everyone pitched in and stepped up—answering calls and e-mails, training leaders to run meetings by phone and online, updating schedules and website information, bringing computers, envelopes and folders home to work on various projects.

Things changed quickly from mid-March through April—often daily or hourly—requiring staff to review and revise processes, instructions and schedules.  Frequent phone and online meetings enabled staff to address issues as they arose and identify solutions to help our leaders, members and meeting participants. Each person brought their expertise and skills to help programs change and evolve to meet these most challenging circumstances—endorse!

RI Leaders LEAD BY EXAMPLE!

Special kudos, too, to all our peer leaders and volunteers working to keep meetings going and accessible. Many leaders underwent special training to learn how to run meetings via telephone—not easy to do when one cannot see faces or read body language!  Tracking participants’ names and voices, coaching people on *6 (mute & unmute) to reduce ambient noise, encouraging people to give examples and spots in turns—all these are special skills to learn in a hurry.  Other leaders did the thing they feared to do by learning new technology in order to lead meetings by Zoom or WebEx or using the Chat program.
Together, Recovery International’s programs continue to be available to those in need, and we are getting many inquiries from people throughout the country who are looking for help dealing with stress and anxiety due to the current situation. This provides an opportunity for those of you who are experienced in the Recovery Method to coach newcomers in giving examples and learning how to spot! (Remember what it was like when you attended your first meeting?)

Overall, we’ve opened more than 58 new temporary remote meetings, have seen attendance at regular phone and online meetings double and triple, and we are reaching more than 3000 people through special e-mails and Facebook.

Thank you all for your group-mindedness. Your efforts have enabled RI to serve people whose community meetings have closed, and to assist newcomers struggling for calm in these disquieting times. Endorse.

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May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Don't Distance Yourself from Mental Health

Celebrating Mental Health Awareness month with gratitude for the gifts we were given by Dr. Low! We can maintain peace and calm during trivialities and more challenging times as well. Mental Health Awareness Month, observed every May since 1949, was established by Mental Health America.

Now that most of us are staying at home as part of a group effort, and as we settle into this new routine, we may be asking ourselves, how do I maintain a sense of averageness and hold down temper?

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Spotting is an important tool. According to Dr. Low, spotting is not just repeating catch phrases. Spotting goes to the very core of our beliefs about life, which is our philosophy. How do we spot our philosophy? One way is to listen to how we talk to ourselves and others. Are our messages those of defeatism or realism? Are we patient or impatient? Once we have taken inventory of our self-talk, are we making efforts to spot and drop our insecure thoughts? Do we have the will to effort to function in symptoms?

If we notice ourselves feeling isolated and getting more anxious than normal we can be tolerant of imperfections. Each of us has different outer environment challenges, be it with family, finances or health concerns.

Perhaps our biggest challenge might be with our mental health. Are we spotting our setbacks? Are we making phone calls to do examples? If our in-person meetings have been closed, have we countered the lethargy of lowered feelings by commanding our muscles to find a remote meeting to attend? And if we are leaders or assistant leaders, have we commanded our muscles to find out how to set up phone or video meetings or to steer meeting attendees to one of the national meetings?

Some people find that interacting with others remotely to be more tiring than in-person interactions. It may be helpful to schedule breaks between meetings to give yourself a chance to recover. This new way of doing things can bring up new fears, but we can remember the tool: "Have the courage to make a mistake!"

Each of us has our favorite tools. Knowledge teaches us what to do and practice tells us how to do it. There is no better time to practice in the present.

Let’s all celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month by remembering the three supremes: Our supreme goal is mental health, our supreme value is peace, and our supreme method is discipline.

And don’t forget to ENDORSE!

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Stories of Hope

The Recovery Method is a Practice

The Recovery Method is a Practice

by Patrick - Assistant Leader, Rathgar Recovery Meeting, Dublin, Ireland

Recovery supplies not just educational information, it offers leadership training for one’s will. In addition to this self-leadership, the Recovery Method is a 'practice'. Meaning, that each part act of the group meeting when performed correctly and consistently has a total effect on the body and mind.

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Stories of Hope Audio series

Helplessness is not hopelessness 

Joey as Puck in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream

RI meeting leader Joey relates how Helplessness Is Not Hopelessness helped him deal with feelings of futility.

Click here to hear Joey's exclusive interview on the RECOVERY REPORTER SoundCloud page (https://bit.ly/2XW61Dt)

If you know someone who could benefit from the RI Method or a professional who might recommend us to clients, please copy this link into an email and send it to them: https://soundcloud.com/recovery-international/

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Wisdom of Dr. Low

Tantrums Have Much Force but Little Feeling
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The tantrums and panics which our patients experience in the course of a setback are common, everyday occurrences; they are the result of nothing more unusual than temper. Ada suffered from an ordinary, commonplace temper outburst and "worked herself up" till she drifted into a panic. Soon she felt ashamed and disgusted with herself and dropped the panic as you would a silly thought. Thoughts can be formed and reformed; they can be accepted and rejected; they can be retained and dismissed. Feelings are of a different make. You cannot change, reject or dismiss them. They descend upon you, and you must wait until they depart. Ada formed a temperamental idea, worked it up to a pitch, then rejected and dismissed it.

Ada was enabled to perform this feat because of her Recovery training. In the language of Recovery, temper is distinct from genuine feeling. The sadness of the bereaved mother is a genuine feeling. That feeling is original, primary and pure. In contrast, temper is derived, secondary and adulterated. I shall try to explain these terms. Every feeling has thoughts attached to it. A sad person is bound to think that the world is flat and stale. In this instance, the feeling of sadness produces the thought of staleness. It is not so that the bereaved mother forms first the thought that the world is stale and, consequently, falls prey to sadness....The mother feels sad, pure and simple. She is not angry, fearful, jealous or envious. She has no desire to dominate others, to be consoled by them. She is just sad, and her feeling is not contaminated by an admixture of other feelings. It is original, primary and pure, i.e., genuine.

Contrast now this genuine feeling of sadness with Ada's temper tantrum. In Ada's own words, after the sister left, "before long I had myself worked up into a panic." The feeling did not descend on her; she "worked" on it, produced it and fanned it into a lusty fire by means of inflammatory thoughts.

From "Tantrums Have Much Force but Little Feeling" in Mental Health Through Will Training

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Recovery Examples

Calm begets calm, temper begets temper

I was at a family dinner in a restaurant, and a political discussion began. Politics is a strong link for me and my family often engages in such debates. My brother made a comment I didn’t like, and that’s when I went into symptoms.

I experienced physical symptoms of muscle tightness and my face flushed. I experienced the mental symptom of a rise in feelings. I had the angry thought that these people are wrong! I had the fearful thought that they will think I am weird if I disagree with them. I had the impulse to argue.

I had angry temper in the form of disgust, because I was certain my brother was wrong. I had fearful temper in the form of worry. I used these tools: calm begets calm, temper begets temper. I remembered that Dr. Low said that if we do not spot our habits then we will offend people, and I spotted that I have a habit of arguing. I used muscle control to hold my body still. I endorsed because I spotted that I was having a temper flare.

Prior to joining RI, I would have gone around the table pointing out the flaws of everyone’s beliefs and then been in symptoms the rest of the night. This time I made one saucy comment and recognized it as the temperamental effect. I excused myself to the men’s room and waited until the symptoms had passed before returning to the table. By then my family had changed the topic of conversation, and I had no temperamental after effect for the rest of the night.

Paul B., Syracuse, NY

Peace over power

Thanks to joining RI two years ago, I've learned many spots and coping skills. I regularly read the literature and attend meetings, and it is rare now that I have panic attacks or anger outbursts. And that's only after working the program for 2 years.

Recently I decided to renovate our kitchen, and went to a cabinet showroom to look at styles and colors. The owner greeted me nicely enough, but when I asked to see samples of a few styles/colors, he became irritated. He told me, "We have them all on our website, why didn't you look there?" He continued to be short with me, then told me he was closing the store early and asked me to leave.

I felt my temper rising. I left the store, and immediately I began to apply spots: Outside environment can be rude, crude, and indifferent without meaning to. Bear the discomfort in order to gain comfort. When we control our speech muscles, we have nothing to regret. Tolerance of others mean fewer symptoms for ourselves. After I drove home, I decided to use my favorite spot -- objectivity -- and looked up the cabinet store's reviews on Yelp. I had heard good things about this place, and sure enough, all the reviews were extremely positive! Several of the reviews mentioned the owner by name. I had fearful temper for a moment (fear that something about me had angered the fellow), then I dropped the "personalization habit". I replaced the insecure thought by thinking perhaps the owner was having a bad day before I arrived. The next day I called the store and asked for the owner, and told him "Sir, I want to thank you for greeting me yesterday, and if possible I would like to make an appointment with you to see the cabinet samples, at your convenience."

There was silence on the line at first, and then the man began to tell me his story. He talked, and I listened, for a full 5 minutes. He said that his wife had cancer and he had been about to leave to tend to her the day before, when I walked in the door. He apologized for being rude. He repeated the apology several times. I then told him that I too had once been caregiver to a family member with cancer. I understood just how stressful it can be. He told me to stop by the store any time, and he would be sure I was well taken care of. I haven't gone back to the store yet, but when I do I know I can walk in there feeling good about myself - that I was group minded on the day I held my temper, and that I showed an attitude of compassion, rather than an attitude of dominance or revenge.

Dr. Low says in his writings that when we express temper with our family, that our home life becomes a "battlefield." And it's true of the outside world as well. What a wonderful feeling, to be able to go about my business whether at home or out in public, and stay emotionally in balance. Peace over power in the family, and in the world!

Endorsing!

Sherri C.

Symptoms rise and fall and run their course as long as we do not attach danger to them

I had a Recovery AHA! moment one afternoon when after work, when I needed to go buy a new ink cartridge, I was thinking, "I don't want to drive in the traffic ... I don't want to go in the rain ..." And suddenly, I realized that I was attaching a lot of danger to driving in average traffic and a light rain. I became aware that I attach danger to almost everything!

I felt freed up from my fears, and it changed my whole perspective.

Fran G./New Orleans, LA/area 75

Symptoms don't develop duration if people keep calm, if they keep relaxed

I received a call from Richard, my son’s father-in-law that his Chinese wife was feeling sick and isolating at her place of business and asking me for advice. I gave him suggestions and remained calm. The next day I wrote email to a client in Tokyo who had asked me to find a bilingual Korean who could help with research about Korean regulations. The client wrote back that he was sick at home and that this would have to wait. That’s when I worked myself up.

I had fearful thoughts that this is getting too close to me both personally and at work. I had lowered feelings. I had a disturbing impulse to write to my family dramatizing my situation (complaining hobby). I had tightness in my chest and was holding my breath. I had the mythical nervous fatigue when I thought about having to tell a Korean interpreter I had located that this job had to wait.

I had fearful temper that I was getting into symptoms over an event instead of handling it calmly. I used the following tools: I spotted imagination on fire. I worried with reflective calm. All I know is that I don’t know what the future will bring. I replaced an insecure thought with a secure thought that my client is young and healthy. I made a firm decision to call Richard the next day and to drop the thought until then. (They were fine.) I can’t change the situation but I can change my attitude toward it. Symptoms don't develop duration if people keep calm, if they keep relaxed. I commanded my muscles to call the Korean interpreter and leave a calm, objective message. I endorsed for not working my fear into a frenzied emotionalism.

Before my recovery training, I would have let fearful anticipation preoccupy me and create a vicious cycle of temper and tenseness. Instead I dropped the thought of danger and went on to something else.

Dave W., San Francisco, CA

Click on the icons below for more examples and stories from RI members.

Roaming the Globe

Kudos to the Recovery Canada Board members for all you do to help mental wellness thrive through Recovery!

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Recovery International India

Anil Vartak is the founder of the weekly Recovery self-help group at the Schizophrenia Awareness Association (https://schizophrenia.org.in/support-groups-2/recovery-methods/).
He recently spoke with the Recovery Reporter about what is happening with the group in India during the period of nationwide lockdown and about his published newspaper columns. This is a summary of the conversation.

The situation in India during the lockdown is stable. Everyone is getting the necessary supplies. Recovery group meetings are not being held at present. My colleague and I are helping members in one-on-one phone calls where they tell about the situation and the symptoms and the tools that they are using.

I have been writing a mental health column for a newspaper in Goa State. The next several columns are going to be about how the Recovery method can be helpful with common symptoms like anxiety, depression and restlessness that average people are experiencing in this current situation. For example, people these days are watching TV news again and again. They also look at WhatsApp messages. All these things increase their anxiety.

So I give an example about how this chain of thoughts and emotions can be broken by waiting five or six hours before watching the news or looking at WhatsApp. By commanding your muscles to stay away, you can break this vicious cycle. I will do the same for about 15 or 20 tools.

Average people are not interested in technical language. They should get the feeling that they experience symptoms similar to the ones I am describing, and that this Recovery Method offers them an opportunity to handle them in an appropriate way.

Please CLICK HERE to read the full interview and the first published

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Recovery Canada

In 2019, the Recovery Canada board revamped their website and met to discuss ways to support current leaders and reach others who could benefit from RI meetings. They opened a new group near Ottawa, Ontario, bringing the total number of weekly meetings in Canada to 21. More than 3800 people attended meetings last year.  However, the current global health pandemic has caused most meetings to close, and some are being run by teleconference or Zoom.

Please check their website at https://www.recoverycanada.org for time-sensitive updates and the latest information.

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Recovery Ireland

Recovery Self-Help Ireland operated 14 weekly meetings before most closed due to the pandemic.  In 2019, 4091 people attended these meetings, and outreach to new people continued, to help others learn the method and tools to help them lead more peaceful lives. Information about meetings being held with the aid of remote technology or other resources available through Recovery Self-Help Ireland can be found at http://recoveryireland.ie .

Endorse and stay well!

Charles K., area group leader for Recovery Ireland, Director, Recovery Self Help Method Ireland Limited

Hi Recovery Friends. Here in Milford Michigan we are having our meetings by Zoom. Because some of our members are feeling isolated, they like seeing one another's faces and their expressions during the examples. Especially we enjoy being able to have mutual aid. We have much to endorse for and are staying safe and well and are looking forward to continuing our face to face meetings.

Carolyn Cronk

Milford proving ground
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San Francisco Bay Area, CA – Area 20

Making Mental Health a Business

Area 20 face to face meetings were put on hold in March, although by then many people were avoiding them with “due caution and circumspection.” As of this writing, most meetings are running remotely. Livermore Sun. 2:00 is a freeconferencecall.com phone meeting. San Francisco Wed. 6:30 and Thu. 4:00, Cupertino Wed. 7:30, Oakland Sat. 1:30 and Walnut Creek Sat. 2:00 are meeting by Zoom video conferencing, which are also easy to join by phone as well.

Our first meetings had good attendance, and attendance has grown as folks who could not find time to attend in-person meetings have become regulars and people are starting to attend meetings that they could not get to in person. It's been challenging but rewarding to learn new ways of doing things, and a great opportunity to practice flexibility.

CSP Solano RI members practice with a determined will

California State Prison Solano’s RI group is going strong. Joey P. is the leader. Matthew and Rodger are faithful members and the meeting recently got a new recruit, Matt. Before the shelter in place order was issued, one of them would call to report on what he learned in the weekly reading and to explain how he saw it applying in his daily life. To hear Joey’s report on the chapter Helplessness Is Not Hopelessness click here  (https://bit.ly/2XW61Dt)

Joey, Matthew, Rodger and Brady are making a business of their mental health during this time of great stress. They would love to hear messages of support from the RI community.  Please send postcards to:
Joey Pagaduan
T95381 21-18-1U
CSP Solano
PO Box 4000
Vacaville, CA 95696

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Some helpful thoughts to get through the present situation

With this new disease among us, there has developed quite a bit of worry and hysteria. In this situation, we can help ourselves by just being careful on how we go about our average daily lives. Of course, in today's situation we are not dealing with average daily life, because it has added a bit more anxiety to what we have become used to.

How can we deal with it? I’ll try to explain using some simple logic and common sense. It doesn’t have to be complicated.

The practice is simple, but it isn't so easy. However, as we go about each day we can make it easier if we apply ourselves in a way that we avoid attaching more danger to the situation than need be. It is important to be careful in how we interpret what we read, hear, or see, whether on the TV, radio, online or in newspapers. If something seems, feels, looks, or sounds scary, objectively, you don’t really know. It may be best not to jump to conclusions and then move on to other things that are relatively unemotional.

In conclusion and in a nutshell, remember this:

  • Use reason, logic and common sense
  • It’s simple but not so easy
  • Do not attach danger to your symptoms
  • Be careful on what we interpret
  • Subjective feelings vs. objective facts
  • Take a wait and see attitude and to know you may not know
  • Stop seeking excitement in devious ways whether realizing it or not
  • Remove ourselves from temper producing situations

Tony F., former area leader, New York, New York


Spots breathe fresh air to my oxygen-depleted anxiety brain

Spots are more than tools.

  • Knowing spots is like having an inner guru.
  • Like always having Dr. Low with me, though I never met him.
  • Spots give me independence and self-sufficiency. Spots are the building blocks that form a floor to stand on.
  • Spots turn off the negative and incite the positive.
  • Create safety and security, a sense of inner environment okayness.
  • Spot practice leads to peace.

Fran G., New Orleans

First Aid For Lowered Feelings

1. Endorse myself for using this card
2. Get into present reality No control of future or past. Be objective, I’m a valid person (In other words, “ get real”.)
3. Make a small decision to do something do-able
4. Plan to move muscles on something unfinished this day.
5. Endorse myself again and again for effort, not for success.

First Aid For Elevated Feelings

1. Endorse myself for spotting over-excited thinking and behaviour.
2. Get into present reality (confirm averageness, validity doesn’t come from actions, but from being = get real.
3. Make a small decision to do something quiet, unexciting, boring
4. Plan to move muscles to complete something unfinished this day.
5. Set timer for an average bed-time, and leave things undone if necessary to keep that appointment with myself.
6. Endorse myself again and again for effort, not for success.

Elizabeth C., Ireland

In recognition of our long-time Members

I attended my first RI meeting in Manhasset, New York at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock, over forty-five years ago and I have been practicing ever since. Contact with worthy people and RI has helped me with quitting smoking, nutritional problems, job interviewing skills and keeping a job. RI has kept me functioning every day. Favorite spots: drink not from a glass left standing; self not, symptom led; if you cannot change the situation, change your attitude; when I don't dignify my symptoms, they die of indignation. I am now living in the Glen Gariff Health Care Center in Glen Cove, and I get RI through phone meetings. I appreciate my circumstances and the help I have received through Recovery International.

Endorsing!

Arielle D.

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Happy Birthday Harrisburg, PA – Area 155

Harrisburg/Hummelstown, PA just celebrated its 42nd birthday on January 8, 2020! We are all very proud even though our group is small. We had a party on February 4. Our group was founded on January 8, 1978 by the late Bill and Jeanne Kelly. I joined the group in May 1978 so I am one of the few original members. I know how much RI has helped me and now I do things that would not have been possible for me before that including being a leader. Hats off to Recovery!

Rick Rubin, Recovery Group Leader and Area 155 Team Leader/Secretary Harrisburg/Hummelstown, PA


Recovery solved my nervous symptoms, such as being in a dream world and seeing colors. My favorite tools are, moving muscles reeducates the brain, and having the will to bear discomfort.

I would recommend RI because it helps you to live a good average life.

I attend the Wednesday 1:30 pm meeting in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

I was also a Recovery leader for 32 years in Lake County Ohio.

Very Grateful RI member,

Donald H.

Call for submissions!

Have you or someone you know dedicated 25 or more years to practicing the RI Method?

Help us honor our longtime members here in Members Corner! We are going to feature our long-serving heroes in each issue of the Reporter.

Send us:

  • A photo
  • A short description
    • What challenge/problem did RI solve for you?
    • What are your favorite spots?
    • Why would you recommend RI?
  • Highlight the meeting you attended (City, day, time and any leadership roles taken on)

Please also submit your Stories of Hope, Examples and local news for Roaming the Globe for the next Reporter.

Submission guidelines:

We would like thank all of our contributors, without whom the Recovery Reporter would not be possible. Before sending submissions, please read the following submission guidelines.

  • Please keep submissions as short as possible, roughly 3 paragraphs in length, which is approximately 300 words.
  • Please identify all submissions with first name and last name initial only, area number (if you know it), town, and state or country.
  • Photos: Please if possible submit clear photos whenever possible.
  • Please no bold or italics.
  • Please adhere to the deadlines for each issue.
  • When the volume of submissions exceeds our page limits, it may be unfortunately necessary to exclude some submissions.
  • Please send only submissions pertinent to the Recovery Reporter

PRIVACY: To protect the privacy and confidentiality of all members, please use only first name and the initial of the last name of people. Please be aware that the content you submit is NOT private because we cannot control how it is shared and therefore it may be accessible to the public.

The views and opinions expressed by authors of articles appearing in the Reporter are those of the author of those articles and they are not necessarily the views and opinions of Recovery International or anyone affiliated with Recovery International.

Email your submission  to editor@recoveryinternational.org.

Mailed items should be sent to Headquarters:

Recovery International
1415 W. 22nd St., Tower Floor
Oak Brook IL 60523

Reminder

If your email or address changes please be sure to notify us. If you are a Canadian member you should also notify Cindy H. at purple74@xplornet.com.

If you, or someone you know, is a paid member and isn’t receiving the Reporter, please let us know at info@recoveryinternational.org