PART III: Dealing with Stigma
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PHIL: In our last "conversation," Treasure, you said you would like to discuss the problem of the STIGMA. I can tell you that when Recovery first came into being, there was plenty of it around! Our early literature mentions stigma more than any other subject. In fact, I automatically capitalize every letter in the word because that was the way we always wrote it in those days.
Our motto in the early days of Recovery was, "Nobody shall be held responsible for the kind of illness he has contracted." Obviously, it deals directly with the idea of STIGMA. It occurs to me that in our yellow pamphlet (ed.note: an earlier version of our informational brochure ) we mention STIGMA only once. I think it's good to bring the subject out of mothballs and remind present day members of the pioneering efforts of Recovery to combat stigma when it was a real fact of life.
TREASURE: Even choosing the name of our organization was influenced by the STIGMA, wasn't it?
PHIL: Yes, and some of the names suggested at that time seem very amusing now. Because many of us had undergone shock treatment, some suggested we call ourselves "Shock Troops." Other names suggested were: "A-Stigmatism," "Sunrise Club," "Resurrection," "Stay Bright," "The Reconditioned," etc. Finally the name RECOVERY was adopted. It was felt that this was not too revealing, and yet, said very well what really happens to our members. In all correspondence, only the word "Recovery" appeared on the outside of the envelope. However, we did use the full name, "Recovery, Inc., The Association of Nervous and Former Mental Patients," on our letterhead.
TREASURE: It's clear just how far we have traveled in overcoming the STIGMA. Now, we boldly include the entire name of our organization on the cover of our yellow pamphlet while only mentioning STIGMA once. What a difference the years have made!
PHIL: That pamphlet cover has meant a lot to me. I think it definitely demonstrates that we now have respect for our former illnesses, rather than the shame and fear we once seemed to have.
TREASURE: Did Recovery do anything else in those early days to fight the STIGMA?
PHIL: We came up with many ideas which Dr. Low encouraged. One of our ideas was to try to get the commitment laws for mental patients changed. We carried out quite an extensive campaign. But, I guess we were ahead of our time--we were not successful. During our campaign, we had a speakers squad headed by Dr. Low that presented many talks before groups of people in the community. And, I think, we were successful in proving to ourselves and many others that the idea of the STIGMA was someday going to be passe. It was at this time that the demonstration panel, then conducted by Dr. Low, came into being.
TREASURE: I remember Dr. Low saying that if we would only speak frankly about our fears and symptoms in the Recovery group, we would demonstrate to ourselves that we have courage and would cease indicting our character. Also, that we would notice that no one is blaming or criticizing us for having weaknesses and shortcomings. He said that if we did this repeatedly we would be practicing the habit of fearlessness and would discard our habit of fearfulness.
PHIL: Yes, he pointed out that it would take only a minimum of courage to do this among Recovery people. Having taken that step, we could later transfer this practice to members of our own family and finally practice the same thing in wider and wider circles. The way he put it was that we would become conscious of a "self" that could be "displayed" without causing us embarrassment or a sense of shame, knowing that our fears are innocent symptoms rather than lack of character.
TREASURE: This is definitely another form of the STIGMA--the sense of shame that Recovery members often feel within themselves because of their illness. Very often, the family is also "infected" and this may contribute to this feeling of inner STIGMA. In our early literature, Dr. Low said that the patient has to be "immunized" and the family "disinfected." He added that systematic self-help brings immunity to the patient who can then often "disinfect" his own family.
PHIL: That's one of the real values of the Recovery method. Our self-help meetings provide the opportunity to speak frankly about having been in a mental hospital or having received psychiatric treatment. We can talk openly about our difficulty in holding jobs because of our illness, or our failure to take care of home and family and other obligations. Even the simple matter of stating our full name at a meeting may be practice for some of us to face the fact that we should not be ashamed of our illness.
TREASURE: Perhaps the hardest things to talk about are those symptoms which to us seem unique and even bizarre.
PHIL: Of course! This is basically what we have learned to recognize as fearful temper--the feeling that I AM WRONG--my body and my mind are wrong for being in disorder.
TREASURE: When we speak about these feelings with absolute frankness, and see that other Recovery members are not judging us as being wrong or different, we begin to exchange the belief, "I AM WRONG," for the belief, "I AM AVERAGE." Sometimes this change in beliefs can be very subtle--we hardly realize ourselves that we are changing. I recall an example given by a business executive that illustrates this point.
He was having a cup of coffee with some Recovery members and telling them that he had no STIGMA whatsoever. He said that he had always spoken frankly about his illness to anyone and everyone. Just as he was saying this, he picked up his coffee cup and noticed that his hand trembled. Quickly, he placed the cup back in the saucer so that no one would notice the tremor. As he did so, he spotted that he was trying to hide the nervous symptom--he did have STIGMA!
PHIL: Dr. Low, in the last paragraph on page 385 (ed.note: of the original edition of MHTWT) of Mental Health Through Will Training , brings out the fact that to feel stigmatized means to be tense, and that this tenseness creates pressure on the nervous system which may produce or revive symptoms. So, there is no question but that we must become aware of the various forms of STIGMA we may have, and that we must practice to bring about immunity through self-help and self-leadership.
TREASURE: In this article, we have tried to bring out the fact that Dr. Low felt that self-help and self-leadership are a good part of the answer for the nervous or former mental patient. In our next one, I would like to discuss with you just how Dr. Low developed the idea of self help.
PHIL: That sounds good to me, Treasure. Before we close this conversation I suggest that all of us endorse ourselves for the part we have played in helping to overcome the idea of the STIGMA that formerly surrounded nervous and mental disorders.
TREASURE: I second that motion! Just one more thing before we say goodbye for this time. Recently, at our meeting in Brighton, a member told the group that taking out membership in Recovery and reading The Reporter had helped her to overcome the feeling of isolation and uniqueness she formerly had because of her illness. The very fact that thousands of people all over the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico belonged to Recovery to improve their mental health, gave her a sense of freedom from the belief in the STIGMA.
PHIL: Isn't that great. It's just what we've been saying! Well, I guess that's it for now-- be "talking" with you in the next issue.
