Neurotics Anonymous (N/A), founded in 1964, is a
twelve-step program
Twelve-step programs are international mutual aid programs supporting recovery from substance addictions, behavioral addictions and compulsions. Developed in the 1930s, the first twelve-step program, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), aided its members ...
for recovery from
mental and emotional illness. To avoid confusion with
Narcotics Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous (NA), founded in 1953, describes itself as a "nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem." Narcotics Anonymous uses a 12-step model developed for people with varied subst ...
(NA), Neurotics Anonymous is abbreviated N/A
or NAIL.
History
The conception of Neurotics Anonymous began with
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship of alcoholics dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually-inclined Twelve Step program. Following its Twelve Traditions, AA is non-professi ...
(AA) co-founder
Bill W
William Griffith Wilson (November 26, 1895 – January 24, 1971), also known as Bill Wilson or Bill W., was the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA).
AA is an international mutual aid fellowship with about two million members worldwide b ...
. After achieving
sobriety
Sobriety is the condition of not having any measurable levels or effects from alcohol or drugs. Sobriety is also considered to be the natural state of a human being at birth. A person in a state of sobriety is considered sober. Organizations o ...
Bill continued to suffer from
neurosis
Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving chronic distress, but neither delusions nor hallucinations. The term is no longer used by the professional psychiatric community in the United States, having been eliminated from th ...
, specifically
depression. In letters to other AA members he wrote about his personal experience with neurosis, its prevalence in AA, and how he and others learned to
cope
The cope (known in Latin as ''pluviale'' 'rain coat' or ''cappa'' 'cape') is a liturgical vestment, more precisely a long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colours, litu ...
with it. Bill expressed that as he learned to let go of his dependence on people and situations for emotional security and replaced that dependence with "showing outgoing love as best as he could," his depression began to subside.
In correspondence with another AA member about neurosis and
psychoanalyst
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: + . is a set of Theory, theories and Therapy, therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a bo ...
Karen Horney
Karen Horney (; ; 16 September 1885 – 4 December 1952) was a German psychoanalyst who practised in the United States during her later career. Her theories questioned some traditional Freudian views. This was particularly true of her theories of ...
Bill suggested how a Neurotics Anonymous fellowship might operate.
In a subsequent letter to Ollie in June 1956, Bill suggested the inventory of psychic damages include
inferiority
In psychology, an inferiority complex is an intense personal feeling of inadequacy, often resulting in the belief that one is in some way deficient, or inferior, to others.
According to Alfred Adler, a feeling of inferiority may be brought ab ...
,
shame
Shame is an unpleasant self-conscious emotion often associated with negative self-evaluation; motivation to quit; and feelings of pain, exposure, distrust, powerlessness, and worthlessness.
Definition
Shame is a discrete, basic emotion, d ...
,
guilt
Guilt may refer to:
*Guilt (emotion), an emotion that occurs when a person feels that they have violated a moral standard
*Culpability, a legal term
*Guilt (law), a legal term
Music
*Guilt (album), ''Guilt'' (album), a 2009 album by Mims
*Guilt ( ...
and
anger
Anger, also known as wrath or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat.
A person experiencing anger will often experience physical effects, su ...
. He added that the effectiveness of the inventory would come from reliving the experiences and sharing them with other people.
Neurotics Anonymous was created eight years later, February 3, 1964 in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
by Grover Boydston
(August 16, 1924 - December 17, 1996). Grover was an AA member, recovering
alcoholic
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...
,
psychologist
A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...
, and
Ed.M. Grover had attempted
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
five times before the age of 21 and, like Bill W., was neurotic.
Grover believed members of twelve-step programs shared the same underlying neuroses caused by
self-centeredness,
a view expressed in other twelve-step programs.
Grover went as far as to say, "All of us are, indeed, brothers, and the variations in detail are no more than if one of us likes
chocolate
Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...
ice cream
Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...
, and the other likes
vanilla
Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia'').
Pollination is required to make the p ...
."
While in AA, Grover discovered working the
Twelve Steps
Twelve-step programs are international mutual aid programs supporting recovery from substance addictions, behavioral addictions and compulsions. Developed in the 1930s, the first twelve-step program, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), aided its members ...
helped remove the neuroses underlying his alcoholism. As an experiment Grover instructed a woman who suffered from neurosis, but not alcoholism, to work the
Twelve Steps
Twelve-step programs are international mutual aid programs supporting recovery from substance addictions, behavioral addictions and compulsions. Developed in the 1930s, the first twelve-step program, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), aided its members ...
. He discovered that they aided her recovery from neurosis as well. He wrote Alcoholics Anonymous World Services for permission to use their
Twelve Steps
Twelve-step programs are international mutual aid programs supporting recovery from substance addictions, behavioral addictions and compulsions. Developed in the 1930s, the first twelve-step program, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), aided its members ...
with the word "alcohol" in the First Step replaced with "our emotions." Permission was granted.
Grover placed an ad in a
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
newspaper for Neurotics Anonymous, and organized the first meeting from those who responded to it.
N/A grew modestly until an article was published on it in ''
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...
'' magazine.
The
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
and
United Press International
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...
republished the story, and N/A groups began forming internationally.
By 1974 the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM; latest edition: DSM-5-TR, published in March 2022) is a publication by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for the classification of mental disorders using a common langua ...
, at the time in second edition (DSM-II), was undergoing revision. The framework developed for the third edition (DSM-III) was no longer based on
psychoanalytic
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might be ...
principles such as neurosis.
The connotation of neurosis in common language also began to change. "Neurosis" was being used, increasingly, in a facetious or
pejorative
A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...
sense, rather than a diagnostic sense. These combined factors could make it difficult to take an organization known as Neurotics Anonymous seriously.
In current Neurotics Anonymous literature, there is not a scientific definition ascribed to neurosis. As used in N/A, a neurotic is defined as any person who accepts that he or she has emotional problems.
Demographics
Grover Boydston conducted the first demographic study of Neurotics Anonymous in 1974.
Such studies are rare and samples sizes are usually small as any group following the
Twelve Traditions
The Twelve Traditions of twelve-step programs provide guidelines for relationships between the twelve-step groups, members, other groups, the global fellowship, and society at large. Questions of finance, public relations, donations, and purpose ar ...
is required to protect the anonymity of their members. While researching such groups is still ethically possible, it is more difficult given this constraint.
* Age: Boydston's study found the average age of N/A members surveyed to be 43.02 years. A study six years later of self-help groups for people with serious mental illness, found the average age to be 35.3 years.
*Attendance and Tenure: Of the N/A members surveyed Boydston found they attended, on average, six meetings per month and had spent an average of 2.37 years in N/A. N/A had existed for approximately ten years at the time of the survey.
*Employment and socioeconomic status: Boydston categorized the occupations of N/A members into four categories.
:#''Professionals'' – Includes people who practice a profession that is so considered by scientific, academic, business, and other people. It includes
physicians
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
,
lawyers
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicitor, ...
,
engineers
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...
,
nurses
Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ca ...
,
college and university instructors. These represented 38% of the members surveyed.
:#''Clerical persons'' – Includes people who perform office work or
sales
Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale.
The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in r ...
work according to the classification of "
clerical
Clerical may refer to:
* Pertaining to the clergy
* Pertaining to a clerical worker
* Clerical script, a style of Chinese calligraphy
* Clerical People's Party
See also
* Cleric (disambiguation)
Cleric is a member of the clergy.
Cleric may a ...
." These represented 32% of the members surveyed.
:#''Homemakers'' – A person who takes care of a home as his or her main work. These represented 16% of the members surveyed.
:#''Other'' – Includes students and people who do not fit into the three previous categories. These represented 32% of the members surveyed.
:According to Boydston's results at least 70% of N/A members were employed. This is similar to a specific study of Emotions Anonymous that found most of the members were
middle class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...
.
Other studies of self-help groups for people with serious mental illness found most of the members tend to be unemployed,
while others found members to be predominantly
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
.
* Ethnicity: Boydston's study, and all similar studies in the literature have found that the majority of members in N/A and other self-help groups for people with serious mental illness in the United States are
white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
.
*Hospitalization: Boydston's study of N/A members found that 42% percent had been hospitalized for psychiatric reasons. More recent studies have shown that in self-help groups for serious mental illness approximately 60% (55–75%) of members had been hospitalized for psychiatric reasons.
* Marital Status: In Boydston's study of N/A members he found 25% were
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
, 48% were currently
married
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
, 22% were
divorced
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
and 5% were
widow
A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died.
Terminology
The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word ...
ed. This finding has not been replicated in studies of similar groups where it was found most members had never been married.
* Religion: Boydston's survey included not only religious affiliation, but also included a measure of
religiosity
In sociology, the concept of religiosity has proven difficult to define. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests: "Religiousness; religious feeling or belief. ..Affected or excessive religiousness". Different scholars have seen this concept as b ...
. Of the N/A members surveyed he found 24% identified as
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, 47% identified as
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
, 9% identified as
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, and 19% did not consider themselves religious. Additionally, only 19% of members identified themselves as "very religious", 42% identified themselves as moderately religious, and 39% identified themselves as "not very religious".
* Specific disorders (neuroses): Boydston's survey contained an open-ended question asking about the "main complaints" N/A members came to the program with. He summarized them in a list of twelve. Listed below are his results, in order from the highest to lowest percentage of members reporting them. Members often presented with more than one complaint.
:#
Depression (58%)
:#
Anxiety
Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...
(32%)
:#
Fear
Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...
s (23%)
:# Problems in
relationships (18%)
:#
Psychosomatic pains (14%)
:#
Confusion
In medicine, confusion is the quality or state of being bewildered or unclear. The term "acute mental confusion" (13%)
- No desire to live (11%)
- Inability to cope (9%)
-
Nervousness
Nervous may refer to:
* nervousness
* Nervous system, a network of cells in an animal's body that coordinates movement and the senses
** Nervous tissue, the cells of the nervous system that work in aggregate to transmit signals
Music
* "Nervous" ...
(7%)
-
Loneliness
Loneliness is an unpleasant emotional response to perceived isolation. Loneliness is also described as social paina psychological mechanism which motivates individuals to seek social connections. It is often associated with a perceived lack ...
(6%)
- Feelings of hopelessness (5%)
-
Hate
Hatred is an intense negative emotional response towards certain people, things or ideas, usually related to opposition or revulsion toward something. Hatred is often associated with intense feelings of anger, contempt, and disgust. Hatred is s ...
(3%)
* Sex: Boydston's study of N/A members found approximately 36% were male, and 64% were female. This ratio, of two (or more) females for every male, has been reproduced in all other studies of self-help groups for persons with serious mental illness,
as well as specific studies of
Emotions Anonymous
Emotions Anonymous (EA) is a twelve-step program for recovery from mental and emotional illness. there were approximately 300 Emotions Anonymous groups active in the United States and another 300 around the world.
History
Marion Flesch (July ...
groups.
Previous treatments
The tables below are the percentages of members who received the listed treatments before joining N/A. The data is taken from Boydston's 1974 study of N/A members. The treatments mentioned in this table represent those that were available in 1974 and earlier.
Psychotherapies
Drugs taken
Somatic therapies
Mexico City
In 1988 the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
estimated that 89 percent of
Mexico City's population was in a crisis they described as "psychological and very severely emotional". It is estimated that 15% of the
workforce
The workforce or labour force is a concept referring to the Pooling (resource management), pool of human beings either in employment or in unemployment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single types of companies, company or ...
in Mexico City are
alcoholics
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...
. In Mexico City, alcoholism is ten times more prevalent in men than in women (the disparity increases in rural areas) and
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship of alcoholics dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually-inclined Twelve Step program. Following its Twelve Traditions, AA is non-professi ...
groups are predominantly male. The Mexican government funds a hot line staffed by volunteers from N/A to counsel people in crisis by phone.
Neurotics Anonymous (Neuróticos Anónimos) groups in Mexico, like the groups in the United States, are predominantly female. The connotation of the word "neurotic", however, is different. Anyone who openly expresses
anger
Anger, also known as wrath or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat.
A person experiencing anger will often experience physical effects, su ...
is considered neurotic. For example, a wife who frequently scolds her husband or children is neurotic and can be treated in N/A. While men can be neurotic it is considered to be mostly a female affliction, usually developed in response to male alcoholic behavior.
Al-Anon
Al-Anon Family Groups, founded in 1951, is an international mutual aid organization for people who have been impacted by another person's alcoholism. In the organization's own words, Al-Anon is a "worldwide fellowship that offers a program of rec ...
groups in Mexico City are also predominantly female, but many women attend N/A to deal with their husband's alcoholism.
A study of Neurotics Anonymous members in the
Xochimilco
Xochimilco (; nci, Xōchimīlco, ) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') of Mexico City. The borough is centered on the formerly independent city of Xochimilco, which was established on what was the southern shore of Lake Xochimilco in the ...
borough of the Mexican Federal District found members presented with a
heterogeneous
Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts often used in the sciences and statistics relating to the uniformity of a substance or organism. A material or image that is homogeneous is uniform in composition or character (i.e. color, shape, siz ...
composition of problems and disorders (including
depression,
suicidal ideation
Suicidal ideation, or suicidal thoughts, means having thoughts, ideas, or ruminations about the possibility of ending one's own life.World Health Organization, ''ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics'', ver. 09/2020MB26.A Suicidal ideatio ...
,
obsessions
"Obsessions" is the second single from the album '' A New Morning'' by Suede, released on 18 November 2002 through Columbia Records.
Background
Though the single was another disappointment on the charts, reaching only 29 on the UK Singles Chart ...
,
anxiety
Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...
, sexual problems and
somatic disorders). Most members were between 20 and 40 years old (73%) and were predominantly female (87%); coinciding with established social roles in the culture that men are alcoholics and women suffer from depression and other emotional problems. All members in the sample had average or below average levels of income. While members worked on average 2.5 hours per day and 87% were satisfied with the amount of time spent working per day (as it allowed them more time to participate in the group) 87% were also dissatisfied with their
economic security
Economic security or financial security is the condition of having stable income or other resources to support a standard of living now and in the foreseeable future. It includes:
* probable continued solvency
* predictability of the future cash fl ...
.
Criticism
: ''For more details on this topic, see
Self-help groups for mental health: Criticism''
N/A members in
Comalapa (a municipality in
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
) believe X-ray images (''radiografías'') can serve as a moral diagnostic revealing information about the intent and
mores
Mores (, sometimes ; , plural form of singular , meaning "manner, custom, usage, or habit") are social norms that are widely observed within a particular society or culture. Mores determine what is considered morally acceptable or unacceptable ...
of those being examined. There is, however, no evidence that they are deliberately attempting to mislead other members. Americans had similar misunderstandings of X-ray technology when it was first introduced in the United States.
Increasing deviant stigma
Sociologist
Edward Sagarin
Edward Sagarin (September 18, 1913 – June 10, 1986), also known by his pen name Donald Webster Cory, was an American professor of sociology and criminology at the City University of New York, and a writer. His book ''The Homosexual in America: ...
noted that alcoholics and addicts are considered
deviants because their behavior is socially
labeled as deviant. Meaning chronic substance abuse is seen as deviant, while being
sober
In cryptography, SOBER is a family of stream ciphers initially designed by Greg Rose of QUALCOMM Australia starting in 1997. The name is a contrived acronym for ''S''eventeen ''O''ctet ''B''yte ''E''nabled ''R''egister. Initially the cipher wa ...
or "clean" is normal. For an alcoholic or addict, joining groups such as AA or NA immediately reduces their deviant
stigma, regardless of whether or not the alcoholic or addict believes it does.
There is no similar clear cut language to label the deviance of those in N/A, in the act of joining members label themselves as deviant and take on stigma by identifying as one of those in the group afflicted with the problems of the other members. Initially joining the group may prove to be more ego damaging than ego reinforcing, regardless of whether or not the group helps them overcome their problems. Therefore,
social stigma
Social stigma is the disapproval of, or discrimination against, an individual or group based on perceived characteristics that serve to distinguish them from other members of a society. Social stigmas are commonly related to culture, gender, rac ...
would attract alcoholics and addicts to groups like AA and NA. It would, however, become a barrier preventing people from joining groups such as N/A.
In contrast, those with severe mental illness may have acquired stigma through professional labels and diagnoses as well as through other behaviors associated with their mental illness defined as deviant. This stigma may not be as easily understood as alcoholism or addiction because the behavior is more varied and can not be explained by substance use.
The objective of NA and AA is not just to help their members stop abusing drugs and alcohol. It is acknowledged in these programs that addiction is more systemic than a "bad habit" and is fundamentally caused by
self-centeredness. Long term membership in Alcoholics Anonymous has been found to reform
pathological narcissism, and those who are sober but retain characteristics of
personality disorders
Personality disorders (PD) are a class of mental disorders characterized by enduring maladaptive patterns of behavior, cognition, and inner experience, exhibited across many contexts and deviating from those accepted by the individual's culture ...
associated with addiction are known in AA as "
dry drunk
Dry drunk is a colloquial expression that describes an alcoholic who no longer drinks but otherwise maintains the same behavior patterns of an alcoholic. The objective of groups such as Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is not ...
s."
Effectiveness
Neurotics Anonymous developed the
Test of Mental and Emotional Health' as a tool to help members evaluate their progress.
It is a fifty question test, with each answer rated on a three level
Likert scale
A Likert scale ( , commonly mispronounced as ) is a psychometric scale commonly involved in research that employs questionnaires. It is the most widely used approach to scaling responses in survey research, such that the term (or more fully the ...
. Possible scores range from zero to one hundred. Higher scores are thought to indicate better mental and emotional health.
In Boydston's survey of N/A members, when asked if they had received help through the program, 100% of those surveyed said "yes."
Boydston claimed N/A had similar results to AA in terms of recovery — 50% with a desire to stop drinking do so, 25% recover after one or more relapses, but most of the other 25% never successfully recover.
Literature
From 1965 to 1980 Neurotics Anonymous published a
mimeographed
A mimeograph machine (often abbreviated to mimeo, sometimes called a stencil duplicator) is a low-cost duplicating machine that works by forcing ink through a stencil onto paper. The process is called mimeography, and a copy made by the proce ...
quarterly periodical, the ''Journal of Mental Health'' ().
This should not be confused with the newer journal of the same name that began publishing in 1992 (). Early in the development of N/A they used ''Alcoholics Anonymous'' (the so-called ''Big Book'')
and the ''Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions'',
the two fundamental books of the Alcoholics Anonymous program. While reading out loud at meetings, members changed instances of the word "alcoholic" to "neurotic." Passages in the book referring specifically to drinking were ignored.
Eventually, N/A began creating books from articles published in the ''Journal of Mental Health.'' There were three such books published in English.
*
*
*
The N/A organizations in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
use translations of the English literature as well as literature written by groups in their area.
Parallel organization
A
registered charity
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good).
The legal definition of a ch ...
, known as Neurotics Anonymous and located in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, was created in the late 1960s by John Oliver Yates. Yates was prompted to create the groups after trauma he had suffered from a car accident that left him completely blind. Group membership was open to anyone, although it was recommended for people who had a nervous illness severe enough to require hospitalization. This charity differed from conventional twelve-step programs in several ways. There was a nominal fee charged for membership. Meetings opened with a discussion of outside issues, such debate on social, political or cultural topics. The debate was followed by a personal problem forum where members brought their problems to Yates for initial comment followed by a presentation for group discussion.
See also
*
Emotions Anonymous
Emotions Anonymous (EA) is a twelve-step program for recovery from mental and emotional illness. there were approximately 300 Emotions Anonymous groups active in the United States and another 300 around the world.
History
Marion Flesch (July ...
*
GROW
*
List of twelve-step groups
This is a list of Wikipedia articles about specific twelve-step recovery programs and fellowships. These programs, and the groups of people who follow them, are based on the set of guiding principles for recovery from addictive, compulsive, or ...
*
Recovery International
Recovery International (formerly Recovery, Inc., often referred to simply as Recovery or RI) is a mental health self-help organization founded in 1937 by neuropsychiatrist Abraham Low in Chicago, Illinois. Recovery's program is based on self-cont ...
(formerly Recovery, Inc.)
*
Self-help groups for mental health
Self-help groups for mental health are voluntary associations of people who share a common desire to overcome mental illness or otherwise increase their level of cognitive or emotional wellbeing. Despite the different approaches, many of the psycho ...
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Recovery model
The recovery model, recovery approach or psychological recovery is an approach to mental disorder or substance dependence that emphasizes and supports a person's potential for recovery. Recovery is generally seen in this model as a personal journey ...
References
External links
Neurotics Anonymousin the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
Neurotics Anonymousin
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
Neurotics Anonymousin
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
Neurotics Anonymousin
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
Neurotics Anonymousin
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
Neurotics Anonymous channelon
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
* {{worldcat id, id=lccn-n78-52486, name=Neurotics Anonymous
Mental health support groups
Organizations established in 1964
Psychiatric rehabilitation
Twelve-step programs