Nancy Pun
Professor Alice Griffin
English 101
28 March 2015
Neurotics Anonymous The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that one in 10 adults in the United States struggles with depression and many millions of Americans struggle with various types of mental illnesses every year. Many seek help through therapy and medication which could be costly and in many cases not very effective. What is then the alternative for those who cannot afford that type of treatment or have gone through them and have not found a permanent solution for their mental or emotional disorders? There is an alternative called Neurotics Anonymous. Grover B. founder of Neurotics Anonymous had suffered from depression since he was a child and by age 21 have had 5 suicide attempts reason for which he became an alcoholic. He recovered from alcoholism and found a rich, full, happy life through the Alcoholics Anonymous Program and later became a clinical psychologist. He discovered that the AA Program would work applied directly to neurosis. Very soon, Grover got a chance to test his theory. He worked with a non-alcoholic, severely emotionally disturbed woman who got the Program and got well. She was N/A number one. Grover then started Neurotics Anonymous. Neurotics Anonymous uses the term "neurotic" to describe anyone whose mental or emotional illness interferes with their functioning to any degree. I have heard about the “Anonymous” groups and their famous 12-Steps Program for the treatment of any type of addiction, but never thought there could be a group that follows a 12-step model intended to help people struggling with these mental or emotional illnesses to heal. After some research and talking to a few friends that are members of Alcoholics Anonymous I was able to contact by phone a person who attended a Neurotics Anonymous group in Spanish; her name is Carmen. I called Carmen and told her that I was having some problems with depression and wanted to get some information about the program. I was expecting to get detailed information about the program, but instead, very nicely, Carmen said: “Whatever your emotional problem is, I can assure you will find a solution in Neurotics Anonymous, many of us did. We will be happy to answer all your questions when you come to one of our meetings. They are completely free and there are no requirements or conditions to attend. If you do not like what you hear, you are free to leave whenever you want”. She did not give me much of a choice, so I asked for the address and meeting schedule. I understood later on why she avoided giving me anymore information over the phone. I decided to attend a Thursday night meeting and, of course, I was not going to go alone, so I went through my list of friends looking for someone that could possibly need help and could benefit from the program and immediately my friend Sara came to mind. She often complained about feeling depressed and stressed, so I invited her and she accepted. I was nervous, after all, I was expecting to see many crazy people; it was a Neurotics Anonymous meeting. The name alone is a bit threatening and scary. We arrived about 10 minutes earlier. As we approached the door, we could hear talking and laughing. The smell of fresh brewed welcomed us into this clean, bright pastel green room. It looked a lot like a classroom. There were about 20 chairs lined up in 5 rows and about 3 or 4 people already sitting on them, a glass desk facing the chairs with a few books on top of it, a podium next to the desk, a white board with some writing on it on the wall and sitting behind the desk a skinny middle age dark hair lady. As soon as she saw us, she stood and cordially invited us in. “Come in” she said. “Is this your first time here?” she asked. “Yes” I responded. “Take a seat. The meeting will start in a few minutes”. As soon as we took a seat, a good looking man dressed in a suit offered us a cup of coffee or tea. As we sipped our coffee, a few
