Our Focus

"We believe these experiences are mad gifts needing cultivation and care, rather than diseases or disorders." (The Icarus Project)

CHAOS Recovery Management focuses on characteristics, not disorders. These characteristics have been present in all societies. Most had desirable evolutionary benefits; but while our lifestyles and cultures have changed, our brains have not.

Instead, we now have new names for old behavior:

• High-strung is now called hypomania
• Aggressive is now called abusive
• Obstinate and rebellious is now called oppositional-defiant
• Wired is now called hyperactivity
• Worry-warts are now suffering from general anxiety

The mental health field has taken what used to be called quirks or characteristics, grouped them together and called them disorders when in fact most of us fall on a continuum between possessing a little of the characteristic to possessing a lot.

Our focus is to help those with chaotic characteristics learn to manage their destructive features while embracing their positive ones. Accurate identification, careful planning and follow-through are the heart of CHAOS Recovery Management.