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Promise # 12 of Depressed Anonymous

WE WOULD SUDDENLY REALIZE THAT GOD IS DOING FOR US WHAT WE COULD NOT DO FOR OURSELVES.” PROMISE  # 12 of 13 PROMISES  of THE DEPRESSED ANONYMOUS FELLOWSHIP.

We must be willing to let go of all thoughts that tell us that we will never get well. These are the same thoughts that have imprisoned us over the years. We now listen to the god of our understanding and proceed with the belief that what we hold about the world on the outside of us is determined and governed by the world that is lived within us.

We are in a brand new way, on a new path and find ourselves committed to a fresh belief that something powerful is starting to blossom within me. A peace that surpasses all understanding is beginning to be born as we learn  to relax and wait and listen for that still small voice. We let go, we surrender, and we relax and let it speak. We pray that the God of our understanding make a way out of this desert of misery just as it has already created a way for those of us who live in the fellowship. Our thoughts move inside us with light and peace.”

SOURCE: (c) I’ll do it when I feel better.(2014)   Hugh Smith. Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville. Pages 52-53.

Memories, mourning doves and childhood reveries.

Memories and mouning doves.

Today, this morning, I heard the mournful cooing of the dove. Every morning  when streets are quiet here at home, and the cooing of the dove begins at light of day  I am transported to my childhood home. This was decades ago. My home was part of a sleepy little community located in Southern Indiana. I  still remember the clip clop of the one horse ice wagon, which  would  bring  the coolness of a large block of ice to the waiting  icebox in the back of our home. The iceman would carry his burden on the  shoulder and use a large caliper shaped instrument to  carry his  frozen load.

These two memories stand out in my minds even today as I reminisce about my childhood and the very different environment that I faced then as  compared to the environment that surrounds me today,. Even today, the cooing of the dove takes me immediately back to the cooing of the doves these many decades ago. It  is a comforting sound. I feel transported the  peaceful street lined with its Oak and Hickory trees. The doves cooed until mid morning  and presented the only sounds of the early morning. Is it my own nostalgia of a childhood past, that brings all this to mind or is it the way our minds operate naturally? I know that sounds, smells and experiences of an earlier time, such as from childhood, remain with us way into  adulthood. Even the cooing of the mourning dove brings home to us an earlier day when peaceful pictures of our home  environment prompts a slide show of peace and comfort.

Are we, like the doves here today, are we mourning for a times past when things in our life were so different and much simpler?  And if depressed, do we wish somehow to return to those happier times when life was the way everyone  said it was supposed to be? A childhood filled with love, comforting relationships and all that.

I believe all of  us prefer that our lives would and could be free of the tyranny  that beset us today –namely the  pain of depression that has us down and in its clutches.  And we all wish we had a more comfortable way to escape this pain. For those of us  have used the 12 steps of Depressed Anonymous  recovery and who managed over time and with work to leave behind  the hurtful memories of the past –we  continue today  to hope for  ourselves rather than mourn the bleak days of the past.

SOURCE: Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition. (2011) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville.

 

 

 

 

Clarification of thought through journaling

AN AFFIRMATION

I see myself better when I write  down who I feel I am today.

” The simple act of writing something down is tremendously helpful, because to do so we have to bring something clearly to mind. Instead of having half-formed thoughts and confused emotions crashing and  fumbling around inside of us, we crystallize these thoughts and feelings into sentences. Once we put these sentences down on paper we have taken something from inside and put it outside.  Now we can look at it, judge it, and master it.”

CLARIFICATION OF THOUGHT

I am making every effort to get in  touch with who I am and I am taking the opportunity now to focus on what gets me down and what keeps me up. I am seeing, too, that the more I associate with people like myself who are following and working their program of recovery, the better I feel. I intend to journal or keep a diary of my good progress.

I know that the more I stay in my head the greater the confusion. It is only when I begin to see on paper my expressions of hope and confusion that I can begin to change some of my thoughts  which I find I am repeating to myself, day after day. I now can write down a new positive thought about myself. I can choose to feel whatever I choose.

MEDITATION

Our guiding love, our God as we understand God, is doing for us all that it desires to lavish on us today. I am hopeful that I can find my new path and grow stronger in learning the various ways to hear our Higher Power’s promptings.

 

SOURCE:  Copyright(c)  Higher Thoughts for down days: 365 daily  thoughts and meditations for members of 12 Step fellowship groups.(1993, 1999). Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville.  April 19th, pages 78-79.

THE LIFE REVIEW

Below is a line, divided into time segments, which you are asked to consider as representing various periods in  your life.

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Birth      10        15          20          25          30            35           40      45      50      55       60         65

Here are some questions that may help your meditation.

What moments on this line stand out in   sharpest detail to your memory?

What faces from your past can you see most clearly?

What voices can you hear most vividly? (From among your friends, your family, classmates, playmates , lovers, idols, rivals?)

Which of these did you trust the most?

Which of these did you want to be like the most?

Which were the events which molded or affected you the most deeply, positive or negatively?

Which were the experiences which molded or affected you most?

What were the scenes of your greatest sadness?

What were the scenes of your deepest joys?

What helped to preserve constancy in your life? (People who for example, lack of geographical movement, few deaths, crises, religions, faith,etc.)

 

SOURCE:  THE LIFE REVIEW. (c) The Three boxes of Life. Richard Bolles, Ten Speed Press. Berkeley CA  94707.

 

Spirituality spurs recovery from depression!

From: The National Institute for Healthcare Research., as quoted in the quarterly The Antidepressant Tablet, Volume 10.Number 2.

“A recent study in the American Journal of Psychiatry identified this often overlooked resource patients draw upon to help fend off depression–a deep religious commitment – that significantly reduced recovery times. Thus study focused on 85 patients hospitalized with serious medical illnesses who also became depressed. Among their battery  of tests, patients took the Hoge Intrinsic Religiousness  Scale which measures how deeply a person has internalized their religious values and faith.

Surprisingly, patients recovered from their depression 70 % faster for every 10 point increase on the Hoge Scale, which ranged from 10 to 50. This link held even when taking into account other factors that could speed up recovery including physical health…”

 

Comment

No surprise  here. I have  always believed that one’s belief in something or someone bigger than themselves has a powerful influence on  the outcome of  whatever one hopes for. And in this case,  I have personally  discovered how the 12 Step spiritual principles of recovery have helped me find a way out of my depression. It was the key that unlocked the prison door that held  me captive.

For more information on this subject please see  some of the following resources which will be helpful for your own recovery.

  1. (c) Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition. (2011) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville.
  2.  (c) Believing  is seeing: 15 ways to leave the  prison of depression. (2015) Depressed  Anonymous Publications.

3.   (c)  Depressed Once-Not Twice: The spiritual autobiographical  journey of the Founder of Depressed Anonymous out of depression. (2002)

And for more resources please VISIT THE STORE here at www.depressedanon.com

“I finally believe in myself.”

Depressed Anonymous is a spiritual journey, which makes you go  back into your past, find the rubbish there, and let it go.  Without the Depressed Anonymous group or a group like it, I don’t think I would function in a world as I know it. I thank God for the people who have the courage to come to the group. They will grow and learn. Thee is no easy way out. You don’t change overnight. You have just got to keep working at it. I have been in the trenches with nowhere to go. I find this very common in humans. Change is very tough for us. We would rather bear so much pain before we are willing to change. This black hole is a terrible thing. I wish no one would ever feel it. It is painful and nasty.

This is my short story. I was dead and I was out. I really couldn’t care at one time if I lived or died. Now I do.”

SOURCE: Copyright(c) Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition. (2011) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville. (Excerpt from Personal Stories: Bill has two degrees behind his name and he still got depressed. Pages 150-152.

This is just one of the many stories in Depressed Anonymous where persons depressed found what they were looking for in the fellowship–hope.

I just wanted to be left alone

“I had good friends at work – I am well educated – two degrees behind my name.  I wasn’t fulfilled. My world was falling apart. I left counseling after things went  better.  I had a major loss about two and a half years ago. I lost a job and then another job. I purchased a home. I lost my job and I lost my girl. Bills were too much.  I wanted to be left alone. The burden was too unreal.  Stress and anxiety were beating up on me. I didn’t want to get up in the morning. I just wanted to be left alone to be isolated and bored.  It was tough. I was nasty and mean.”

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Comment

How many of us have felt the way Bill felt? I bet most of us have felt this way. I have. But when you read the next part of Bill’s story tomorrow,  you’ll find out what he had to do to feel differently. And as you might suspect–he did find a way to feel better.

I remember  how it was when I was depressed. Getting out of bed was the biggest accomplishment of my day.  I had to force myself — I couldn’t afford to lose my job.

In time I discovered a way out. My recovery took time, work and support. I had the full support of my fellowship group, Depressed Anonymous. And now, 30 years later I still have the fellowship and all the necessary supports that I need to stay out of the prison of depression. If you are looking for an “easier and more comfortable way”  out of the quicksand of your depression–I hope you can find it. Most of us know it is not that easy. It’s a total body pain. It is analogous to having a tooth ache all over. A pain that won’t let up. For some, it turns into a life-threatening situation and ultimately the taking of one’s own life.

If there is  anything that I am most grateful for today it is the fact that I have found a powerful  program  with its 12 Steps and spiritual principles of complete recovery.  Our program comes with a complete set of “tools” provided for each and every one’s use. I have found, as does Bill now, that these “tools” are at my disposal every day of my life. By trying to live each day at a time, I have found my life is lived in the now. My life no longer is lived in the yesterdays or the future tomorrows.

NOTE

Put some sanity in your living today and read Bill’s whole account in DEPRESSED ANONYMOUS, 3rd edition. (2011) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville. (See Personal Stories).

WE ARE NOT VICTIMS

The FIFTEENTH WAY out of the prison of depression follows below. This is the last  chapter  excerpt from BELIEVING IS SEEING: 15 WAYS TO LEAVE THE PRISON OF DEPRESSION.

Depressed Anonymous believes that we are not to think of ourselves as “depressives” or permanent sufferers of depression. We believe that we can move out of our depression and help others out of their depression. To label ourselves as “depressives” is counterproductive  to our  own recovery.  We will not define ourselves solely by our painful and personal experience with depression: we are not victims.  We also believe that once you have worked your way through and out of depression that you will continue to receive our support and appreciation. You can continue your recovery by reaching out to those persons still suffering from their depression.”

BELIEVING IS SEEING: 15 WAYS TO LEAVE THE PRISON OF DEPRESSION. (2015) DEPRESSED ANONYMOUS PUBLICATIONS. LOUISVILLE.

I can begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel

“I believe that by working the 12 Steps of Depressed Anonymous, the more my Higher Power can release in me the serenity that I seek.  While not giving up hope – I can begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”  The FOURTEENTH WAY out of the prison of depression.

The following is an excerpt from Believing is  seeing: 15 ways to leave the prison of depression. (2015) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville.

 

“As long as I have a belief that somehow, someway, I will begin to feel differently and I can believe that Depressed Anonymous was developed to bring the ‘sufferer’s  of depression together. By this gathering of like-minded folks, it resulted in individuals being empowered to find a support which slowly leads them out of the hole.  I have always believed in the power and the uinfluence of the group — either serving as a power for good or a power designed for destructive ends. But as for our group Depressed Anonynmous, I know that it truly builds, enhances and strengthens anyone who gets involved with it on a regular and consistent basis.  Those who do interact with our fellowship eventually come out of the pit of their depression and start feeling hopeful about their lives.  They are feeling hope instead of despair. This is actually happening all the time as those involved in the fellowship begin to see personal changes occurring in their lives.”   Pages 65-66.

How do people change?

People change by facing themselves and discovering a process, a step by step process, where we begin to be aware of why we are the way we are. In THE  DEPRESSED ANONYMOUS WORKBOOK, a companion volume to DEPRESSED ANONMYMOUS,  3rd edition, (HOME STUDY PROGRAM)  we  will  find  answers on how to change.

We learn that depression distorted us from the truths of life, namely, that life is to be lived with hope and serenity. Nursing along a good habit can in time wean us from old and debilitating  habits of thought and behavior. We want to daily fill our day with the gratitude that we are indeed getting better and that the trust we have is indeed placed in the Higher Power.

In order for us to escape depression we need to begin to be aware of the process of how people change. That process is of a nature a spiral instead of a straight line. In other words, now we are willing to risk feeling differently and we have been gearing up to improve our situation. In other words we are making a very important decision right now about our lives.

  1. AWARENESS STAGE: We become conscious that we can’t go on feeling the way we do. Something has to give.
  2. MOTIVATING STAGE: I am going to prepare  myself for needed changes in my thinking, acting and feeling.
  3. DOING STAGE:   I am going to take charge and be responsible for positive changed that have to be made by me if I am to feel differently.
  4. MAINTAINING STAGE: I will continue to seek out and sustain my recovery with people, concepts and my personal working of the 12 Step program for recovery.

Now apply these  four stages which serve as antidotes to our character defects (ideas and habits which continue to make us feel sad). These defects of character cause us to stay imprisoned in our prison of depression.

In the days to follow we will examine  THE FOLLOWING THREE  issues which confront the daily lives of most of us when we are depressed.

(1) BLAMING ourselves and/or others for our problems.

(2) BEING A VICTIM.

(3) ANXIETY AND INNER JITTERINESS.

For those of you who desire a more complete approach to finding what depression is, what it does to our self esteem and ways to overcome our isolation and sadness, persons  depressed  have utilized the HOME STUDY PROGRAM.

THE DEPRESSED ANONYMOUS WORBOOK, with its question and answer format,  provides a pathway leading  to the road to serenity and community. You find that others just like yourself started where you are starting and found answers to why we have become depressed in the first place.  By the time you have worked out answers to all the questions posed by the author in the WORKBOOK you may discover your best self. And, isn’t that what we all are looking for?

With the WORKBOOK, there is the DEPRESSED ANONYMOUS Big Book, 3rd edition., which is coordinated with each Step in the WORKBOOK and provides a recovery process which will complement one’s own progress in working the program

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SOURCES:  (c)Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition. (2011) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville.

(c) The Depressed Anonymous Workbook. (2002) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville.

VISIT THE STORE, which lists all literature from DAP.,  and order online if you wish, the HOME STUDY PROGRAM.