Belief, Exercise

Mastery is what we regain

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KEEP PHYSICALLY FIT!  IT IS A MUST FOR US WHO ARE AND WHO HAVE BEEN DEPRESSED. MY WALKING NOT ONLY RESTORES HARMONY TO THE BODY BUT IT RESTORES MY SELF-ESTEEM AND SELF-CONFIDENCE.

THE SIXTH WAY TO LEAVE THE PRISON OF DEPRESSION: AN EXCERPT

“One of the major areas to remember when someone says that they are depressed is to recommend that they get some physical exercise. So many times when we find that we are depressed, feel listless and lacking energy we tend to recoil from any activity that attempts to force us out of our isolation and inactivity.  At one time in our lives, any task or type of activity, even the smallest might have been cause for happiness and a continual life of productivity. When we are depressed , we just want to lie down and sleep. We feel that we have no mastery over our life, thoughts and future. What  we forget is that this is the nature of depression. We believe that there is no use in getting active because we just can’t get the energy to  attempt anything that requires  positive response. No use to get active –I won’t like what I am going to do anyway.  When we are depressed we know that our body’s  metabolism slows down and we lose interest in almost all those hobbies and activities previous to our depression,  which brought us happiness.

Mastery is what we regain when we force ourselves to get out of bed, get going and start an exercise program on a regular basis.” (Our lives might depend on it).

SOURCE: Copyright(c) Believing is seeing: 15 ways to leave the prison of depression. (2014) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville. Pages 33-36.

12 Step Meeting, Acceptance, DA Literature, Depressed Anonymous, Depressed Anonymous Workbook, Higher Power

We can feel a change happening…

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THE FIFTH WAY OUT OF THE PRISON OF DEPRESSION: AN EXCERPT

“Remember that an oak tree was once an acorn –recovery begins by taking one step at a time as well as reading DEPRESSED ANONYMOUS literature and regularly participating in the meetings.”

How often do we meet people in the program who want the quick fix, the easy way out, the feeling getter -now! But just as it might have taken years for the person to learn how to get themselves  depressed, it will take time and work to start to feel better. I do believe that all good growth in nature is gradual and that if we want the good growth to continue, we need to follow certain steps  to make sure this growth will continue. One of the first things that we want to do is to admit, like any  thing, person or substance to which we are attached/addicted to,  which we cannot free ourselves from the attachment by will power alone. We ask our Higher Power, this  power greater than ourselves, to free  us. We begin our recovery by meeting with our local Depressed Anonymous group and admit by our presence that we want to change.  We are dissatisfied where we are now and decide to work on ourselves so that we will feel better. By our taking one step at a time we can feel a change happening. Many people have  been depressed for years-they are in so much pain that they want relief now. The members of the group are taking full responsibility for their feelings, moods and behavior.

If you want some inspiring stories of persons who have freed themselves from the deadly grip of depression and isolation, please read their stories  in DEPRESSED ANONYNMOUS, 3rd edition. (2011) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville. Pages 110-152.

THE  HOME STUDY PROGRAM: Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition is combined with another publication The Depressed Anonymous Workbook (2002). These two separate publications provide an individual with an opportunity to further their recovery on their own, with the possibility of getting a Depressed Anonymous  mutual aid group started in their own community. The best help for ourselves is in helping others.

Please VISIT THE STORE to discover  a plentiful resource for books dealing with depression and our 12 Step recovery program, Depressed Anonymous.

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No longer am I alone in my depression

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The FOURTH WAY to leave the prison of depression: An excerpt.

No longer am I alone in my depression. I can now see that it is up to me to form new friendships with others in the fellowship of the Depressed Anonymous group.  I have found persons who understand me and my problems.  I also learn coping skills and new positive behaviors from my fellow group members.

One of the best things about belonging to a Depressed Anonymous group is that a person will find support and acceptance there. Frequently those persons who begin  to work the 12 step program begin to realize that instead of wanting to stay isolated and sad,  it’s the acceptance that they receive in the Depressed Anonymous group that keeps them coming back to the meetings. Another reason people keep coming back to the group is that members of the group place no conditions on you or judgments when you join the group.

They love you and accept you just the way you are,. That’s pretty neat I’d say.

For more on the FOURTH WAY to leave the prison of depression is to read further (Pages 21-28) in BELIEVING IS SEEING: 15 WAYS TO LEAVE THE PRISON OF DEPRESSION. DEPRESSED ANONYMOUS PUBLICATIONS. LOUISVILLE.  

Belief, Depressed Anonymous Workbook, Faith, Fellowship, Higher Power, Journaling, Mutual Aid, The 12 Steps

We Trust Our Newfound Beliefs

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THE THIRD WAY TO LEAVE THE PRISON OF DEPRESSION : AN EXCERPT

“We trust others by sharing our recent episodes of loss/sadness while at the same time sharing our hopes and strengths.  We trust our newfound positive beliefs for getting  ourselves out of the prison of depression.

Many of us won’t allow ourselves to trust anyone. We are so distrustful of ourselves that we cannot trust ourselves to feel. The painful hollowness of depression is such that we can’t allow it to be felt.  It is only among our brothers and sisters in the 12 step group that we can share our hurts and deep pain of being isolated. When we hear other members share their stories of hurt and isolation we know that we are not alone. We gradually begin to trust ourselves to touch our own nerves of pain and hurts. We trust the nurturing and accepting atmosphere of the fellowship of Depressed Anonymous to take part of our hurt and help carry us along. Every time we share a hurt from our own past we remove one more brick out of our prison wall of depression. The more we find that our trust is validated by the continual acceptance from the group, the more energy we muster up for ourselves to continue trusting our deepest thought and feelings to others. No longer do we take refuge in the numbed comfort of our isolating sadness. Now we walk upright and begin making choices on how we want to feel, think an believe.  We no longer live our lives in isolation and disconnected from others.  Now we join in the mutual  fray of battling depression with all our new friends on the broad road of healing.”

——————

SOURCES: Copyright(c) Believing is seeing: 15 ways to leave the prison of depression. (2014) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville. Pages 15-16.

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

VISIT THE STORE for more literature on the subjects of depression and the 12 steps of recovery.

 

12 Step Meeting, DA Literature, Depressed Anonymous, Depressed Anonymous Workbook, Fellowship, Step 01, The 12 Steps

Just Get On Base!

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These few words are ones that all base ball players hear when they go to bat. “Just get on base.” If a team is to win the game they must get on base. They have to be able to score at home plate and rack up points needed to win the game.

In our world, we know that to recover from any problem, disaster or misfortune, we have to get back on our feet and get to work. The longer we wait to get the help we need the longer will we suffer with whatever ails us. In my own life, I know that this to be true. When I started to slide slowly down that slippery slope of sadness, I could feel, in an analogous way, my feet slipping out from under me. I was losing control. It was when I finally lost all control and could no longer get up the energy to do anything-except force myself to go to work- that I got on base. If I was to win this battle then I had to do something. It was when I admitted to myself that I was losing  it that I did something to help myself.

Because of my involvement in another 12 Step program of recovery I now knew that I had to admit that I was in trouble, physically, emotionally and every other  way. So, with the urgency that my situation demanded,  I got on base and started to walk miles every  day  I had to shake off this inner hollowness and jitteriness  that had my whole existence in its teeth. By remembering the 1st Step of the program, that “We admitted   that we were powerless over depression and that our lives had become unmanageable.” Yes, my life was more than just unmanageable-I was  totally frozen in place. I could only think about me-what was happening to me? It was a brand new experience and totally foreign to me.   I always was “in control”   and now I was totally “out of control.” Something else was running my life. I felt like the proverbial prisoner locked down in the small confining cell of my despair.

To cut to the chase here, I finally got back to a feeling of lightness in my spirit, after having  walked miles for weeks. By admitting that I couldn’t go on the way I was, I made the  choice to do something.- get on  base (work the Steps of the program of recovery). With the help of my belief in a  Higher Power, God as I understand God, I finally got moving and got better. It was slow process of recovery but it worked.

I want everyone to know who is reading this now and feeling alone that there is hope for you too. It does take time and it takes work-there  are no magic wands waved over our head and presto! we are back on the playing field of life again. No, it takes time, work and a day by day, Step by Step  program of taking care of ourselves coupled with the belief that I too can get better. With that attitude you will not only get on base but you can win the game.

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NOTE: If you would like to start your own program of recovery  having a roadmap out of your own prison of depression it would do you well to read the  Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition Manual and the Depressed Anonymous  Workbook. These two excellent sources of self help are published by Depressed Anonymous  Publications and titled the HOME STUDY KIT.

To learn more about the helpful publications offered please VISIT THE STORE at this website, DEPRESSEDANON.COM.  You will be glad that you did.

Belief, Step 02, Step 03, The 12 Steps

I accepted that God, as the God of my understanding…

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The Second way out of the prison of our depression states that “I accepted that God, the God of my understanding is loving and forgiving. The 12 Step group and our God is the pillar  of our strength and healing.

LIVING A HALF-LIFE

In depression the first thing that we must do is to take charge of our lives and incorporate a planned pleasant activity in our lives. If I don’t, I will continue to linger on  alone and live a half-life. Nothing beyond my reach can absorb my pain of isolation and feeling worthless.

This is especially true for many of us in mid-life where the dreams we once thought possible  remains stillborn. We seem to have  lost the time to do something positive with our lives. We feel stuck. I want to get involved with a fellowship of persons who  are learning new ways of living with a sense of purpose. We want to live our lives with hope. Step  Two of Depressed Anonymous states that “we came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”  We will “let go and let God.” P.11.

Check the menu here  at our site and discover if there is a Depressed Anonymous group in your community.

SOURCE: Copyright(c) Believing is seeing: 15 ways to leave the prison of depression.(2014) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville.

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15 ways to leave behind the agony of depression

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Coupled with the  12 spiritual principles (Steps)  of Depressed Anonymous  I have recently put together  15 ways which can provide  hope and inspiration.

These 15 ways are now grouped together in our latest work, published by Depressed Anonymous Publications,  appropriately titled,  Believing is seeing: 15 ways to leave the prison of depression.

For today and  days following,  I would like to share with you here,  excerpts  of   passages  from each of the 15 Ways contained in this work. So, let’s get started now with a short excerpt  from the 1st Way.

The 1st Way says  that “We accept and believe that however hopeless  everything appears right now, we will recover from our depression.”

“We know that this belief is one of the most important beliefs  that we can hang onto as we move through the painful experience of depression. I have spent decades working directly with depressed individuals and their families. Also, by my own active participation in the 12 Step recovery program of Depressed Anonymous,  I know that those persons who keep coming back to meeting after meeting , week after week, usually get better.

Often  persons depressed give up the hope of feeling different. They can’t believe that they have the hope of feeling different. They can’t believe that they have the power to change the way they feel. They don’t believe that they have a choice either to get well or remain locked in  the prison of their depression. This is why this belief coupled with the First Step of Depressed Anonymous, a Twelve Step mutual aid group, has a positive impact one’s personal belief about the recovery process. The First Step of Depressed Anonymous states “We admitted that we were powerless over depression and that our lives had become unmanageable.” Pages 1-2.

For eight more pages we begin to learn about how our beliefs and actions together can  chip away at the walls of the depression that imprison us.  This chapter, begins to give us the power, together  with the remaining 14 Ways   packed with hope,  providing us with that power to a life lived with purpose and meaning.  Our lives no longer are that which keep us struggling   through  day .after day, month after month.

If you would like to know more about this positive work  Believing is seeing and other  literature, helpful for the depressed,  check out our resources at VISIT THE STORE. Also, at the MENU located at the beginning of our site DEPRESSED ANONYMOUS, you are able to download  information about who we are and what we are about. This is especially helpful if you need handouts for your newly formed Depressed Anonymous group.

SOURCE: Believing is seeing: 15 ways to leave the prison of depression. (2014) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville.Pages 1-2.

 

Mindfulness

It’s time to Bloom!

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It’s definitely Spring.  Here in Kentucky, USA,  everything is suddenly turning green. The tulips, the daffodils, jonquils and the trees are all budding.

“Spring can only start in my mind and today I want to be a beautiful flower. I will visualize myself growing tall and bright and filled with God’s most beautiful colors. Go out and smell the roses. Don’t get stuck in the prison of your grey  colored depression.

“One of the reasons I am depressed is because I have made this an absolute belief of mine, namely., “Since bad things happened to me in the past and only bad things will happen to me in the future.” Dorothy Rowe

CLARIFICATION OF THOUGHT

Now that I am working on myself and admitting that I have work to do, beginning  some house cleaning on myself, I am beginning to hope and see a light at  the end of the tunnel. I also believe that I will begin to feel better the more I attend my Depressed Anonymous meetings and /or work my Home Study Program of Depressed Anonymous. I also will be attentive to how other people in the 12 Step program are  working out their healing, one day, one hour at a time..

The future is now. The future is where I live right now. The future now is the yesterday tomorrow. I am making my future now.

I no longer believe that only bad things will happen to me in the future, because now I hear how people who once were ready to give up on life now speak of how they have found a hope in the fellowship of Depressed Anonymous and are getting better, one day at as time.

MEDITATION

God, please help us live up to our belief that each day we will get better as we live only in today and not in the fears and anxious moments of a tomorrow that may never come.”

Personal comments please.

SOURCE: Copyright(c) Higher Thoughts for Down Days: 365 Daily Thoughts and Meditations for members of Twelve Step Fellowships. (1993, 1999). Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville. March 21. Page 58.

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I am depressed. Now what can I do?

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Ok. Basically once you have discovered that you are in the grip of depression and are looking for a way out, I recommend that you begin to encounter the 12 Step recovery program of Depressed Anonymous. This is a recovery program, with all the  same spiritual principles as laid out for those wanting to recover from any other addictive substance, ( alcohol, heroin etc.) emotional or  relational problem. In other words, anything that has caused your life to hit the skids. Anything that has caused your living to be a daily walk in hell.  Our program depends on a power greater than any problem behavior, negative thinking, or physical addiction that would have us in its grip.

If our life is in LOCK DOWN we have the key that will release you from the prison of your own depression. But their is a catch. As we all know, in life there is no free lunch. There is “no easy or more comfortable way” to free ourselves from depression,  or  a life spinning out of control. It takes work, time, prayer and getting in touch with others who like ourselves, are looking for help. In our fellowship of Depressed Anonymous, we have all the elements together in one place where you can start to take control of your life and gradually free yourself from the pain and life threatening illness we call depression.

Our program based  on spiritual principles is not a one shot deal–it is a real deal  where our whole life is centered on this Power greater than ourselves.  And if you want to travel on this road, and join the rest of us who are walking in the free spirit of hope and serenity, then please join us. There are no fees or dues.  Just a simple willingness, an honesty of heart and openness to what we have to offer,. And please, don’t make up your mind before you at least give the process a chance. Don’t tell yourself, “well it won’t work for me, I’m a hard case, and I’ve tried everything under the sun. Well, that is except Depressed Anonymous and the freedom approach.”

Back to your question: what can you do?

We have written a book–actually lots of books-which describe and illustrate how thousands before us have, with work, time and with others like ourselves freed ourselves with a potential explosive and life threatening situation. Our program based on the spiritual 12 principles of recovery are to be found in our treatment of recovery  book, simply titled, DEPRESSED ANONYMOUS. Here you will find  personal stories on how the program works, plus a commentary on each of the 12 Steps and how they gradually, one after another, bring us to mental peace and physical renewal.

If you want to read about all the material (books) written by folks just like yourself, who have battled depression and won, then please VISIT THE STORE and find described there  what will be a source of how it works and how you can begin to apply it to your self and then put it into action TODAY!

Our works are now presently being published in Persian (Iran) , Russian(Ukraine)  and all are accessible in English and can be ordered online at our website (here).  You can keep coming back and read articles which will help guide you through your day.

Also, please see a description of our HOME STUDY KIT which is a great way to  discover your own way out of depression if there is no Depressed Anonymous group in your community. The HOME STUDY KIT may also prepare you for starting your own Depressed Anonymous group.

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I can live each moment as it comes.

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I can live only in today. Today is all I have.

“Try to work out which is your habitual response to change  which you see as dangerous so that  as you dare to explore you don’t suddenly find yourself running away to the safety of old ways, or resisting the new ideas with old prejudices.” Dorothy Rowe

“I  find that when I am depressed I find all my comfort in the predictable and the familiar.”

Source: Copyright(c) Higher Thoughts  for down days:365 daily thoughts and meditations for members of 12 Step fellowship groups. Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville. p. 56.

Hope is just a few steps away!