Category Archives: Supportive Actions

12 Step Meeting, Helpful Thinking, Mutual Aid, Supportive Actions

Mood Rings

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A number of years ago, a marketer of mood rings was making the claim that you could discover your mood by checking the color of the stone in the setting of the ring. Black was for a depressed mood, a blue for a “blue” mood, and green for a normal or happy mood. Well, I bought one and checked out my mood. Bingo! My mood ring indicated that I was in a happy mood, which I was. Hey, “this is great” I told myself. One half hour later I excitedly checked my mood ring again. “What” I exclaimed, “how can that be” as my ring had NOW changed to black. And that is the way it went for the rest of day. Green, black, blue and then blue again. I told myself I was still happy, nothing had changed there. Long story short – it was just another gimmick. So much for “fake” science. I knew that the diagnosis of my own mood was much more accurate and so I got help. But still, when the saddening symptoms of depression began to get worse, such as being unable to get out of bed, lacking any motivation to do what needs to be done, like going to work and keeping my important appointments. It is these daily responsibilities that began to slide. And then what seemed like just a short time I found myself immobilized and in a mental and physical lockdown.

If this is happening to you – we can help or at least point you in the right direction.

Welcome to our Depressed Anonymous meetings. We don’t depend on mood rings, but we do use the spiritual principles of the 12 Steps. These are at the core of our own recovery. By work, time, prayer, going to meetings and reading Depressed Anonymous literature we do recover and we do find our way out of depression. I can only tell you my own experience with depression and what tools I used to move out of isolation and begin doing the things that all of us in the program do to get well and back on track.

Here are some of my recommendations on getting started today, and finding that caring fellowship of men and women dedicated to helping themselves and others, and accompanying them on a path that leads out of depression, sadness and futility. The first Step is to admit that I need help and that my life is unmanageable. “I can’t go it alone anymore. I need support coupled with a belief that I can get better. Give me the tools and I will get to work!”

RECOMMENDATIONS

  1. Attend Depressed Anonymous meeting. They happen every day of the week and sometimes twice a day, dependent whether it is a ZOOM DA meeting or a SKYPE DA meeting. Meeting times and locations can be found here on our website @ www.depressedanon.com.
  2. Attend a virtual (because of the Pandemic) Depressed Anonymous meeting, and click onto the site to gain entrance to the meeting. You will be welcomed by a member of the DA fellowship. If you do attend a meeting you can either pass or share your first name. But remember, you can ask questions, and participate as much as you are comfortable with. It is also important to listen to the members of the group and see if this meeting discussion talks about any issues that may be your issues.
  3. Some group members will post their phone numbers/emails at the meeting so that you might contact them if you would have questions about the group. Every Monday at the Skype meeting there is a Newcomers group meeting. This is a meeting that is very helpful to the new member. This can be a very good venue where some of your questions/concerns may find answers. The website also provides a wealth of literature available for purchase online plus special subject material at the Home Page menu. If you would like a person to help you with questions that you have about depression, they will be happy to share with you their story.

Hugh for the Fellowship
Finally, please trust your own feelings, not the Mood ring. 🙂

Acceptance, Depressed Anonymous, Depressed Anonymous Workbook, Fellowship, Focus, Hope, I'll Do It When I Feel Better, Journaling, Mindfulness, Serenity

Slow down! Road work ahead!

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How often do we see these orange warning signs along our highways? Sometimes it seems that everywhere we go, construction is going on. According to Murphy’s law, they only show up when we are in a hurry to get somewhere else.

In our recovery it is a necessity to read the signs that tell us to slow down. There is road work ahead. As we know or will soon find out recovery is about work, using those tools that are provided for our own healing and serenity.

We slow down, stop and reflect on our lives, examining how certain “triggers” not only slow us down but can “shut us down.” We discover how ruminating on the same negative feelings, produce a mood that continues to stifle us and prevents us from seeing it for what it is, namely a warning for us to make some changes in our behaviors. If we let these moods deepen there is a strong possibility that these negative ruminations can push us deeper into symptoms of depression. Before that happens, starting to use our tools can save us from relapsing or experiencing a recurrence of symptoms and get us back on the road again.

There are many things that can keep us motivated to stay involved in our program of recovery. You can read these for yourself here on our website (depressedanon.com) under the menu, TOOLS FOR RECOVERY. They are welcome tools not only providing help but hope.

You can also reflect on the “slogans” used by those of us in the 12 Step fellowships. I am going to list some of them and hope that you will use these as “mantra’s” or “slogans” for your own recovery and “road work.”

KEEP IT SIMPLE. Don’t complicate your life by over-analyzing or by placing judgments on others thinking or behavior. Don’t double yourself up with doing a hundred different things all at once.

DO THE NEXT RIGHT THING Telling yourself I’ll do it when I feel better never gets it. If you are recovering then go to meetings when you don’t want to or an appointment when you don’t feel like it. If you need to go to work go to work. That is the next right thing. Always be there for yourself and your healing. If you are doing Step work with a sponsor, then do the Step work. Do the next right thing. Put that on your bathroom mirror.

PROGRESS – NOT PERFECTION. Do what you can do and then don’t worry about it. The main thing is not that something you do is perfect –but that you are doing what you can do and doing it to the best of your ability.

CONTROL THE EFFORT-NOT THE OUTCOME. Take responsibility for you all that you do and again do your best. Make the effort. Give it your best shot. “To thine own self first be true.”

BE. HERE. NOW. Be in the present. Yesterday is gone forever. Tomorrow is not here yet. All we have is today. Enjoy the moment. Mindful that there is a God-and it isn’t me!

ONE DAY AT A TIME. We are only given one 24 hour period at a time. Use it well. Keep a journal and list three things that you are grateful for today.

Thank you for doing a little road work for yourself today. I hope that some of what I have written may have motivated you to look deeper into how you can “accept the things that you cannot change, the courage to change the things you can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

If you would like to read more about depression please go to The Depressed Anonymous Publications Bookstore.

(c) Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition (2011) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville, KY.
(c) The Depressed Anonymous Workbook. (2002) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville, KY

Hugh

Depressed Anonymous, Fellowship, Hope

I have a plan that is simple with startling results

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Originally published September 30, 2018. Some formatting changes.

Years ago I needed help and I was offered a number of plans/solutions which promised me relief for my particular problem. The plans offered me didn’t seem to work. In my desperation I thought I would try a 12 Step program of recovery. The plan was very simple. Not hard to understand. I tried it. I went to my first meeting and was given hope. All the folks there at the meeting were using the same plan. They talked about how this plan changed their lives. That got my attention. It got my attention because their story was my story. The group provide me with the plan’s list of areas in my life that I needed to look at. The plan, as I mentioned before was simple. Not complicated at all.

Have you ever in your life had to put something together and the thing that you put together came with a plan. It was a blueprint like thing that showed you what the end product would look like. when all the proper instructions were carried out. At this first meeting I made a commitment to follow this plan for 24 hours. Only 24 hours. Hey, not a big deal. I could handle that. So, I took the plan home and started to read the instructions, chapter and verse. It was a simple plan.

Now I had this plan. It was a plan for everyday of my life. I thought wow! is this good or what. That is exactly what I needed. I remember saying to myself, “I hope it works.” It works. Over 30 years later I am using the same plan. It never gets old and stale.

Early on I got some tools to go with the instructions on how to use the plan. The first tool showed me how to admit what was fouled up in my life and to also admit how things were terribly out of hand. In our plan there were all sorts of other tools that I needed to use if I was to get back on my feet. I have to confess some of these tools were not easy to use exactly. I mean there were parts of the plan that I needed to look at more closely than I ever had before. This plan came with a great instruction book that I and others call the Big Book. It spells out not only how to use the tools but what happens when we actively embrace them and put them to use in our daily life.

So, now besides the plan, we have the tools to go along with the instructions. So my life began to change. I began to find serenity in my life and I began to realize that there were things that I need to change in my life and then there were things I knew I couldn’t change. You know, like things that happened to me in then past. The instructions showed me a great way to take care of those issues that up to a time haunted me. I now really feel at home in my own skin now.

Startling results? Well, for sure. And part of the reason for these startling results is besides having a plan–having new tools to use-I was plopped right in the middle of a group of men and women that were using the same plan as I was. Like, we are all on the same page, literally. I was in a fellowship of folks who were telling each other their stories about how the instructions and tools brought them some really fantastic experiences changes in their lives. The first time I set foot in this group, I was promised that certain things were going to happen to me. You know what? They were right. They said that once I had the instructions under my belt, I would want to go and tell others my story. I would want to go and let those still suffering from whatever addiction was killing them, that they could live with the hope that their lives would change, as did mine. By following our plan, using our tools of recovery, and being a part of our fellowship (a 12 Step group) you “will be amazed before you are halfway through”. (the instructions) Again, that’s a Promise!

Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition. © 2011, Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville. KY.

Contact: depanon@netpenny.net for more info.

Addiction, Choice, Focus, Relapse Prevention

Three Circles

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OK we know that depression is a disease, and we can also look at it as an addiction. In my opinion it’s helpful to look at other programs of recovery for understanding, inspiration, and tips on how to best manage your recovery from that addiction.

One topic of recovery is to have a relapse prevention plan. If you go through life unaware and on auto-pilot chances are real good that you will relapse in your depression. You want to avoid that if humanly possible. The trick is to be aware of your behaviors and where those behaviors lead you. There are things that you can do that make you feel useful and whole. There are things that you can do that lead you towards that bottom line addictive behavior. And finally the thing you are trying to avoid: having a relapse of active depression.

The three circles is one way to come up with a relapse prevention plan. The three circles are concentric (see diagram below).

The Outer Circle contains those things that you can do that make you feel good and build your inner resolve. In some circles (pardon the pun) the Outer Circle is sometimes referred to as Top Line behaviors. I’ve put into the diagram some examples of top line behaviors but that is not a comprehensive list. You decide what things fill you up and make you whole. Some other examples include: prayer; hugging loved ones; playing with your pet; talking with friends; doing service; donating time/money to your favorite charity.

The Middle Circle contains those behaviors that lead you closer to a full blown relapse of your depression. Sometimes the Middle Circle is called Mid Line Behaviors. In some recovery groups they are called “People, Places, and Things” – anything that brings you closer to your bottom. As before you decide what belongs in the Middle Circle. What triggers you toward your depression may be a common trigger, or may be unique to you.

The Inner Circle contains those behaviors that you are really trying to avoid and if you do them you are active in your depression. Again, you define what goes into the Inner Circle. I’ve diagrammed some examples, but come up with your own if those don’t ring true for you.

three-circles

I encourage you to come up with your own Three Circles diagram. Become aware of your behaviors and if you find yourself in the Middle Circle take action with your Outer Circle behaviors. If you find yourself in the Inner Circle take massive action in the Outer Circle. Seek help you are worth it.

Good luck with this task. It only works if you work it. Diagram it and put it into action.

Yours in recovery, Bill R

If you’d like to read more here is a link to a Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_circles

Acceptance, Choice, Courage, Prayer, Serenity, Spirituality

Serenity Prayer flowchart

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God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I can not change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.

The Serenity Prayer confuses some people. Why wouldn’t it? The prayer begins at the end where they ask God to grant them serenity. There are things that happen prior to that point. Have you determined what is and is not possible to change? Have you prayed for wisdom? I found this infographic online and this is more like the process that I go through.

serenityprayerflowchart

What problem has the fates put in front of me? Can I change the problem? If I can change it, then I will pray for courage to actually change it. If I’m unsure if I can change it, I will ask the God of my understanding for wisdom to discern if it is possible to change it. Only when you determine that it’s not possible to change the problem do you pray to your Higher Power for serenity. The Accept it state is not a static thing. Acceptance ebbs and flows, you have it and then you don’t. You will need to pray to God multiple times to get to a state of complete and utter acceptance.

I hope this helps.

Yours in recovery, Bill R

Mutual Aid

Untying knots

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Updated 29 Dec 2020: The US based ZOOM meetings are no longer being held.

How many times have I spent untying knots, from shoestrings to the reel on the fishing rod, the line erupting in a ball of tangled line. The lesson here is that untying knots is a metaphor for life. I knew from experience that if I stayed with trying to untangle the knot that I would eventually succeed. That happens to be true for the shoestrings –but not so much for the fishing line. I usually had to cut the line, pull out the tangled ball of line and use the line that was left.

Life is like this when a situation arises that needs our immediate attention, we either deal with it, or tell ourselves that there is nothing we can do to change it. We’ll just try and live with it. That doesn’t work very well for either shoestrings or fishing line. Cutting the fishing line and/or the shoestrings is not the best solution but it does take care of our knotted line and tangled shoestrings.

If you are experiencing some tangled knots in your life: depression, despair, divorce, and just all over emotional pain, now is the time to ask for help. We ask if there is someway or someone to help me untie my hard to live with problems? Is the solution just to cut off my lifelines of family and friends? We say no! If you need help now in untying a knot, such as a sadness that continues to spiral you downward, leaving you feeling adrift and hopeless, we can help you find a way out where you can connect with others like yourself.

A mutual aid group is available for those of us who have learned how to overcome our hopelessness and skilled at untying knots in our lives. We are skilled because we are with those others who have been busy cutting the lines of their own attachments to self bashing, feeling worthless and living in isolation.
Throw out a line and we will be there for you. You are not alone. “There is hope….and we do recover.” (The name of one of our Depressed Anonymous ZOOM groups).

WE have our Depressed Anonymous meetings everyday online at SKYPE and ZOOM, please come and join us. Check out our homepage for more information about our groups, online.
Please contact us with an email at depanon@netpenny.net.

For more information check out our literature at our website www.depressedanon.com.
Thank you,
Hugh, for the fellowship.

12 Step Meeting

Is This All There Is?

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How many times have I heard clients share with me how the dreams of their youth have disappeared like the early morning mist. Now that they are part of the swelling “baby boomer” generation, life has become their unexpected challenge. But not only the “baby boomers” but others in society, much younger who feel disconnected and alone in the American society. With “social media” as the assumed connection bringing folks together, the face to face relationships have withered. to that end that loneliness is the new normal, and not the exception. Because there are no “super heroes ” in our daily lives, we have to create these bogus creatures who are neither real flesh and blood “super heroes.” These figments of our cultural imaginations captivate our minds so that we continue to look for someone to save us so that we can live out our lives, forever happy.

Some tell us that this is the “age of melancholy” where society lives with unrealized dreams and plans. Not everyone is reaching the promised top of the mountain filled with milk and honey. An alarm has been sounded. Suicides increasing. Children bullied who feel they are without hope and help. Their feelings of hopelessness, their isolating sadness, keeps them from searching out someone, somewhere to help them.

Children bullied must have advocates. But who and where are these advocates for these children? I believe that all of us are aware now how critical it is to get the word out and that parents and all others need to know the signs of a child or adult who is thinking of suicide. And if your child tells you he/she is being bullied – drop everything – and tell someone! This can be that moment that will change everything for your child or loved one.

With these horrific situations facing us, we can build a bridge, sometimes by ourselves initially, but gradually others can join with us and be part of these small communities finding purpose and meaning for their own lives. We can invite others to join us in our pursuit of healing and hope.

Fellowship, Mutual Aid

Depressed Anonymous is and has been my salvation

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Updated 29 Dec 2020: The US based ZOOM meetings are no longer being held.

I attend Depressed Anonymous meetings quite regularly. I have found that I can attend the meetings regularly.(Depressed Anonymous Meetings are on SKYPE everyday) I get the support of the members who I have found to have about the same kind of problems as I have-maybe not as bad as mine. But I guess each of us feels that our problems are worse than anyone else. I know mine are. But with the regular meetings and my friends support, I find that I am able to manage pretty well from week to week. I have more faith in myself since I work the Twelve Steps the best that I can and trust the Higher Power (God Almighty) with all my heart. I pray to the fullest extent that I will continue to have faith in myself and others. I have become a more whole being than I have ever been. I work a lot. I volunteer a lot and have a far better outlook on life that I have ever had. I attribute all of these good things to Depressed Anonymous.

…I cannot begin to explain sufficiently the support the meetings can give one who is depressed. Depressed Anonymous has been and is my salvation. I know the Twelve Step program is the only way to go to get one on the right track and it takes the meetings to keep you there. They are a “Godsend” for me and I know for a lot of others who are depressed.

I thank Depressed Anonymous and my Higher Power for a life worth living.

– Frances

Copyright © Depressed Anonymous, 3rd ed.(2011) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville, KY. (Personal Stories, page 116)

All literature can be ordered online at The Depressed Anonymous Bookstore.
Click onto VISIT THE STORE at our website www.depressedanon.com

Fellowship

“There is Hope—and we Do recover.” DA “ZOOM” MEETING

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Updated 29 Dec 2020: The US based ZOOM meetings are no longer being held.

There is hope…and we do recover!
This is the name of the ZOOM group now operating with three DEPRESSED ANONYMOUS ONLINE groups per week. What could be better than that.

I personally find the name of this mutual-aid 12 step group to be a “right on” description of what happens during it’s live online meetings. Those who come aboard soon learn that this is not only a safe place to share their “story” but is a place to discover others stories of how they are leaving the prison of their depression. And if you are one of those, like me who are looking to find hope and a plan to make it happen for your own life, you are in the right place.

Now in group meetings you won’t find people giving you a counterfeit hope, a hope that is not based on reality, but on their own personal experience. Those who are frequent group members of Depressed Anonymous, and who want to have a social contract with others on a personal basis, find that they have found a home with others like themselves. No strangers here. No counterfeit promises of sudden healing. You will be provided with a plan that has stood the test of time, for those who continue to be recipients of its power and enduring hope.

You will learn the strength of living life, not with grandiose sugar plum fairies dancing in your head, but with the hard work (yes, it takes work, time and prayer) of coming to meetings, reading the Depressed Anonymous literature, plus doing something. Yes, do something!

Start with the smallest thing, by clicking onto a DA meeting online or at Skype, and just listening in to the discussions of its members, new and old. No one has to talk. My own experience is this: those who come to their first meeting–yes, their first meeting will probably hear others share stories that are similar to their own.

Start small at first in things that need to be done for your own recovery. Move the body and the mind will follow. Get out of bed at a certain time every day. Water a plant that needs watering. Sweep the kitchen floor. Be creative. Commit to at least six meetings a week online. Skype is available everyday on line. Zoom is on three or four times a week.

And please, when that little voice inside your head says “I’ll do it when I feel better” ignore it and do what needs to be done now. Do it now. Not tomorrow. Yesterday is gone. All we have is NOW!

My vision is for all of us who were depressed or are depressed today, is to find the plan and the place where they can and do find hope and a great fellowship we call Depressed Anonymous.

Remember these powerful words – write them down. There is HOPE, and we Do Recover.
CONTACT: REBECCAIRENE8@GMAIL.COM

Hugh S