“…The challenge is to determine how to best use the psychotherapies that appear to reduce depressive symptoms, when to use pharmacotherapy alone or in combination with psychotherapy, and how to innovate or adapt psychosocial intervention to reduce human suffering, as well as the economic cost of depressive disorders.”

——-Psychiatry, Vol. 57, May 1994, p.128.

Let me say that our Depressed Anonymous groups, now located in many different cultures around the word, have a proven track record as an innovative and successful psychosocial approach in alleviating the misery of human depression. Because we are utilizing the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and its spiritual principles as the essential core of recovery, we are finding   that our psychosocial intervention, Depressed Anonymous, does reduce human suffering.

It is a maxim that  “it takes one to know one.”  This works well for most if not all addictive behaviors and thinking. My depression symptoms are very like others who are experiencing depression.  In discussing our symptoms and how they  have isolated us, we now in our own way, are using solution focused tools that  can release us  from the prison of our depression.

So my point is this: if the clinician wants to start you on medication  to alleviate the symptoms of your depression, ask him/her if they might refer you as well to a depression support group, based on the principles of Depressed Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous. It is in this group fellowship where the person depressed  can find those persons who will walk with you through the valley of darkness into the light. I know–been there– done that!

For more information please look at the literature at our Bookstore and find the books which were written by persons depressed (they have been where you are) and can help free you.  You can also find a step by step process of getting your own group up and running.

Source: Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition. Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville.

“How often at our Depressed Anonymous meetings do we hear this being said about those said about these persons who keep coming back to meetings, week after week. This frequently heard comment comes from older members of the group. We all can see that something positive is being demonstrated in the newcomers face. The old frozen mask of depression is withering by the wayside. Now, there is a brand new look of softness in the face and the person is beginning to smile more.  In fact, the people who keep coming back to meetings are getting themselves out of their crippling isolation and beginning to feel differently as they participate in the group meetings.

One  of the valuable realities of Depressed Anonymous  is that you get feedback from the other members of the group. For most of us, we appreciate the words of support as we continue to work on ourselves. Our working the 12 Step program and getting involved with other members of the group is beginning to show ion our faces.

We are a little surprised to see that others are concerned enough to notice and to care. So often all we have heard from family and friends is to “snap out of it” or “Hey, forget  about the pat–get over it–and get on with your life. ” But having not been depressed themselves they haven’t a clue that one just doesn’t “ snap out of ” depression. I hope that one of the ways that we can continue our efforts to help others escape the prison of depression is to let the newcomer know that their work on themselves is noticeable. The fact of the matter is this –if we stay isolated and alone no one will be able to say how they  see us. I know that we really don’t want to see anyone when we are depressed and that the secret of getting better is to make that effort at sharing our experiences with others who are still suffering  from depression. Go to a meeting today–it works!

The Antidepressant Tablet.

Today, our world is beset by the bite of the “mad dog” of addictions. Let me explain what I mean. First of all, I know personally about the bite of that “mad dog.” I have been bitten myself. I have family members who have been bitten. Now it appears our whole society has received that fatal bite ( in many cases) and continues to be bitten with the poison that reproduces its self inside of us. Each addictive behavior, whatever that might be, if not taken care of, will lead ultimately to our own  demise, unless we  use the appropriate tools of recovery/resources to get us back on the path of sobriety and sanity. There is hope!

In my own life I have been bitten by the “mad dog” with its  poison of hopelessness and despair. The venom produces the mistaken  belief that we are doomed and there is no way out.   I was trapped in this deep dark pit of isolation and helplessness.  It was when  I faced the consequences of my disordered and addictive thinking, and  admitted that I needed  help.  I felt I was going die like a trapped man without hope. I chose life. I crawled  to my first 12 Step meeting of recovery. It was at this meeting that I saw and felt  no longer alone. I was with a group of men and women who too had been bitten by the “mad dog. ” They  now had found the antidote that would gradually remove the venom and give them   back their  life. It took time, and it took a fellowship of persons like myself  and it took work. This program works. We were given the 12 spiritual principles of Depressed Anonymous, modeled after the successful Alcoholics Anonymous program of recovery. Even if there is no Depressed Anonymous recovery program in your community there is hope for you or anyone who might want to do a Home Study program, and possibly have a friend or  therapist join with you as you work through  the Steps one at a time. I might add that it only takes two to form a group. And  you can always go online @www.depressedanon.com to find help with your own progress and exit from the loneliness of depression.

A residue of the poison from the “mad dog” is  always present in my system.   As long as I have the spiritual and physical antidote of the fellowship of  like persons,plus the spiritual power of the Steps, I have found that I am now living in peace and hope. I am no longer isolated and without hope.  I now  place my hope and trust in a power greater than myself. Thanks to the power of the Steps and their  spiritual principles  of recovery, I have been depression free these past 30 years.   The God of my understanding has given me a new life and  future, one day at a time.

hUGH

NOTE: If you are interested in the literature offered by our DAPublication Service please VISIT THE STORE here and order your own HOME  STUDY KIT that may help you also put together a Depressed Meeting in  your own community.

Hello friends

I finally got back here with our Depressed Anonymous fellowship. This hopefully will be able to be viewed by all of you who come here  and read what I have sent out to you.

I think my Higher power helped me get back on this day as I was getting frustrated.

“Came to believe that a power greater than myself could restore me to sanity. Step Three of Depressed Anonymous

Depressed Anonymous mutual aid is solution focused. We DO have a solution in digging our way out of depression. Just the word mutual aid should tell you this. And one of the best things a newcomer discovers when they come through the door of a Depressed Anonymous meeting is the fact that  the people in attendance are those who have been depressed and now working themselves free of the scourge of depression.  These person continue to speak solution to the rest of the group and share how the 12 Steps and the DA Fellowship  provided them the keys that free them from the prison of isolation and shame.  And for those of us who have been freed from depression for months, years and decades, we are the ones who continue to share the lasting effects of those “tools” that we continue to use in our everyday lives to stay serene and focused on  recovery.   I and many others have been sharing these “tools” which freed us years ago and now we  WANT to  share what we have learned with others. We know we have the keys to freedom and we want to share these keys, these solutions of self care  to you as well. Are you ready?

Hugh

VISIT THE STORE here at our site for more information about literature that is available on line for your personal perusal.  BTW, it is all written by those who live out the solution in their  daily lives.

AFFIRMATION
I believe that the God of my understanding will draw close to me as I draw closer to him. I am learning how to trust my God and my fellow human beings.

“Still more wonderful is the feeling that we do not have to be specially distinguished among our fellows in order to be useful and profoundly happy. Not many of us can be leaders of prominence, nor do we wish to be. Service gladly rendered, obligations squarely met, troubles well accepted or solved with God’s help…”(10)

CLARIFICATION OF THOUGHT
My life is slowly changing and my hope is growing in my heart as I attend to my fears and anxieties, look them in the eye and profess my faith in a power greater than myself who is slowly restoring me to sanity and serenity. I am no longer wallowing in the sins of my imperfections, but am resting in the secure knowledge and feeling that God, as I understand him, loves me just the way I am.

The more I “carry the message” of hope to others, the more I am able to believe in the hope that carries me through today and each and everyday. I will always strive to be an instrument of God’s peace and God’s hope wherever I am in this world.

MEDITATION
We are convinced that we must carry the message of hope to any and all who want to listen. Like an army, we must all go out and share our stories with those who are flat on their back and who want our hope and strength so that they too, can walk again. We can’t allow them to stay down. God, please lead us to that person who is in need of our help this day.

SOURCE: Higher Thoughts for down days: 365 daily thoughts and meditations for members of 12 step fellowship groups. Louisville. Pages 162-163.

HIGHER THOUGHTS is now on Kindle @AMAZON.COM/kindle. Check it out! Purchase it online at our Store here at www.depressedanon.com. Now you can carry it wherever you go!

To let the depressed person know that she or he is not alone in his or her struggle with depression.  We also help others learn to do pleasant activities again.

To provide a group where members  can help one another and learn new skills in making mastery over their lives and begin to live again  with hope and joy.

To help each member feel better about themselves -today. One day at a time.

To educate the depressed person and his or her family about the nature and cause of depression and remove the  SHAME  of their feeling depressed. It’s OK  to admit that we are feeling overwhelmed.

SOURCE: Copyright(c) I’ll do it when I feel better. (2013) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville.  Chapter. Three: What is Depressed  Anonymous. Page 23.

Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask how he was doing, he would reply, “If I was any better, I would be twins!”

He was a  unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the  waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. if an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one  day I went up to Jerry and asked him, ” I don’t get it! You can’t be a positive person all the time. How do you do it?”

Jerry replied, “Each morning  I wake up and say to myself, ‘ Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.”

“Yeah, right, it’s not that easy,” I protested.

“Yes, it is,” Jerry said. “Life  is all about choices.  When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a  good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It’s your choice how you live life.”

I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant business to start my own business. We lost touch, but often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business :he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying  to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quick and rushed to the local trauma center,

After  18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital; with fragments of the bullet in his body.

When I visited him in the hospital, I told him how amazed and happy I was  that he pulled through like he did. All he said was when he was on the operating table and the Doctors told him the seriousness of his injury, and were  about to remove the bullets, he told me that ” all I could think of at that moment was  I had a choice. I could either live or die. I chose at that moment to live.”

–By Francie  Baltazar-Schwartz

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AS Bill W., tells us in the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book, that when we are looking for an “easier and more comfortable way” to deal with our  addictions is when we  we plan to fail. Our need to isolate and withdraw from those around us can produce no good. If you want to get out of the hole of depression-stop digging!

In Depressed Anonymous we read and understand that those of us who had a “spiritual awakening as the result of these steps (12 Steps of recovery), we tried to carry this message to the depressed, and to practice these principles in all of our affairs.”

And as Francis tells us  that  “those who leave security on the shore and become excited by the mission of communicating life to others” discover they are empowered by empowering others with a daily plan to live with hope and serenity. For us there are no magic wands waved over our heads that will produce instant serenity. No, it takes work and some time.   For  some it may involve therapy and medications . But best of all, it can include   the ongoing support from the Depressed Anonymous Fellowship, in  face to face encounters or  online at SKYPE.

The time that we admit that our lives are out of control and unmanageable, that is the time that we begin to find a way out of our depression. And it is in the context of the loving  community of Depressed Anonymous that we leave the comfort of our isolation and join with the  fellowship of others like ourselves who have left the  safety of the shores of sadness.  “Our sadness, like any other addiction, is merely a symptom of some deeper compulsion that manifests itself in our need to seek comfort and safety in sadness.” How well I remember this symptom of depression,  trying to figure out why I feel the way I do and then giving up hope that I would  ever feel anything different.

Now,I find myself almost daily trying to give  hope to others who find themselves locked down in the shackles of sadness. I have been doing this for over 30 years and hopefully will continue till  I am unable. HOPE!

Continue to come to our website (www.depressedanon.com) where you will be inspired daily to continue working your way out of depression.

SOURCES: Depressed Anonymous, 3rd Edition. Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville.

“All of what I have written down so far(see articles for July 22,23 at this site) has to do with creating meaning. Humans have as their occupation  to constantly create meaning for their lives. Whatever we do has to have meaning. Most important of all, I felt alone, worthless, and especially unacceptable to myself. During this time I had the thought that if someone were seen laughing or having a good time –this made me angry. How dare anyone could smile while I felt so miserable? This unfamiliar feeling made me  think that my brain was made out of cotton. I couldn’t  shove another thought into my head. It was as if the cells of my brain were filled to the brim.  Like they were saying “sorry, we’re full.”

NOTE/ Please tune in tomorrow and discover how  my life finally got turned around!

SOURCE:   I’ll do it when I feel better.(2014) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville. Page 3/Ch.#1-How it all began.