When my grandson was 3 years old and older he would always say “papa, we ‘ve got work to do. ” When he would see me with a hammer in my hand or a can of paint and ready to work on some repair project around our house, without fail he would always be willing to pitch in and do his part. As a little guy he always seemed so much older than what he was because of his strong desire to help his papa. He is 19 today and now he is doing his own work. But not surprising is his continued willingness to help me when he can. Now that I am in recovery, thanks to our Depressed Anonymous program of recovery and after these many years, I am still free from depression. I attribute that this freedom is due to what I did learn when I was depressed and continue using these tools on every basis. I have found that it does take some work to get through the darkest periods of the depression. It also takes a supportive group of men and women who know what we know, and feel what we have felt when depressed.
Every meeting that we attend, and every step that we take on the road of our recovery, we find the fog lifts, the desire to live again returns. Not all at once–but in short spurts – the fog lifts and we feel the hope churning in our hearts and minds. And at every Depressed Anonymous meeting we hear the following words read from HOW DEPRESSED ANONYMOUS WORKS.
“You are about to witness the miracle of the group. You are joining a group of people who are on a journey of hope and who mutually care for each other. You will hear how hope, light and energy have been regained by those who were hopeless and in a black hole and tired of living.
By your involvement in the group we are feeling that there is hope – there is a chance for me too – I can get better. But we are not the people with the magic wand and the easy formula for success. We believe that to get out of the prison of depression takes time and work.
And so at each and every Depressed Anonymous meeting the group listens as we hear what it will take to escape from the prison of depression. ”
Also, at every meeting of the fellowship we hear how by using the spiritual tools, our Twelve Steps, we can gradually find the path that will that can lead us out into the light of freedom. We come to believe that a power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity. And then we make a decision to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God as we understand God.”
SOURCE: Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition. (2011) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville. Ky. Page 67.
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