Good question. Bill W., co-founder of AA has an answer for us.
“The more we become willing to depend on a Higher Power, the more independent we really are. Therefore, dependence as AA and all the other Anonymous groups practice it, it is really a means of gaining true independence of the spirit.
At the level of everyday living, it is startling to discover how dependent we really are, and how unconscious of that dependence. Every modern house has electric wiring carrying power and light to its interior. By accepting with delight our dependence upon this marvel of science, we find ourselves personally more independent, more comfortable and secure. Power flows just where it is needed. Silently and surely, electricity, that strange energy so few people understand, meets our simplest daily needs.
Though we readily accept this principle of healthy dependence in many of our temporal affairs, we often fiercely resist the identical principal when asked to apply it as a means of growth in the life of the spirit. Clearly we shall never know freedom under God until we try to seek His will for us. The choice is ours.” As Bill W., Sees It. Page 26.
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Our Big Book, which is a 12 step program of recovery directs each of us on our path of personal recovery so that our mutuality of purpose as a fellowship ignites meaning for each of our daily lives.
The following is a quote from the Denise List, from the Therapist’s Views on Depressed Anonymous section in our Big Book. Page 27.
“The spiritual emphasis of Depressed Anonymous is its greatest strength. People come together and hear from one another how their Higher Power is healing and guiding their lives. They realize that being part of the group, they are not alone, and also encourage true living. Depressed Anonymous has been a wonderful healing tool in the lives of many depressed persons I’ve worked with. It will always be one of the greatest resources I use in my work. It is true that ‘it works if you work it.’ ”
Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition. (2011) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville. Ky.