The following was released by the National Institute for Healthcare Research:
A recent study in the American Journal of Psychiatry identified this other often overlooked resource patients draw upon to help fend off depression – a deep religious commitment – that significantly reduced recovery times. This study focused on 85 patients hospitalized with serious medical illness who also became depressed. Among their battery of tests, patients took the Hoge Intrinsic Religiousness Scale which measures how deeply a person has internalized their religious values and faith. Surprisingly, patients recovered from their depression 70 percent faster for every 10-point increase on the Hoge scale, which ranged from 10 to 50. This link held even when taking into account other factors that could speed up recovery including improving physical health…
I hope it has been a good one as you continue to read the Depressed Anonymous Literature and apply it to your everyday life. I read something every morning – especially Higher Thoughts for Down Days – and use the daily reflection on how the daily thought applies to my own efforts at recovery. All in all I find that with a daily meditation and reflection life appears more hopeful. I find this works for me. It’s a plan that has positive results.
We (DA Group) are planning to get together after our weekly DA meeting and discuss one of our week’s Higher Thoughts – one that we find especially applicable to each of our own lives. Each person will be able then to submit this to our BLOG – right here – and this can motivate others to write and share their own thoughts as well.
What do you think? Or you also can just write and tell us how your week is going/went. You might just like to pose a question to the BLOG group and find what others are thinking and how the Steps work for them. Or, you can just read the BLOGS as they appear on our website. Just know that we welcome you whenever you want to write.
AFFIRMATION
I will affirm myself by getting in touch with my feelings and expressing them. “To know how to behave you have to rely on other people’s opinions, and so you live under the tyrannies of ‘they.’ What will ‘they’ think? is the thing that accompanies every action and determines every decision.”
DECISION
I am so accustomed to living my life on the basis of others feelings thoughts, and decisions about myself that in the end I feel de-selfed. I feel empty and horribly alone; I feel saddened over the loss of my identity as a person. Now, I feel hopeful as I see that one of my best ways to defend my sense of nothingness is to seek out the presence of this force bigger than myself and be willing today–just for today, to let it work its power in my life. My identity as a person is going to grow slowly and spiritually. Even depressed, it’s hard to make up my mind. Just knowing that this is part of my depression makes it less painful as I still make a mental decision to turn my will and my life over to the care of God, as I understand him.
MEDITATION
Our God is consciousness and is knowledgeable of everything in the universe. Our God is at the center of our lives, replacing the sadness around which our world revolved. The more conscious we are of God working in our minds and thoughts, the more we are going to feel like someone we can love. (Personal comments). Let’s hear from you today.
How many times has someone advised us to “Watch your step!”
This is always good advice when there is a potential problem in the area where you are walking. This advice is always appreciated and could save us from a bad tumble.
I discovered this fact many years ago, in fact in 1982 I had taken a bad fall – actually I crashed because of an addiction. It was at this time in my life that I had to watch my step – one step at a time – like baby steps. I knew that if I didn’t watch my step then I would be back at a point in my life where a misstep could cost me my life or the life of another. So, I learned about the Steps of AA and how to use them so as to keep me from tumbling headlong back into my addiction. Now that was these many years ago and I have been watching my step – one day at a time. I have found out that if you aren’t paying attention to where you are walking you just might take a tumble and then maybe something far worse than a skinned up knee might occur. And addictions work that way – one minute you feel you have the world by the tail and whammo – you trip and you end up flat on your face.
I know now, now that we have a 12 step program of recovery for persons depressed (been there done that) that this step program works for us as well. For many of us who feel we are attached to these feelings of hopelessness – we now can go to meetings and hear how others are watching their step and walking securely with the help of others in this program of recovery. If we don’t have a meeting then we can go to our website https://www.depressedanon.com and find out how we can learn more about how to walk one day at a time and live in the serenity that our steps are secure.
Log onto Facebook and find us at Depressed Anonymous now! Hope to see you there.
We believe that what we think, what we say, and what we do impact our depression. We believe that depression can be managed by applying the principles of the 12 Steps. All are welcome!
