Dep-Anon Family Group
When family members of a depressed loved one were asked to prioritize, describe, and list which feelings they experienced most often and most intensely, the following are those which they documented:
- Feeling overwhelmed and burdened by a family member’s depression. 2) Feeling restricted around the depressed, feeling of something similar to the expression of “walking on eggshells.” 3) Feelings of helplessness 4) Anxiety about the situation and not knowing what to do about the feelings they were experiencing 5) Feeling emotionally drained 6)Feeling inadequate faced with a love one’s immobility and lack of motivation 7) Feeling anger and frustration at the depressed 8) Being an enabler 9) Feeling that one was living an unproductive life as one was stymied by the depressed unproductive depression 10) Having feelings of irrationality and impatience 11) Feeling inadequate 12) Unhappy 13) Feeling betrayed in retirement by spouse’s late-life depression 14) Indecisive 15) Lack of confidence in oneself.
With the publishing and production of the 3rd edition of Depressed Anonymous the loved ones of the depressed will not only have a book written by the depressed, a fount of valuable information about the way the depressed live out their lives, but now with the DEP-ANON FAMILY GROUP GUIDE will have their own guide with its suggested ways on how to relate to the depressed family members or friend. This DEP-ANON guide will, chapter by chapter outline a process whereby family members can understand depression and the various ways to cope with those who suffer from it.
DEP-ANON is also about how family members and friends of the depressed can find help and support. I believe now is a good time in the history of our Twelve Step fellowship to spend time refining and detailing strategies for helping family members and friends of the depressed. In fact, the name chosen for this companion to Depressed Anonymous is DEP-ANON. The name and philosophy is much like AL-ANON, the support group for family and friends of the alcoholic.
DEP-ANON places its focus on creating a relationship with the depressed that is not only supportive, but also creates an environment where the whole family can find healing. Also, we want to spend some time speaking about how we can help our depressed family member find the necessary support so that any future relapse can be prevented. There are a number of routes that can be taken to ensure that this happens and we will discuss them in the following pages . We hope that what you read here will not only be a help to you, but will help your loved one recover and stay out of the prison of depression.”
SOURCE: Copyright(c) Dep-Anon Family Group Manual. Pages 1-3
NOTE: .Comments about the DEP-ANON recovery program will continue in future blogs at depressedanon.com.
