Kim, The author of this comment, speaks about those therapists who said that she was ‘damaged beyond recovery.’ Even though experiencing a myriad of therapeutic interventions, various psychiatrists, psychologists and psychotherapists, her depression just kept on coming. There seemed to be no escape. Included with all these were a number of popular every 12 Step groups from which she sought help.
In the following paragraphs, with excerpts from the Depressed Anonymous Newsletter Volume .#1, Fall Issue, 2017, she shares her own experiences . (See Newsletter Archives for full account). She shares with us her life Before and her life After participating in the Depressed Anonymous HOME STUDY PROGRAM OF RECOVERY.
What my life was before Depressed Anonymous
While all my program friends had gotten full recovery, the Promises of Recovery had not materialized for me. I would stay depressed forever. This destroyed me. I quit the program and started to take antidepressants, but even that didn’t work: The depressions got more intense and more frequent. I didn’t want to live anymore. One day I found the Depressed Anonymous site on the Internet, but there was no meeting in Europe. There was a book though. So I made a deal with God; I could go through the Twelve Steps one last time. And after that I could jump in front of a train. It was now or never. So I bought the book, and the workbook, and I asked Hugh to become my email sponsor. That was three years ago.
What my life is like now.
I never expected this, but I have been free from depression for a whole year now. The next depression will kill me, so it is very importantr to stay out of it. Every Sunday I sit behind my computer and answer questions from the Workbook. I send them to my email sponsor, who reads them, gives me feedback and stimulates me to keep going. I discover important things about myself…
In Depressed Anonymous, I discovered my conclusion was wrong. I do belong to the group. Indeed, I have always been part of the group. People with odd parents are part of society as well and so are depressed people and people that did rally stupid things. There is nothing to hide. I am human, no more, no less…
I made a deal with my Higher Power, one more time I would take the Steps. I am so happy that I did.
Submitted by Kim, a member of the Depressed Anonymous fellowship.
PS. Kim has started an online Depressed Anonymous for SKYPE users at [email protected]. She is also translating Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition into her home language.
Kim has just completed (1/30/2019) her work on the HOME STUDY PROGRAM OF RECOVERY, with the assistance of her email Sponsor. By her continued commitment and study of the Depressed Anonymous (Big Book) with the Depressed Anonymous Workbook, she not only knows herself at a deeper level but also lives out the spiritual principles of the Twelve Steps with hope and vigor. One day at a time.
If you would you like to work the Twelve Steps of Depressed Anonymous, using the Home Study Program of Recovery and to find how to have an email Sponsor, as did Kim, please write to me, Hugh at [email protected]., and discover how you too can work the Twelve Steps , with a program designed for you — plus the unique goals you have chosen for your own recovery from depression.
Make a commitment today, stick to a plan of action, and grow through each of the STEPS with your own email sponsor –at your own speed –especially when there are no Depressed Anonymous groups in your locale. See the Depressed Anonymous Publications Bookstore to find out more about the HOME STUDY KIT.