Support Group

[Laurel Crowned]

I've avoided support groups for depression like the plague. Actually... more than the plague since I've never encountered that, but I have run from my share of "support groups." The idea of sitting in a room with a bunch of depressed people whining about being depressed made me depressed just thinking about it.

Yet, after all this time avoiding them, I ended up asking my therapist about any offered by our medical centre. Next thing I know I'm signed up for a group that meets for two hours on Tuesdays.

Surprisingly, the first session was REALLY good. It's based on something called Rapid Symptom Reduction and really partners well with my christian beliefs. It's practical strategies and techniques to help you deal with negative thought patterns, spiral thinking, thought stopping, and other thoughts that lead to depression.

They give homework assignments and brief reading assignments that are 100% voluntary. We take a Burns Anxiety and Depression Inventory before and after each group which gives us a way to track how our moods can vary over the course of a week.... as well as in the space of an hour.

I went back today and GOT SO MUCH OUT OF THIS GROUP! We talked about psysiological responses to stress and anxiety. The group leader explained how and why our body responds to the nervous system's Fight or Flight response. He went on to give us some strategies for defusing those body responses.

If you've never considered a group I highly recommend looking into a support group like this. I plan to post some of the things I'm learning here each week. If anyone is interested in specific things please feel free to ask me questions.
I don't pretend to have all the answers, but this class has helped me so much in such a short time.

Peace,
LC

 

[TheThirdLink]

WOW! I'd LOVE to see what you are learning since I have Bipolar Disorder and Manic Depression and I can't go to any support groups! =0

 

[Jenna]

Hey, I'm really glad that you had a good experience.

 

[Laurel Crowned]

WOW! I'd LOVE to see what you are learning since I have Bipolar Disorder and Manic Depression and I can't go to any support groups! =0

Hi ThirdLink,

Thanks for your interest in my thread. I'm confused though... Bipolar Disorder is Manic Depression. What diagnosis do you have? How come you can't go to support groups? Are you on any medication?

I'll post some of the stuff I've learned in a few days when I've had a chance to process it all.

Peace,
LC

 

[Laurel Crowned]

Hey, I'm really glad that you had a good experience.

Hi Jenna,

I think I read in one of your posts that you are suffering from depression... but are non-medicated. Is that accurate? Do you attend a support group? Are you in any kind of counseling? How is your overall mental health doing these days?

Nice to have other christians to talk about these issues with... people who will understand.

Peace,
LC

 

[TheThirdLink]

I'm confused though...Bipolar Disorder is Manic Depression.

I was told it was two different things. What ever gave you that idea? My doctor told me it wasn't the same thing.

What diagnosis do you have?

What I said. Bipolar Disorder and Manic Depression.

The Biploar sometimes gives me ultra-depression. The Manic Depression can do what Bipolar can, such as really get me depressed, or it can do the opposite, such as make me really happy...or give me little euphorias...what is not normal. I think that's what separates it from bipolar, if I'm right.

How come you can't go to support groups?

My parents do not believe in mental illnesses even though I show the symptoms right before their eyes. They think I'm acting it all out.

Are you on any medication?

No. Because of what my parents think about the whole mental illness thing. Besides, they don't buy me any because they say it's too expensive and a waste of money and possible risk of addiction involved. They claim they would be wasting money over nothing.

 

[Laurel Crowned]

Hey ThirdLink,


I cut and pasted this from a Bipolar disorder website. I'm not sure why your doctor is telling you that Bipolar and Manic Depression are two different things. If you'd like more info just so you can get a better grip on what is going on with your head... please let me know.


BIPOLAR DISORDER


Melvin Shelton, MD Director,
Clinical Drug Trials and ECT
Mood Disorders Program

What is Bipolar Disorder?
Bipolar disorder (also known as manic-depressive illness) is a severe biological disorder that affects approximately 1 – 5 % of the adult population. Persons suffering from bipolar disorder have mood swings that are out of proportion, or totally unrelated, to things going on in their lives. Although bipolar disorder is clearly a biological disease, there are no laboratory tests or other procedures that a doctor can use to make a definitive diagnosis. Instead, the doctor diagnoses the illness based on a group of symptoms that occur together accompanied by impairment in activities of daily living.

In contrast to unipolar depression, which involves an abnormal lowering of the mood, bipolar disorder is a disease in which a person’s mood changes in cycles over time. It involves both abnormal lowering of the mood and abnormal mood elevation. People who suffer from bipolar disorder experience periods of elevated mood, periods of depressed mood and periods when their mood is normal

Peace,
Laurel Crowned

 

[Johanna73]

I just found out about 2 months ago that I was Bipolar, and that was the best way that anyone has exsplained it to me....

Thank you for that, now I wont have to keep wondering what the heck everyone is talking about....


Johanna

 

[Laurel Crowned]

I just found out about 2 months ago that I was Bipolar, and that was the best way that anyone has exsplained it to me....

Thank you for that, now I wont have to keep wondering what the heck everyone is talking about....


Johanna

Hey Johanna73,

Welcome to the thread. You'll actually find a lot of really wonderful people here with lots of helpful information.

Peace,
LC

 

[Laurel Crowned]

I haven't posted much about strategies that I've learned in this group for several reasons... but I thought now would be a good time to share what I've learned so that I can keep it fresh in my own mind.

I'm not going to write large chunks like I do in my journal because that would make it too difficult to absorb the information. One key point that we've learned concerns thought stopping. Depressive actions are triggered by depressive thoughts. Tame the thought... tame the action.

This runs hand in hand with the scriptural call to "take every thought captive" and to "meditate on these things (these things being all that good stuff Paul mentions)." Confronting the negative thoughts with a positive truth was laid out in the bible long before popular psychology got its hands on the idea.

Identifying your negative thoughts is the first step. Some are so automatic that you don't even realize you're thinking them before you start acting on them. Confronting them is the end goal... but it is enough for now that you can identify them. For me... I have an easy time identifying them. The confronting them w/positive thoughts or truth is hard. I've decided that I'll ask for prayer on these mental strongholds and trust that God will give me the needed strength to overcome them with truth in His time.

My negative thoughts:

1. I'm stupid and I'm never going to amount to anything.
2. I ALWAYS get lost... so I must be stupid.
3. I ALWAYS make major mistakes... how stoopid can I be.
4. Stuff like this ALWAYS happens to me why am I so stoopid that I can't avoid it?
5. Nobody is EVER going to want me, understand me, accept me for me. I'm stoopid to think that anybody ever will.
6. I'm ugly and unlovable. Nobody is ever going to stay with me for long.
7. Because I have bipolar I'm always going to be defective.
8. I will NEVER fit in anywhere.
9. I'm trapped in my job because I'm too stoopid to do anything else.
10. I am a victim. People are always out to get me and bad stuff always happens to me when all I want to do is mind my own business and lead a good life.

The problem with most of these thoughts is that they are extreme thoughts. Always and Never... don't happen. I don't ALWAYS get lost... but when I do I freak out so badly that you'd swear I made a wrong turn and ended up in Hell. Bad stuff doesn't ALWAYS happen to me. If it did I would have killed myself a long time ago just to escape the pain. I could go on but you get the point. Please pray for my mind and these negative thoughts that infest it. These strongholds can and will be broken. Popular psychology and medication are tools that God has lead me to in order to find some measure of peace... but none of these things will give me lasting peace in the absence of prayer.

If you feel lead to... please PM your prayer to me. I could use the support about right now. Also, if anybody would like prayer... please either post your own negative thoughts here or PM me and I will pray for you.

Knowing the lies that Satan plants in our minds will help us know what to pray.

 

[Johanna73]

I pray for you, and hope that you will find the strengh to make it through.... And I also pray that we can find peace together in our prayers...

 

[Laurel Crowned]

Thanks Johanna73!

I really believe that our God answers prayer. In the past two days I've seen answers to some prayers... and even had a divine appointment with a woman who who seemed as close to being an angel in human form if ever a thing were possible.

My negative thoughts are being BLASTED from all sides. Keep the prayer coming!! How can I pray for you Johanna73? Just let me know. I believe in praying specifically as well as praying as you feel lead... but I think that "as you feel lead" stuff comes out of relationship and leave that up to people who know me well.

My negative thoughts didn't ruin my birthday. In fact I had a really mellow, peaceful birthday.

Again, thanks for the prayer.

Peace,
LC

 

[Johanna73]

Your very welcome, and you can pray that I find my true calm....

Johanna

 

[Johanna73]

I think that my Bipolar is Cyclothymic, but my boyfriend think I am Bipolar 1... How can I really tell, what is a good way to pick it out...

Please help me

Johanna

 

[Laurel Crowned]

I think that my Bipolar is Cyclothymic, but my boyfriend think I am Bipolar 1... How can I really tell, what is a good way to pick it out...

Please help me

Johanna

Hi Johanna,

Ask your therapist.

Peace,
LC

 

[Laurel Crowned]

Today we revisited the notion of negative thoughts and the effect they have on you. Without regurgitating the entire two hour lesson... it can be distilled down to one thought:

It's not what happens to you; it's how you think about what happened to you.

I asked what seperated people like Lance Armstrong or Christopher Reeves from regular people like me. Or that 14 year old girl who got her arm chewed off while surfing. She's now the girl of the hour... doing tv shows, surfing again... she doesn't seem to be devasted by such a devasting event. Me? I'd be devastated.

The docs leading the group said that NOTHING seperates those "overcomers" from the rest of the world. I thought that they'd say that have some extra dose of some brain chemical that set them appart... like some people have enough insulin and others don't. But there appears to be nothing different between those who overcome and those who fall into depression. Yes, some people have chemical imbalances that make them prone to depression... but the thoughts you dwell on have a powerful effect on what your mood will be.

If you THINK that the worst day ever is going to happen tomorrow... then you will act as if every bad thing that happens is contributing to that day being the worse day ever. Somebody else going through the exact same circumstances might see the events of the day as a challenge. Or an opportunity to do things differently. It all hinged on what thoughts you allowed yourself to dwell on.

The homework this week was to record (whenever possible) the negative thoughts you told yourself about each day or about yourself. Next week we're going to practice identifying what type of erroneous "logic" is behind those thoughts and how to confront those negative time bombs.

Example: I made the worst mistake ever. I am so stupid.

Since I'm sure I will make OTHER mistakes in the course of my life... this one won't be "the worst." And regardless of what I feel, I'm not stupid. I got my degree in Rhetoric for UC Berkeley and I successfully complete my teacher preparation program through Cal State. I hold a valid California Teaching Credential. At least on paper... I'm not stupid.

So: for anybody who is actually following this thread... consider recording your negative thoughts. Next week I'll share what I learn about identifying the thoughts for what they are and how to debunk them.

 

[Aussie_Gareth]

LC,

I really like the posts you make here, keep posting every week, i'm sure people read, even if they don't post, I certainly read this thread. This is also good for the average folk so they can handle their emotions better.

I'm glad this group is showing you there are different ways of looking at events and circumstances and how you can better cope, i'm getting a lot out of your group as well as you know

 

[Laurel Crowned]

LC,

I really like the posts you make here, keep posting every week, i'm sure people read, even if they don't post, I certainly read this thread. This is also good for the average folk so they can handle their emotions better.

I'm glad this group is showing you there are different ways of looking at events and circumstances and how you can better cope, i'm getting a lot out of your group as well as you know

Thanks Gareth,

I guess it's the school teacher in me that likes to share valuable information.

 

[Laurel Crowned]

It's been a few weeks since I last posted here. Things have been hectic for me with personal and professional stress piling on. Things are settling down though I am really tired tonight but I want to start sharing things I'm learning in my Rapid Symptom Reduction group (RSR). I believe that this group is answered prayer. I also believe it lines up with my Christian beliefs so I can apply the concepts without worrying about secular influence on my mind. God uses all things... and I believe he is using this group in my life to give me more and more freedom.

I'm going to keep this post short... but the following post will outline some of the techniques I've learned and strategies I've learned to use. These things helped get me through the last month without stressing out completely like I would have done in the past.

My hope is that information in this thread will prove helpful to others. I'm not sure how to upload stuff... but I'd like to find away to make some of the worksheets we've been given available to people who read this thread.

And finally, I pray for anybody suffering from depression who might be reading in this thread. There is light at the end of the tunnel... and it isn't a train.

Peace,
LC

 

[Laurel Crowned]

I kept saying I was going to update this thread... but with school back in session I've been maxed out for time... SO, a very dear friend decided to surprise me by making a website where people could access the pages I've felt were really beneficial for me from my group.

http://members.dodo.net.au/~garethstewart/


Check it out. It has information on dealing with negative thoughts, relaxation techniques, and strategies for bringing joy back into your life when you are dealing with depression. I promise that none of this stuff is new-agey or contradicts scripture in any way. Let me know if this stuff is helpful.

Peace,
LC