intro

Intro. “keep it real” (Ali G)

site and our book shows depression from the view point of people who want to do something about it.
It is has 3 aims. First to present depression management for those that have it, second to try to help friends and relatives of sufferers to understand the illness, and last to show by example how people with the same basic problem can find tremendous support and therapy through forming groups of their own.

Doctors and psychiatrists have taken a few guesses, some of them quite good, over the years, as to what we feel. The professionals aren’t enough. The principle of groups of our kind was laid down in the 1930’s by Bill Wilson, who founded Alcoholics Anonymous. The medical profession at the time had virtually written off chronic alcoholics as a lost cause. Within five years, Bill W had 100,000 alcoholics sober, by meeting in local groups. Scott Peck, the enlightened community- building American Psychiatrist who wrote “The Road Less Travelled” wrote that the founding of AA was the most significant event of the century.

Our group is the natural extension of two people trying to solve mutual problems over a cup of coffee. This is the obvious first step. When there are 3 or 4, maybe rent a room for a weekly meeting. Advertise and tell.

150 people have attended our group, and at any time there are between 8 and 15 at any meeting. Some of their stories are here, and hopefully illustrate the range of the illness. This is not a cry for help, nor an invitation for sympathy. This is a Lifeline.