If you are reading this then you probably suffer from addiction and/or depression or know somebody who does. Otherwise, why bother? We are second class citizens, no use whatsoever, right? Wrong! This is a brief summary of my experience.
After years of chronic depression (from childhood) and several suicide attempts, at the age of 48 I had a massive nervous breakdown due to an unrelated cause and was hospitalized for 8 weeks. Then followed two and a half years of one to one therapy with a psychologist. I had a Community Psychiatric Nurse visit me once a week for a while, then I was on my own. It wasn't as frightening as I had thought. I was on a high dose of antidepressants which had stabilized me and, after a few years of being on a level plain and having received all the therapy which was available on the NHS, at almost 60 I started to wonder if life was as good as it could be or I was on the spiral to old age. I had my own home mortgage free and my 10 cats. I was fairly content. What is wrong with that?
I decided to look online for some gentle adult activities in the area where I live and came across Meet Up. I joined, chose some of the groups I may be interested in, and the emails started arriving with invitations to go along to various events/meetings. The first one was Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Trackers Meet Up.
At the first meeting I was introduced to the Well Being Trackers and it was explained to me what the purpose of the group was. There are several trackers covering all types of situations. At first I wasn't convinced it was for me. However, on reading through my first tracker I realized that I was falling far short of a productive healthy existence. I had no social life for one thing which I am now working on. Gradually my life has actually improved by constantly thinking about the points mentioned. Brilliant! Six months ago I wouldn't have believed it possible.
I am now using three of the trackers simultaneously and seeing what works best for me. I look at the trackers at least once a week and fill in the worksheets so I can chart my progress or see where I could do better. It doesn't take long.
Remember to be kind to yourself. We are all worth the air we breathe. We just have to get out there and do something about it. No one can force us and no one can do it for us, we have to do it ourselves. Give the trackers a try and see how you feel.
Of course, there is a lot more to my story than is stated here, real grizzly stuff. My name is Wendy Garbett. Why should I be anonymous? I have come a long way and I am proud of it!
