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Anybody out there?
- Thread starter sunlion
- Start Date
Aren't there any 12 step meetings closely associated with anything like that? From what I understand, there's been an incredible amount of groups that have taken the foundation of the 12 step program of Alcoholics Anonymous to deal in different problem areas in life.
I would think there would have to be something available in most cities. Twelve step groups are free and it benefits the community as a whole.
I would think there would have to be something available in most cities. Twelve step groups are free and it benefits the community as a whole.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #24
I used to work with dual diagnosis people - that is, people who have both an addiction and a mental illness - so I knew there were a whole bunch of 12 step programs out there. Problem is, they usually don't keep contact info for each other and they don't all get listed in the phone book. So I called our local mental hospital, and they had the listing for DMDA. I called them and left a name and number, and they called me back within 24 hours so that was pretty impressive.
They have a monthly schedule of meetings:
Week 1 - speaker from a service provider
Week 2 & 4 - speaker who is a psychopharmacologist (works with drugs that affect brain chemistry) who has an 18 lesson program he does every year
Week 3 & 5 - (some months have 5 weeks) group discussion, with the friends and families in a different group from the person witht the disorder
This week was the drug guy. He talked about the history of psychiatry and basic brain chemistry, which I knew most of, but not everyone does and it's good to review so we'll see how it goes. And I talked toa few other people who are in my same boat, which is good because you start telling a story and everyone just nods and laughs because we recognize it. You don't have to explain stuff from scratch, and nobody looks at you like you're very strange.
What was good for me, was to hear that I am not the only one and that other people had worse problems. My husband, for example, gets up and goes to work every day, even though he likes to spend the rest of his time in bed, but other people have spouses who can't work. My husband has been suicidal a few times, but other people have been htreatened by their partners when they lose touch with reality. He's never been hospitalized, I've never had to call the police on him, he's good with our daughter. So we'll tweak the meds when we see the MD in a few weeks that should help, unless it makes it worse as med changes sometimes do, but I won't worry about that at this point.
It worked out well this week because I went to the meeting, daughter went to a parents' night out that a local church is doing as an outreach in our apartments, and hubby spent the evening alone. And I think he needed that because now he is ready to go do something with us this afternoon, which is fairly unusual lately. So I might not go every week but I expect to go back now and then.
They have a monthly schedule of meetings:
Week 1 - speaker from a service provider
Week 2 & 4 - speaker who is a psychopharmacologist (works with drugs that affect brain chemistry) who has an 18 lesson program he does every year
Week 3 & 5 - (some months have 5 weeks) group discussion, with the friends and families in a different group from the person witht the disorder
This week was the drug guy. He talked about the history of psychiatry and basic brain chemistry, which I knew most of, but not everyone does and it's good to review so we'll see how it goes. And I talked toa few other people who are in my same boat, which is good because you start telling a story and everyone just nods and laughs because we recognize it. You don't have to explain stuff from scratch, and nobody looks at you like you're very strange.
What was good for me, was to hear that I am not the only one and that other people had worse problems. My husband, for example, gets up and goes to work every day, even though he likes to spend the rest of his time in bed, but other people have spouses who can't work. My husband has been suicidal a few times, but other people have been htreatened by their partners when they lose touch with reality. He's never been hospitalized, I've never had to call the police on him, he's good with our daughter. So we'll tweak the meds when we see the MD in a few weeks that should help, unless it makes it worse as med changes sometimes do, but I won't worry about that at this point.
It worked out well this week because I went to the meeting, daughter went to a parents' night out that a local church is doing as an outreach in our apartments, and hubby spent the evening alone. And I think he needed that because now he is ready to go do something with us this afternoon, which is fairly unusual lately. So I might not go every week but I expect to go back now and then.
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