Eleventh Year Anniversary
Last May marked the eleventh anniversary of the first Recovery International meeting I attended. Back then, the name of the program was called Recovery, Incorporated. I only attended one meeting in May 1999 and didn't come back again until June of the same year. It took me a while to realize that the tools of Recovery could really help me and that I was not a hopeless case.
That May, I had experienced a relapse of my nervous symptoms. My symptoms included anxiety, panic attacks, mood swings from deep depression (including suicidal symptoms) and hostile outbursts. I could not keep a job for more than a few weeks at a time. During the year prior to my first RI meeting, I had been hospitalized several times (I lost count but it was at least five times) for the above symptoms and even had ECT. After ECT, I felt marginally better and even started dating (I later married the man I was dating), but by May whatever relief I had received from the ECT had faded and I was just as depressed, anxious, and suicidal as before.
A friend from another support group was attending RI meetings and her improvement encouraged me to attend a meeting with her. The problem was, I was so distracted by my symptoms, I had no idea what was going on. (As a leader now, I share this experience with new members who sometimes express their frustration about not understanding the method.) Later that month, I had a relapse and ended up in the hospital for three days. While I was in the hospital, I decided to try RI one more time. Within a week of attending my second meeting, I was able to use the spots I had learned and work down my temper and symptoms.
Since then I've attended meetings regularly for eleven years. For the first two years, I probably attended five to six meetings a week, mostly with the friend who took me to my first meeting and also with my husband. My attendance slowed down a bit after the birth of my son in 2004 and now I lead a local meeting.
Luckily, there are now several online meetings and phone meetings, too, that I can attend should I feel the need to step up my attendance. I hope that anyone reading this who has not attended a RI meeting will sign up for the chat room right now and learn all you can about RI. "Do the thing you fear and dread to do" and "make a business of your mental health." Thanks, RI, for a wonderful eleven years.
That May, I had experienced a relapse of my nervous symptoms. My symptoms included anxiety, panic attacks, mood swings from deep depression (including suicidal symptoms) and hostile outbursts. I could not keep a job for more than a few weeks at a time. During the year prior to my first RI meeting, I had been hospitalized several times (I lost count but it was at least five times) for the above symptoms and even had ECT. After ECT, I felt marginally better and even started dating (I later married the man I was dating), but by May whatever relief I had received from the ECT had faded and I was just as depressed, anxious, and suicidal as before.
A friend from another support group was attending RI meetings and her improvement encouraged me to attend a meeting with her. The problem was, I was so distracted by my symptoms, I had no idea what was going on. (As a leader now, I share this experience with new members who sometimes express their frustration about not understanding the method.) Later that month, I had a relapse and ended up in the hospital for three days. While I was in the hospital, I decided to try RI one more time. Within a week of attending my second meeting, I was able to use the spots I had learned and work down my temper and symptoms.
Since then I've attended meetings regularly for eleven years. For the first two years, I probably attended five to six meetings a week, mostly with the friend who took me to my first meeting and also with my husband. My attendance slowed down a bit after the birth of my son in 2004 and now I lead a local meeting.
Luckily, there are now several online meetings and phone meetings, too, that I can attend should I feel the need to step up my attendance. I hope that anyone reading this who has not attended a RI meeting will sign up for the chat room right now and learn all you can about RI. "Do the thing you fear and dread to do" and "make a business of your mental health." Thanks, RI, for a wonderful eleven years.
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