‘Birds of a feather flock together’ and yet ‘opposites attract’ – you can probably find a proverb to support any point of view. Lately I have been spending a lot of time with some others who are also dealing with depression at various levels. It has reminded me about my ideas around getting some sort of local support group for depression going in the area.
Such self-help is seen to be a benefit because it breaks down the feelings of being alone with whatever the struggles are. It enables you to talk to people who understand some of your experiences, laugh together about the weird moments, cry together about the tough times and generally have a place to be honest about how life is.
On the other hand hanging around people with the same problems as you can be a downer, if I am depressed why go to meet up with others who are as miserable as me? Afterall when it is a major struggle to get out of bed, or to get going with normal domestic life – what is going to be worth the effort it would take to get there and get involved.
What might a group get up to that would make it a welcoming space yet still offer the chance to get to know people in a similar situation? This community is too small to have a general book group and one for a specific group of people – so there doesn’t seem much point in mimicking activity focused clubs. The ideal would be for the group that forms to decide what it looks like – but how do we get that starter group together? What do you advertise as? All ideas appreciated...
Have a look at Meetup - a way of setting up groups for people with a common interest. I found a Mindfulness group through Meetup, and it is a great way of reaching out/advertising for not too great a cost.
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