"All I needed was someone to tell say, 'Yeah, I've been there, too,'" Susan said, "and that's what I found here." This attitude was typical of many of the older members present at the meeting; he almost total experience of isolation, difference and strangeness, and total helplessness could jus as well have come from a depression support group. Though these people had a specific real-world reason for their mental distress, their symptoms were no less chronic or clinically viable than those suffering from depression in more commonly recognized situations.
Doug, too, is an example of depression at work in the family of alcoholics. The real-world manipulation that his ex-wife practiced with the couple's children and money would be enough to drive most people to the brink of sever depression, if not right into it. This was not seemed to get Doug down the most, however. With some encouragement, he shared that it was not these details that he found difficult to deal with -- these were practical matters, and though no less meaningful for that at least they could be understood and grappled with in concrete ways. The complete change of personality that had appeared in the woman he married, however, continued to bother him immensely even years after his divorce had been made final. Such obsessive fixation can be a hallmark of depression, and Doug was not the only person at the Al-Anon meeting to evince this (RightHealth, 2008). In fact, coming to understand the alcoholic and forgive them and oneself is one of the main goals of Al-Anon (Al-Anon, 2006).
Dave, a younger man with more enthusiasm than know-how, was the titular leader of the meeting. However, he seemed quite willing to let the older and more experienced attendees really keep things rolling, and it quickly became clear that his role as leader came from a spirit of pure compassion and companionship, and extended...
He was very good at being inclusive, making sure everyone there was acknowledged individually and offered the opportunity to speak. He also did not exhibit ny of the arrogance so typically associated with leadership, especially (though perhaps unfairly) in youth.
The group did not focus on the medical or clinical aspects of the effects of alcoholism, but rather on the purely human particulars of the individuals present. According to their website, "Al-Anon has but one purpose: to help families of alcoholics" (Al-Anon, 2006). It is not a medical support group, nor does it purport to be. Yet the human problems they encounter also result in -- and are largely the result of -- equally human psychological and medical issues. The various stories told by members of the group clearly illustrate the various medical disorders that can be associated even indirectly with the issue of alcoholism. Increasing evidence suggests that alcoholism itself has even more of a medical basis than previously thought, and the many disorders it can cause or exacerbate in alcoholics and others is ironically demonstrated by the continued success of Al-Anon and other twelve-step support groups. Depression effects almost everyone that is associated with alcoholism, and groups like Al-Anon do a great service in helping to combat such widespread and ill-understood issues.
References
Al-Anon Official Website. (2006). Accessed 6 March 2009. http://www.al-anon.alateen.org/english.html
Janssen Pharmaceuticals. (2007). "Alcohol related disorders." Accessed 6 March 2009. http://www.psychiatry24x7.com/bgdisplay.jhtml?itemname=substance_alcohol
RightHealth. (2008). "Depression guide." Accessed 6 March 2009. http://www.righthealth.com/topic/Depression/overview/adam20?fdid=adam_b593fc53774e94d72ec3432ed3972154§ion=Summary
