“I am one.”
Three simple words sum up Nan Dickie’s commitment to the Depression Support Group, which she co-founded five years ago.
By that, Dickie refers to her own struggles with clinical depression, which she has lived with since she was 17.
“Anyone who comes to this group, I can relate to because I have had a lifetime of it. I have not yet heard anything from anyone that has surprised or shocked me.”
Dickie got the idea for the group while in treatment for her illness and while visiting with a friend Garry Hall, who also suffers from a mood disorder.
“We realized there’s so little of the way in services for people in this community with bipolar and depression. We know there were others out there like us who were experiencing some of the same things, but we were all existing part from one another,” she says. “Often when you are depressed, you can feel totally isolated, but to bring people together who are living with the same issue, it does help you to realize you are not alone in the world on this one.”
Having now served more than 60 people in its five years, the group continues to meet on the first and third Monday of each month at noon for one hour at the Askew’s Uptown conference room.
Everyone is welcome.
“It takes courage to live with depression and just get through each day, and even more to walk into a room of strangers, but without a doubt the most common comment I get is, “I wish I had come when I first heard about it,'” says Dickie.
After one meeting, Dickie says most participants get a genuine sense of belonging and acceptance. There is no pressure for people to share, in Dickie’s words “listening is participating.” All members can speak, f they wish, but with a few ground rules. The group has a talking stick, so that only the person holding the stick can speak, and there is to be no advice-giving.
“When we share, we share form the perspective of things that have worked or not worked for ourselves. We are not here to give prescriptions, medical or otherwise. We support each other with our own stories and experiences,” says Dickie.
Stigma about mental illness is still prevalent, says Dickie, with fear being cited as one reason people held back from attending. Change may be slow, but it is happening says Dickie, who says she now receives much more support and empathy when sharing her own story.
“It used to be very hush, hush, but now I get more and more people telling me that their mother or brother or daughter had struggles with depression. It’s very real and it touches so many.”
The group now gets referrals from psychiatrists and other mental health professionals in the area, and Dickie has also developed a mental health tool kit, with some items those suffering with mood disorders can use.
Monday, Oct. 10 is World Mental Health Day, and Dickie hopes to to continue with her advocacy and raising awareness.
“I’m really proud of what happens in this group, the bonds of friendship and understanding that are formed and of what we give each other. I feel good that I am able to help facilitate that.”
Anyone needing more information can contact Dickie at ndickie@telus.net or 250-832-3733.
