1ARETE ONLUS – Advocacy Association for the Empowerment

of People suffering from Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Italy

THE WAY TO

WELLNESSThe experience coming from a mood disorder

patient association

2ARETE ONLUS – Advocacy Association for the Empowerment

of People suffering from Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Italy

ARETE EXPERIENCE

ARETE was born in 2004 during the GAMIAN-Europe Convention in Tallin (Estonia). Some Italian patients, acting for years in the field, thought of acting with an innovative approach in Italy:

to grow patients education and consciousness on the mental illness nature to promote advocacy and empowerment of patients in social e working sphere to promote self-help groups patients directed

3ARETE ONLUS – Advocacy Association for the Empowerment

of People suffering from Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Italy

CRISIS

The controversy stems from the following quote from John F. Kennedy, delivered in an Indianapolis speech on April 12, 1959.“When written in Chinese the word crisis is composed of two characters:

one represents danger and the other represents opportunity”

While there is ambiguity present in any translation, the Mandarin word weiji has proven particularly controversial.

4ARETE ONLUS – Advocacy Association for the Empowerment

of People suffering from Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Italy

A NEW BEGINNING

The illness changed our life

A DANGER that can cause terrible

damages

In other cases even an OPPORTUNITY

to better know ourself

to gain a satisfactory way of life

5ARETE ONLUS – Advocacy Association for the Empowerment

of People suffering from Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Italy

APPROACHING THE DESEASE ONSET

Acceptance of the disease

Search for a physician

Adherence to drug cures (when

needed)

Search for social and/or human help

Very well known points in too many cases not practised

6ARETE ONLUS – Advocacy Association for the Empowerment

of People suffering from Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Italy

AND THE REST OF LIFE ?

There are many resources to understand

how to live the onset of a mood disorder.

Sometimes more than one episode

occurs.

How can we live and not only survive with this perspective?

7ARETE ONLUS – Advocacy Association for the Empowerment

of People suffering from Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Italy

POSITIVE REFLECTIONS ON THE ILLNESS

A normal life with a good social functioning and satisfactory working position is possible

Negative thinking, sense of despair, fear are in many cases only the result of the illness

Look for the best cures possible, don’t accept compromises on this point

8ARETE ONLUS – Advocacy Association for the Empowerment

of People suffering from Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Italy

WHEN THINGS HAD BEEN WRONG

FOR A LONG TIME In many cases we need a long time before

reaching a correct diagnosis and a good therapy

This can cause serious difficulties: divorce, discharge at work, loneliness

What does the experience of our associates

teach us in terms of avoiding damages?

9ARETE ONLUS – Advocacy Association for the Empowerment

of People suffering from Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Italy

KNOWLEDGE OF THE ILLNESS

Reading review and booklets

Discussing rationale and effects of therapy

withprofessionals

Compare one’s condition with the other ones’

We aim to accept the illness and to live life at our best

10ARETE ONLUS – Advocacy Association for the Empowerment

of People suffering from Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Italy

No important decisions during the acute

phase

Before a decision, reflect if the emotional

aspects of the disease could affect it

A reliable person help is useful in this

situation

TAKE DECISIONS

11ARETE ONLUS – Advocacy Association for the Empowerment

of People suffering from Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Italy

SELF-HELP GROUPS

source of human solidarity and empathy

source of knowledge of the nature of the illness

source of knowledge of the better placeswhere to receive cures.

helping others help you to grow your self-

esteem

12ARETE ONLUS – Advocacy Association for the Empowerment

of People suffering from Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Italy

KNOW YOURSELF

Analyse your mood and behaviour A mood diary with taken medicines could be

useful

Avoid to think entering vicious circles

Learn to increase your self-esteem Use objective measures to evaluate your

activities Do your best acting on these activities Force yourself to appreciate your successes

13ARETE ONLUS – Advocacy Association for the Empowerment

of People suffering from Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Italy

PHYSICAL EXERCISE ADVANTAGES

Your body reacts better to stresses

A better mood granted by endogenous

substances

An pleasant body increases self-esteem

Occasion for social relations (join a team)

More...

14ARETE ONLUS – Advocacy Association for the Empowerment

of People suffering from Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Italy

FOOD

Sometime mood and eat disorders are associated

There is the wrong belief that medicines can cause

fatness

ONLY CALORIES CAN CAUSE FATNESS

I want to reach a goal → I have a regular eating

A pleasant physical aspect can help good social

relations

15ARETE ONLUS – Advocacy Association for the Empowerment

of People suffering from Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Italy

SLEEP

No healthy life is achievable without a good

sleep

Particularly true for people with a mood

disorder

No matter how much stress you bear

YOU MUST SLEEP

Look for your tricks to relax

If needed use drugs under your doctor control

16ARETE ONLUS – Advocacy Association for the Empowerment

of People suffering from Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Italy

FEELINGS AND RELATIONSHIPS

After a long period of social retirement we

need to recover feelings and relationships

we lacked during the acute phase of illness

Pragmatic approach (different for each person)

have no excessive hurry in restoring relationships

overcome the shame deriving from the illness

take an usual behaviour, after five minutes your illness will be forgotten by the person you are speaking with

17ARETE ONLUS – Advocacy Association for the Empowerment

of People suffering from Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Italy

NEW EXPERIENCES

The illness changes your feelings and

your way of watching at life

Explore this new realityTry to open to others

After an acute episode some breakdowns occur.

It is difficult to restore them. Sometime a new

start is better than suffering pursuing the past.

18ARETE ONLUS – Advocacy Association for the Empowerment

of People suffering from Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Italy

A FEEDBACK APPROACH

In our self-help groups we share our

experiences and week by week we see the

results of the different personal approaches

Discuss with releable person of your experience

Force yourself to understand the deep reasons ofyour acting

19ARETE ONLUS – Advocacy Association for the Empowerment

of People suffering from Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Italy

THE CONSCIOUSNESS

Persons are not puppets

They have to play a central role in their rehabilitation

The knowledge of their disorder strongly reduces human and social costs of the illness

20ARETE ONLUS – Advocacy Association for the Empowerment

of People suffering from Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Italy

AN ARETE SELF-HELP GROUP

21ARETE ONLUS – Advocacy Association for the Empowerment

of People suffering from Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Italy

ARETE HEAD OFFICE

via Maspero, 20 - I 21100 VARESE - ITALYTel: +39 335 1026265 - Fax: +39 0332

834078

email: secretary@depressionet.euwebsite: www.depressionet.eu