How it Works

At this time manic-depressives are getting help through Manic Depressives Anonymous Painstaking in our commitment, we see a little improvement each day. The time has come to take our rightful spot as leaders. We are seeing results on a daily basis.

We came to believe it would work for us. The benefits of our way of life are tremendous and real. Here are the twelve steps we take in earnest.

The Twelve Steps

STEP ONE: We admitted we were powerless over Manic Depression, that our lives had become unmanageable.

STEP TWO: We came to believe a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

STEP THREE: We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood God.

STEP FOUR: We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

STEP FIVE: We admitted to God, to ourselves and another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

STEP SIX: We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

STEP SEVEN: We humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.

STEP EIGHT: We made a list of all people we have harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.

STEP NINE: Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

STEP TEN: We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

STEP ELEVEN: We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out.

STEP TWELVE: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to Manic Depressives, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Now we have finished the steps, or have we? No. We never stop working the steps. We experience growth and want more. Nothing in life is easy. What we're doing is not easy. So pat yourself on the back and realize you are a miracle; each and every one of us. We can't do it all at once, so remember, easy does it. Be open to new learning. Be ready to change everyday. Wishing won't get it done. Living the steps will!