A few months back, Mickie Singer and a few women were discussing ways women dealing with depression could help one another.
Singer – a former high school teacher, author, mental-health educator and advocate – thought of all the times throughout history when women had bonded, from quilting bees to the suffrage movement.
That, Singer said, became the inspiration for a new support group, “Women with depression and other mood disorders.” The first meeting will be Tuesday night at Emmanuel Methodist Church in Loganville.
“How much more powerful would it be if women were getting together and discussing mental-health issues?” Singer said. “This is still something that’s not widely understood, something surrounded by a lot of stigma, and still something people tend to keep to themselves.”
Meetings will be confidential, Singer said. Anything said there stays there. No one has to join a formal organization, and no one will be bombarded with unwanted advice. The group is not therapy.
But people will listen.
And, Singer said, the group will offer a voluntary social outlet.
“You are going to get support here,” Singer said. “You’re not going to be questioned, you’re not going to be ridiculed, you’re not going to be put down . . . and you can’t get that kind of guarantee often.”
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jfrantz@ydr.com; 771-2062
By JEFF FRANTZ
Daily Record/Sunday News