DBSA e-Update November 2009

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Announcing the DBSA 2010 National Conference--Celebrating 25 Years of Peer Support!

Celebrate Our 25th Anniversary this Spring! DBSA 2010 National Conference April 30 - May 2, 2010 Eaglewood Resort & Spa Itasca, IL (Chicago suburb)  REGISTER NOW!  Online registration     Mail or fax (download form) Telephone (800) 826-3632

DBSA got its start 25 years ago with people who wanted to be there for each other as they traveled the road to recovery. So, we’re going back to our roots—our grassroots—and celebrating something that’s absolutely crucial to recovery: peer support. It’s our 25th anniversary, and we're hosting a very special conference in 2010 in honor of a quarter of a century of peer support!

• We’re having the conference earlier--in the spring--to start the celebration early!
• We’re inviting you to our home state of Illinois, where it all started!
• We’re hosting it at a beautiful resort where you can renew, relax, and refresh!

Join us for powerful keynote speakers, outstanding educational breakouts, peer roundtables, and so much more! And yes, it's back for its 3rd year: DBSA Stand-Up Comedy Night! Apply to be a stand-up student and debut at the conference!  Enjoy all of these activities at the beautiful Eaglewood Resort & Spa, and renew, relax, and refresh while you take advantage of all it has to offer! Get the conference schedule, registration details, and more at www.DBSAlliance.org/Conference2010. ~REGISTER NOW~ Tell us the topics you'd like to see presented at the conference, and you could receive a FREE conference registration!	Resort & Spa Lobby	Resort & Spa Bowling Alley
	Meet & Greet (Thursday p.m.)	Water Aerobics (Sunday a.m.)

Building on the Dream at the 4th Annual Rebecca's Dream Gala

Last Chance to Win $1,000!

Share your talents—and your recovery story—on film, and you could win up to $1,000! But you’ve only got until December 1, so don’t delay! Send us your personal video by December 1 to be entered into the DBSA 2009 Facing Us Contest for a chance to win a cash prize!

 Peer Specialist Training Updates

On the Road Again

September was a busy month for DBSA peer specialist training! We're excited to have had 79 people participatie in two courses offered in Indiana and Texas. And we were especially happy to welcome a significant number of Peer Support Technicians employed by Department of Veterans Affairs facilities throughout the country: Washington, Florida, Oregon, New Jersey, Arkansas—even Hawaii! As always, our participants enthusiastically embraced this chance to understand their unique role in the recovery of others and to learn specific peer support techniques and tools.

We would like to thank the Central Texas VA facilities and Austin State Hospital for their initiative in helping make this course a reality. We’re also grateful to Austin Tarrant County MHMR for both its sponsorship and for hosting the course at their training facility.

Learn more about peer specialists and DBSA’s training courses. 
 

Chapter Update--Help Us Plan the 2010 Chapter Leadership Forum!

Because DBSA is holding our conference in the spring of 2010, that means the next Chapter Leadership Forum (CLF) is just around the corner! CLF offers an opportunity for DBSA chapter leaders and participants to come together from around the country to learn from one another. Help us make CLF in 2010 the best yet by letting us know what you would like to see! If you have a topic you would like to see presented at the 2010 CLF--or if you have a session YOU would like to present--click here. Stay tuned to www.DBSAlliance.org/CLF2010 for the latest updates!

Attitudes Toward Mental Illness

Help us understand the issues people face every day when it comes it mental illness. The survey, “Attitudes Toward Mental Illness,” focuses on issues related to living with mood disorders, the impact on family and friends, and care that is provided. We’ll use your feedback to help determine what programs and resources will be the most helpful…and also to inform the general public on these issues the consumer community faces.   To share your ideas for future topics, e-mail ADaniels@DBSAlliance.

Ever Thought of Using Light Therapy?

Help researchers learn more about this treatment and what users think of it by taking a survey. Click here, or paste this link into your browser: www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=wxxRIpE0j5CbFtWcUVxYFQ_3d_3d

This research is conducted by The University of Pittsburgh and is for academic research purposes only. Please feel free to contact Kathryn Roecklein, PhD, for more information kroeck@pitt.edu. 

Be Part of a National Dialogue to Help Us Make a Healthier Nation

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services invites you to comment on the DRAFT set of objectives for Healthy People 2020. For three decades, Healthy People has provided a set of national 10-year health promotion and disease prevention objectives aimed at improving the health of all Americans.
 
Visit www.healthypeople.gov/hp2020/comments to
•        View proposed draft objectives for Healthy People 2020.
•        Comment on the proposed objectives.
•        Comment on the topic areas.
•        Suggest additional objectives.
•        Make a general comment.
 
Your comments will help ensure issues important to you are included in Healthy People. Establishing objectives and providing benchmarks to track progress motivates, guides, and focuses action. Be part of the change. Comments will be accepted through December 31, 2009.
 
Visit www.healthypeople.gov/hp2020/comments today. Your feedback will help define the vision and strategy for building a healthier Nation.

Wellness & Inspiration

In the Facing Us Clubhouse, consumers who have found small ways to make a big difference in their recovery can share wellness tips like those listed here. Visit the Clubhouse to be inspired by your peers…and to pass on some of your own inspiration. 

Lists "Write lists! Write a weekly list of things that you would like to be able to achieve. Then write a daily list and write things down as you do them. Doing one or two tasks from the weekly list each day within your routine helps get things down without feeling overwhelmed and ending up in a swing and not doing any of it." Codes "In my family, I am not the only one who struggles with this disorder…we have a code…when I (or another member of my family) says “I'M HAVING A BAD DAY,” it means we need a little extra space and a little more flexibility in our day for our moods, thoughts, and feelings. This code allows us to express the fact that we are struggling without allowing us to wallow in the struggle of the day. It's a code that can work in almost any situation."  Laughter "We live with serous illnesses, but that does not mean we have to always deal with it seriously. Learn to laugh and use humor as a great coping skill. I do it--it works!"

Share some of your own “wellness wisdom!"

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A Note about FacingUs.org: 
When you visit the Facing Us Clubhouse, you’ll notice that several "rooms,” including the room that houses wellness tips, require you to log in or create an account. Why is this necessary? Because in these sections, you are creating personal journals, books or a plan that is uniquely yours. So, we need a way to pull your unique information--like pulling your file out of a filing cabinet.  

Joining the Facing Us Clubhouse is easy and FREE! We only need two things to create an account just for you—your e-mail and a password. Please be assured that we will not distribute or sell your information to anyone outside of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. The media room of the site does not require registration. The only reason we require registration for other parts of the site is so that you can create your own personal wellness tools.