Intensive Outpatient Program

Stepped Falls by Matt June 2011

After fourteen days of hospitalization at Acadia Hospital in Bangor, I entered the outpatient program. It is referred to as IOP, or Intensive Outpatient Program. I spent fourteen days in this portion of my recovery. Truly a wonderful experience.

The program runs five days a week from eight in the morning till four in the afternoon. I met some wonderful people and found tremendous support. Each hour is filled with support groups covering topics like; mindfulness, sleep, grief, planning, medication management, coping skills, spirituality, relaxation and open process.

IOP is where I discovered the power of mindfulness and began my formalized meditation practice each day and night. It was here that Tony introduced me to Jon Kabat-Zinn and his very accessible meditation practice.

When I have a tough day now I return to the skills and experiences I learned in IOP. It was the patients and staff that helped me see some extremely valuable lessons. Such as staying positive, getting a good nights sleep and creating time to relax and decompress.

The most valuable lesson is one I forget most often. Thinking Positive! This is the one skill hardest to master and seems to be the most fleeting for me. My dark passenger, depression, works exceptionally hard to extinguish this flame.

The other skill was to develop a pre sleep ritual. As you know I meditate twenty minutes prior to bedtime, take my night time medication and then am off to bed. This assures me of at least seven hours of solid uninterrupted sleep. The ritual works like clockwork most nights. I am now sleeping with few disturbed moments and waking feeling refreshed.

The IOP was extremely beneficial for my recovery. Now, as recently experienced, when I hit a bad stretch of experiencing the depressions weight I have a good set of skills to fall back on. A good set of skills, experiences and friendships to call upon to help me through.

Take Care Of Yourselves!