A Twelve Step fellowship
Mental Illness Anonymous is a fellowship of people who live with mental illness and help each other recover, one day at a time.
Find a meetingWhat this is
Mental Illness Anonymous adapts the Twelve Steps, first written for alcoholics, to the daily work of living with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, OCD, PTSD, and any other mental illness. Members meet regularly, share their experience, and work the steps with the help of a sponsor.
The program is spiritual, not religious. Each member defines a Higher Power in their own way, or not at all. Anonymity protects everyone: what is said in a meeting stays in the meeting, and members are known by first name only.
MIA works alongside professional care, never instead of it. We encourage every member to keep their appointments, take medication as prescribed, and follow the treatment plan built with their own clinicians.
The program
We admitted we were powerless over the effects of our mental illness, and that our lives had become unmanageable.
Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity and stability.
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of a Higher Power as we each understood that Power.
Made a searching and fearless inventory of ourselves: our patterns, our fears, and our resentments.
Admitted to ourselves, to our Higher Power, and to another person the exact nature of what we found.
Became entirely ready to let go of the patterns that keep us sick.
Humbly asked for help in letting them go.
Made a list of all persons we had harmed, including ourselves, and became willing to make amends to them all.
Made direct amends wherever possible, except when doing so would injure them or others.
Continued to take personal inventory, noticing early warning signs, and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
Sought through prayer, meditation, or quiet reflection to improve our conscious contact with our Higher Power, asking only for knowledge of the next right step and the strength to take it.
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others living with mental illness, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
These steps are adapted from the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. A.A. is a program of recovery from alcoholism only and is not affiliated with Mental Illness Anonymous.
Meetings
Meetings run about an hour. Most open with a reading, move into sharing, and close together. Newcomers are welcome to listen without speaking. Meeting details below are placeholders until the fellowship confirms its schedule.
For anyone touched by mental illness, including family and friends.
Day, time, and location to comeFor people who identify as living with mental illness.
Day, time, and location to comeVideo or phone, for anyone who cannot attend in person.
Link and schedule to comeHow we stay healthy as a group
Twelve Step fellowships follow Twelve Traditions that keep groups safe, equal, and focused. The ideas that matter most for a newcomer:
Our common welfare comes first. Personal recovery depends on the unity of the group.
No one is in charge. Group decisions are made by the members, together.
The only requirement for membership is a desire to recover.
Each group is self-supporting through its own voluntary contributions.
We have one purpose: to carry the message to the person still suffering.
We take no position on outside issues, including treatments, medications, or politics.
Anonymity is the foundation. We place principles before personalities.
Get in touch
We reply to every message. First names only, if you prefer.
Or write to hello@mentalillnessanonymous.org (placeholder address).
MIA is a fellowship, not an emergency service. In the United States, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, any hour, any day. Outside the U.S., contact your local emergency number.