As its the final day of Mental Health Awareness Week 2018, it felt right to end this subject with Recovery and Relapse.
Recovery and Relapse come hand in hand when you have mental health problems. It is important to remember that recovery is possible but relapse is equally as likely to happen at some point along this journey.
There will come a point in your mental health journey when you decide enough is enough. You'll more than likely have hit rock bottom and know that from that point on, the only way is up.
I personally never thought I'd ever reach a point in my life where I wanted to fight for recovery; but i did, and you will too.
Over the past few years I have experienced relapse multiple times for reasons unknown and due to life changing events. Each time i have fought back to get my self into a state of recovery - sometimes this lasts weeks, sometimes months or years; each recovery is an achievement and shouldn't be judged on the amount of time it took to recover or the amount of time sent in a stable condition.
Recovery for me, isn't about a 'cure' as there isn't one for the condition that i have, it is about managing my symptoms and being stable enough to go about everyday life. Yes, I'll still struggle to do a lot of things a healthy person would be able to, but recovery is when I don't let my mental health stop me from doing things i need/like to do.
The chances are, that when you decide to aim for recovery, you'll have to do most of the recovery steps alone. You of course will have people along side you to encourage you and to hold your hand when you need it most, but for the most part you'll be the one battling daily to reach the end goal of stability.
Any form of mental health condition make it appear very difficult to set goals for yourself and it's these goals that will aid you to recover. It can feel almost impossible to think about the things that you wish and hope for or care about especially when it comes to thinking about the future. So start small; write lists of daily tasks that are fairly easy to accomplish - get out of bed, make your bed, put on clothes, have a shower, brush your teeth etc. Eventually you can start adding bigger daily goals to your routine - visit family/friends, go food shopping, cook a meal etc.
All of these things over time will build up your belief in your own capability to achieve in life.
Setting life goals is an important part of recovery and this will come with time. Focus on the above smaller goals and achieve these before making the life goals like to go to university, to have children, get a full time job or move out of your parents home.
Many of us will feel like we're constantly playing 'catch up' with those of our age as mental health has paused our life for some time. You need to remember that you were/are unwell and your health must always come before anything else. You'll too get to experience these milestones.
Once you are 'recovered' it is vital to be prepared for another episode of mental illness - relapse. Mental health issues can pop up at any time.
A relapse may occur when you feel okay, happy and stable, it also might happen when the symptoms of your illness worsen or when previous symptoms return; the most likely reason behind relapse is a trigger such as a life changing event or an event that is a reminder of negative experiences in your past.
It is important that within your recovery phase you come to terms with the fact that the black dog almost certainly will come back at some point in the future. Relapse is normal and okay.
Whilst stable, it is a good idea to create a 'plan' for if and when the symptoms come back. Contact friends and family and ask for them to keep an eye on your behaviour (sometimes they can sense it far before you can), have the contacts of professional help ready at all times, be mindful of the activities that have helped you to recover in the past and act quickly on your symptoms. You've done this once, the second, third and fourth time will be easier due to your knowledge of the recovery process.
Once the signs and symptoms start showing it is essential to put this plan into action to avoid hitting rock bottom again. The best place to start is to speak to your GP about the concern you have about slipping backwards into bad mental health, they can start treatment that may prevent it from becoming too much.
This awareness week is now coming to an end, but it is vital that we keep talking about mental health and the stigma that surrounds it.
For the final time in this series of posts, here are some useful numbers and information pages:
- If your life or lives of others are at immediate risk, please call 999.
- If you're interested in finding out more about mental health and the different types, symptoms and advice, visit www.mind.org.uk.
- For advice and helplines dedicated to your area visit Rethink Mental Illness here.
- The Samaritans have a 24/7 365 days of the year free telephone service for anybody who needs to talk about mental health: 116 123.
- You can find other methods of contacting a service for advice or support here.
- For mental health training and first aid visit MHFA here.
- You can speak to your GP about mental health within working hours. Outside of these hours you can ring 111.
- Choices in Recovery is a great website for information about recovery and relapse if you'd like to read more.
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