Читать книгу The ABCs of Recovery from Mental Illness - Carol A. Kivler - Страница 3

At 40 I was brought to my knees with depression and anxiety. Over the next ten years I was hospitalized four times. Because I was medication resistant, I received over 50 electroconvulsive therapy (ECT or shock therapy) treatments. During those ten years I struggled to find ways to sustain recovery for more than a couple of months or years. Where was I going wrong? I continued to follow my treatment plan to the last detail, yet I still had relapses that were both frightening and disappointing. What was the answer?

A few months after my fourth bout of depression and anxiety sent me back to the hospital for additional ECT treatments, I decided to incorporate non-medical strategies to help sustain my recovery.

I began experimenting with a variety of strategies and they seemed to make a difference. Journaling provided an outlet for getting things out of my head and onto paper. Quieting my mind throughout the day eased my racing thoughts. Scheduling activities on my calendar gave me something to look forward to. Recognizing how to “be” instead of “do” brought a sense of relief to my hurried world. Talking things out with friends wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Noticing how sleep had an impact was eye-opening. Putting nutrition on the top of my priority list helped reduce my weight gain. Staying focused on long-term recovery became my main goal. Before I knew it, the strategies began to add up.

Then the idea struck—what if I created a list of the strategies that helped me sustain my recovery? Using the alphabet as a framework, I created the list within three years of my last hospitalization and began sharing it with other consumers (in the mental health field, individuals are called consumers not patients). The strategies continued to help me stay in recovery and helped others do the same.

I was encouraged by consumers and colleagues to expand on my simple list of strategies. The result is what you now hold in your hand.

I am humbled to report that these 26 strategies used in conjunction with my treatment plan have sustained my recovery for more than 12 years with no more hospital stays and no more ECT treatments. It is my sincere hope that you, too, will find this handy pocket guide helpful as you strive to sustain your own recovery.