Recovery

Recovery is a journey not a destination.  A myth that surrounds mental health problems is that people never get better. One of the biggest challenges a person faces when given a diagnosis is the fear that they will be unwell for the rest of their lives and that their lives will never again be enjoyable or have meaning. Loss of social status, self respect, relationships and the ability to work are all things that a person given a diagnosis of a mental illness might fear.  The fact is that recovery is much more common than most people realise. A message of hope given to a person who is experiencing mental distress has been shown to help a person take the first steps towards that recovery. Recovery is often misunderstood to mean that a person returns to the way they were before they became unwell. In fact recovery means different things to different people and no two individual's journey of recovery will be the same. Recovery is much more than the absence of symptoms, it is about regaining control over the management of ones own health care and living life in a way that is meaningful to the individual. People who have experienced mental health difficulties may often find themselves symptom free for long periods of time or even for the rest of their lives but it is unlikely that they will return to the way they were before the illness. This is because every event in our life changes us and forms the way we are. Recovery is about moving on not going back. Read about the new Wellness Recovery Action Planning tool that is helping people take control of their own recovery. It is useful for everyone. Take a look at the Mental Health Recovery website! Read about some journeys of recovery at the Scottish Recovery Network.