Recovery

The topic of recovery and taking it one day at a time is one that is so prevalent to me. I wish i could I say that once you’ve uncovered the fact, that what you have been dealing with is a mental health illness, the problem goes away.

Unfortunately in my case this couldn’t be further from the truth. Todays subject is so relevant, as the last two weeks have epitomised the fact that mental health illnesses do not just go away. It’s taken me two weeks to write a new blog as my mind has been fixated on internal issues recently.

Now I don’t want to sound negative and say there is no cure for mental health, nor am I saying that you can’t get better. What I am saying is from personal experience, we go through highs and lows. It’s definitely a lot easier to manage now I know what I’m dealing with, but still frustrating and upsetting when the lows do set in.

It is great to be able to speak about my experiences and the joy I get by helping others is amazing and joyous. This certainly helps with my own recovery and I would like to think that others are lifted to.

Recovery can mean so many different things to so many different people. For many, recovery is about the realisation of goals, and the development of relationships and skills that support a positive life. For example, by writing these posts on my own personal battles, it provides me with the positivity that I am helping others as well as myself. So ideally, my goal is to help others with their mental health issues.

What Is Recovery?

Recovery as a whole is process of change, which include:

• Improve health and wellness
• Live a self directed life
• Strive to achieve your full potential

Four Dimensions of Recovery

• Purpose: Live life with meaningful daily activities, such as volunteering, caring for someone. Helping others and get creative.
• Health: Make the right healthy choices that support physical and emotional well-being.
• Home: Have a stable and safe place to live.
• Community: Start relationships and social networks that provide support.

One Day at a Time

Since discovering I had a mental health illness, I have tried to just focus on helping others, including myself and my family. I break tasks and goals down into manageable actions one day at a time. These actions certainly help me into a more positive approach, reducing anxiety levels massively.

By obtaining a manageable routine and not putting too much pressure on myself, concentrating on what is in front of me. Rather than dwelling on what has been or thinking to much in the future. These little changes certainly help my mental health more manageable. Unfortunately the seeds of doubt do creep back in.

Mental Health Battles

I have been open about my own mental health battles, and for me I suffered from severe health anxiety. Which had a detrimental impact on my life, so much so, these thoughts still affect me. It’s a lot more easy to manage these days though as when it was at it’s peak, I had no idea what I was dealing with, so I couldn’t deal with it like I do now.

That being said I still find myself questioning if it is mental health and that I’m not just masking the symptons of a physical illness. Crazy right?

Now I know this not to be true as I’ve had all the physical tests done to rule out what physical problems I thought I had, COPD, but it still doesn’t stop the thoughts from entering my head. This is due to years and years of negative thinking, like putting a virus in your mind.

The brain is a powerful machine and if we tell it something enough it will believe it, either negative or positive, it’s very hard to try and change your mind once it has been fed so many negative things.

Living with a mental illness is hard, but I know that by goal setting, helping others and other positive mindset changes, we can recover – one day at a time.

Recovery