Recovery

Well Christmas has come and gone.  I had a nice one with family and friends. Especially seeing my youngest grandson so excited, and even though it is so cold it was nice to see snow on the ground.  Thinking about recovery now and what is the best way.  That would be to put your foot forward and keep plowing ahead. We are going to stumble along the way.  That always happens.  You have to expect change and that was always a hard one for me. It does get better, although when you are going through a rough time it does not seem so.  When people tell you it will get better.  You think they are crazy. They are not in my shoes.
How can a person look at the positive when things keep getting worse and more bad stuff keeps happening?  You just have to take it one day at a time and do not forget to give thanks for what you have.  Sooner or later you will get a break.   You will not even remember when it was so rough.  My favorite Christmas song is “I’ll be home for Christmas” because I had so many when I was not.  Do I remember those hours in those days though?  I know they happened though.  You just have to remember they were bad and you do not want to do them over.  That is the same way it is with recovery forget how much you lost and concentrate on achieving small steps.
The biggest word in recovery and life is hope.  Hope the next day and year will be better.  Hope that you can achieve a lot.  I had hope that I could start a new life and I did.  There were downfalls and things do not always look the best.  Although if I keep my sight on achieving everything I want and take small steps I will achieve everything I want.  The hardest thing in life I believe is getting out of prison or the state hospital and wanting to be better and have a better life.  The stumbles will make you want to quit and return to drugs or alcohol.  You have to remember they never work they just bring you down faster.  You will not get rid of problems that way.  Just create more.  I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and keep pushing forward.

Expectations through Recovery

In general medicine and psychiatry recovery has been used as a term meaning the end of an experience or an episode of illness.  A larger concept of “recovery” as a philosophy had become popular in regard to recovery from substance abuse or drug addiction, which for example is within the twelve step programs.  The use of recovery is recent to psychiatric disorders and its movement of self help and the advocacy came forward during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.  The attitude of psychiatric rehabilitation began to incorporate it in the 1990’s in the United States followed by other countries.

There are Elements of recovery which are being stressed about in that each person’s journey is a very deep and personal process related to that persons place in the community and society.  There is Hope, finding it as a key to recovery.  It is not just optimism but a belief in yourself and the will to persevere through setbacks.  Hope is not only trusting, yet it also means risking failure and overcoming such.

A secure base or housing, sufficient income, freedom from violence and access to health care is also a part of recovery.  This is how a person builds personal visions and strength instead of being institutionalized.  Recovery is a sense of self and self esteem.  Moving away from insecurity and nurturing a personal space that allows development of understanding, wisdom and growth through spirituality.

Empowerment and self determination are important to recovery which includes self control.  This means developing self confidence for independence and decision making, challenging stigma and prejudice about ones differences and or mental stability.  These ideas in “Recovery” highlight my attitude in maintaining self esteem and strength.  Though I have been in a state of weakness for many years because of addictions prior to my optimistic insight believing I can achieve through understanding and faith, I would like to believe that others can find Hope as their key to recovery and freedom from their fears so that they can build a sense of self and have a more meaningful life. 

Written By Donald Sammons

Success: an effect of Recovery in Mental Health

Twenty-six years ago I was sitting in a halfway house, street drugs in my system, listening to doctors and case managers about my mental and physical health. I didn’t really care. In my mind I was already a failure, success was far beyond my reach and I had no aspirations to attain any greater achievements. To achieve a goal is to do something outstanding or worthy of others desire, this is an accomplishment, this is success. I had not given thought of this attitude; all I sought at that time was respect on the streets and that was not with dignity or self esteem. My recovery was a slow process and at every turn my own ego took a blow; my heart was beginning to understand failure and my mind was opening to what success truly is.

In Recovery at MHCD (Mental Health Center of Denver), we learn to understand what determination means, being serious and with purpose in arriving at a decision. Having strength, faith and hope in overcoming any barriers. Mental Illness is a barrier to self esteem, dignity and hope, and to succeed you must want to overcome the internal battles; looking forward to success is the resolution to end the fears of your life and the weakness of your own self esteem. We must be assured of our direction and in what we believe not doubting because of what we fear or what others may cause us to perceive.

Our hope must rest in what our purpose maybe and through the critiques of our advocates, whether they are case managers, clinicians, therapist, family or friends we persevere over our illness and have begun to reach a successful stage in Recovery by making the right decision.

“We promise according to our hopes and perform according to our fears”
La Rochefoucauld---Maxims, 38

Written by Donald Sammons

Recovery

It has been a good week so far. Recovery starts by being compliant with your medication. You will have to set the same time every day to take your medication. That is the first start of change and recovery. You take your medication at the same time every day that way you will get used to taking it. Once you start getting out of the fog of mental illness. You can decide what you would like to do with your life.
You will have to find the best medication that will work for you. When the fog started clearing in my mind once the medication started working. I started to think, I now have a chance to change my life around for the better. It did not happen overnight. I had to take small steps and learn how to live life sober. How to handle problems as they came up and learn about what mental illness is.
I also learned my triggers both for drinking and mental illness. Small steps and it worked out very well. I am at the right place that I want to be with my life. I do not stop learning about life and new things. Recovery does happen. Take it slow, and know you have the rest of your life to live differently.

Directions in Recovery

It’s important to pay attention to both the religion and spiritual side of a consumers being. The components of both religion and spirituality are faith, hope and wisdom as well as our ongoing knowledge of recognizing that we have an illness.
Our concern though is to get away from the stigma of being mentally ill and accepting the recovery process so that we become self sufficient and understanding of the new world we choose for ourselves. When we seek new directions, recognizing how powerless we were, we begin to choose for ourselves a new way of life. Choosing Training and Recovery over, destitution and ill wealth as well as poverty we are accepting strength, searching for a better source of support so that we can identify with our beliefs and develop within the community our hope and awareness of recovery.
To develop our belief is to change the direction of our recovery. Knowing through others that hope works for all and by sharing with those that care for the well being of self and others, the spiritual side of us grows in strength and this in turn leaves us with faith. We are able to direct our selves through our own will, determining our independence, through choice, knowing our path is a new life through Recovery.

Written by Donald Sammons

Recovery & Hope

Without hope I do no believe there is recovery. You have to hope things will change for the better. Hope that you can have a good life doing what you would like to do in life. Hope you can recover and do all that you did before you had mental distress. Sometimes even do better, because you are stronger from having gone through the experience of mental distress. As you know if you read some earlier blogs, I watch and compare 70s to now days. On one show they did not want to bring children into the world back then because of over population and the war that was going on. I believe you bring children into this world so they can decide if they want to change the world for the better or like it as it is. Hope they can make everyday brighter for others. I know my grandkids do for me. I do not like what we are leaving our children and grandchildren, like debt and pollution. Hopefully we can change the world before we leave it to them. Recovery is to incorporate everything including hope, employment and managing your symptoms. Ridding yourself of harmful addictions, if you have them, and retaining employment or education to do what you want with your life. In that regards it will give you something else to concentrate on besides addiction or mental distress. Hope that all can recover and learn their triggers of their addictions or symptoms. How about you do you have Hope or think it is important in recovery?