Strength in Mental Health Recovery

The inner strength of the consumer going through Recovery comes from many sources. There are material sources; housing, health care, transportation and a solid means of communication, one source being the telephone. This material gives the consumer, the mental health client, the ability to move forward in their Recovery. When stricken with poverty, there exist a lack of resources and there is no assurance in Recovery when a person is befallen with a mental illness, in essence there is no way for them to reach out.

Strength in Recovery involves a different dimension of responsibility; it involves associating with other people; being a member of the community. It means being connected to friends, neighbors, and family. Living in social and personal isolation, poverty, withdrawal, having poor social skills, poor health causes not only social stigma yet a stigma of self which slows the journey of Recovery and heightens a weakness within the consumer.

Though I am going through the Recovery process and becoming self sufficient; a recovered addict and alcoholic, not to mention being dual diagnosis, I still struggle with acceptance, even in the new neighborhood I live in. News travels fast when your striking it rich or you have done wrong and as I have had to find a way to be socially accepted, my inner strength seems to grow and not having many friends because of the changes I have made from old to new, I was not willing to be socially stagnant; I had to find my niche, being mentally ill, I had to grow in strength and know what to accept.

This all becomes a matter of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual and these aspects changed the way I see the Recovery process. I had to learn to become optimistic and see my life with a purpose. Finding strength in your Recovery is in essence gaining power and control over your life through a righteous choice, using the resources you have gained and learning to self manage your treatment, choosing how you see yourself and the quality of your life.
Written By Donald Sammons

I Promised Myself

I had been on home work assignments from college since Saturday afternoon. I didn’t know how to do it any other way; close the door and curtains and wish myself the best of everything. As I had finished one chapter of a class, someone outside made a very disturbing remark about how, “square and stupid I must be, and everyone else thinks so too”. I have been taking two college courses since mid-January and I almost let my feelings become shallow pools of stagnant water. Fortunately I thought about the remarks people were making about me, and I thought, “I just completed a chapter on Spreadsheets, and composing functions, without help”. I wondered on about the remarks, why would anyone care to think I would get angry or change my mind about what I was doing. Standing around making noise, drinking and just being under the sun and pulling someone else’s attitude into the ground is not what I cared to be doing.
In Strength Finders, I found “Consistency” a need in my daily life. I read about “consistency” for a moment and knew I could not predict my way through life believing in others who wish to show the upper hand and take advantage of others therewith time, space, materiality, etc. When you are diagnosed with a mental illness, it’s hard to find consistency or connectedness in your life, it’s too overwhelming at times and depressing at others. You would find it more pleasing to turn your eyes another direction than look the way which would cause you discontentment even trouble.
We use “Strength Finders” for ideas in self improvement of our attitudes and stability, not to mention our own work ethics. We use these ideas in improving relationships and I can honestly speak on the ideas which lift me from depressive moments or manic episodes. Since I had been given the book, my fear factor has dropped, and my ability to keep in stride with whatever project I am working on, even my own attitude and responses have become better, opposed to my past. In your recovery, take notes if you can of what is good, what would be the better, and understand what brings you “down”, and what makes you smile. It’s not all in a book, yet you can find a clue to uplifting your spirit when the chips are down.
Written by Donald Sammons

Thoughts Involving Recovery

Overcoming negative thoughts requires changes, not only mental or emotional, but physical ones also. Your life has to change to get rid of negative thinking, maybe where you live, friends, even bad habits. We must change what’s inside ourselves in order to become more of a positive person.If you’re feeling “blue” most of the time or you’re facing “bad scenes”, change may not come too quickly. Strength is what is necessary to understand your life and know what is wrong to create a change if you want your life to become better; it’s your thinking and what you’re feeling inside which make you a new person.Look honestly at your life and the things, the places and people that tend to bring you down and put them away from you. Challenge yourself because you choose to; and know that living a positive life is not living the demands of others not the will of others.If you don’t like something you don’t take it in hand; you don’t do anything; yet do try something else instead. It’s not the cowards’ way out, it’s just being smart; or idealistic, and it’s your faith in you turning away from the negative, reaching for perfection; striving for Recovery.