Late-Start

Recovery from a mental diagnosis is hard, but it doesn’t have to be hard at all times and in all situations. There are people who are here to support you. Friends, family, trained professionals, and even peers. You know the sayings it takes a village to raise a child, well it takes a village to grow into your recovery. Utilizing your team will help maximize your efforts in recovery and here’s how to do it.

1. Recognize who is on your team, your village so to speak. Do you have a case manager? Therapist? Doctor? Nurse Practitioner? They are on your team. Friends family and relatives can be on your team as well but they will have different roles from say a case manager or therapist. I suggest writing down a list of supporters and their roles they have in supporting you.
2. Now that you have that list it’s time to ask a few questions to your supporters to get answers. If you are starting out try asking your doctor, therapist, or nurse practitioner where they went to school, and about their background in medicine or in the case of a therapist, Psychotherapy. These may seem like random questions but you want to evaluate your sources of information. Getting that background information is crucial to that and besides, if you are going to be working together you should know more about them. I also want to note that your doctors, nurse practitioners, and therapists can always change if you feel like you aren’t getting good treatment or are not getting your needs met with them. For more information about how to talk to your doctor or NP consider reading How to Talk to Your Doctor.
3. Now I did mention case managers, and that may not apply to the journey you are on, but I want to highlight their usefulness for people just starting out in treatment. A case manager is a person who finds resources for you based on your needs as well as talks to you like a therapist would. They know the tools and have the resources to help you in several situations and if they can’t help, they can point you in the direction of someone who can. If you have never heard of a case manager or are looking to get one try going and asking your therapist or doctor about case management. Or even googling it to see what pops up in your area.
4. Lastly friends and family. Highly underrated members of the team. These are the people you see somewhat regularly. Maybe not as regularly as co-workers unless your friends and or family are your co-workers which can happen, but a friend or family member cares about your feelings, you can confide in them. This is where the discomfort can set in, when a friend asks you how your doing don’t brush them off with a simple “I’m good” or “I’m fine”, really tell them how you are feeling. Foster good communication with your friends if something is bothering you tell them. Also, they are not a sponge. You want to treat them like you want to be treated. Listen to them, care about what happens in their day ask them meaningful questions. Yes your recovery matters, but so do your supporters. It will get your mind off your problems as well as making them happier so it’s a win-win.

So who’s in your recovery team? How do you utilize your recovery team? Comment down below!