When
I was diagnosed with schizophrenia 12 years ago my doctor gave me two
pieces of information: (1) take your medication, and (2) manage your
stress. Since then I manage my household, part-time job, and family
obligations to my child. Still, I underestimated the importance of
stress management. I was hospitalized last year due to what seemed
like a decade of stressors. These stresses included financial
hardship, the anniversary of my mother's passing, and birthday, the
breakdown of important relationships to my support system, and lack
of awareness of my triggers, and warning signs.
In
short, triggers and warning signs are similar but different like a
stop sign versus a yield sign on the road. Triggers are events or
experiences that create negative consequences either emotionally,
physically, socially, and legally. For example, a trigger may be
going to a place that reminds one of a poor experience, and thus
creates tension, stress, and dread, which leads to irritability and
poor communication with others. A warning sign is similar, but it
happens before a trigger settles. Warning signs are signs that lets
an individual know they are not feeling well and require attention
before symptoms and experience worsens. Fortunately, examining
experiences helps one determine how to manage these triggers and
warning signs better in the future.
I
gained more wisdom from my hospital stay. I learned how to maintain a
good place. While hospitalized I practiced a few coping strategies in
order to stay focused in my place of wellness. Coping skills are
essential to recovery. Recovery requires more than medication.
Recovery to me is to keep trying. I define recovery to keep trying,
because it is the act of striving for a better place of wellness. My
coping skills include: therapy, rest, walking, writing, affirmations,
trustworthy confidants, prayer, singing, reading faith-based
material, motivational talks, uplifting music, and routine. The
advice my doctor gave worked well for me. However, based on
experience I had to focus more on stress management than anything,
which meant awareness of my triggers, warning signs, and practice of
my coping skills.
Finally,
I encourage peers in recovery, and our supporters, to add a
post-crisis management plan to ways to maintain. In other words, if
medication works well do it, but focus on stress management or coping
skills, and implementing a post-crisis plan. A post-crisis management
plan is much like Mary Ellen Copeland's WRAP [Wellness Recovery
Action Plan], or a psychiatric advance directive (PAD). They provide
instructions on how to facilitate wellness during a crisis such as
hospitalization. These Plans share pertinent information including
how a peer functions when well, triggered, and how to best support us
with preferred treatment, ideal facilities for recuperation, and
preferences in how to manage our livelihood such as family, home, and
communication with employer. I believe a post-crisis plan is
essential to recovery because it acknowledges the many factors
involved in recovery and life! Thus, from peer-to-peer I encourage us
all to develop a post-crisis plan that way we can maintain recovery,
stress management, and practice self-sufficiency by planning ahead.
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