Recovery 101

Your at a crossroad with yourself and you want to be in Recovery, but have no idea how to go about it, yet even start. What do you do? Who do you turn to? Do you go join a group or do you talk to someone about your choices to be in Recovery?

The answer is: you look into yourself to make sure you are ready and you head off on a path that YOU direct. After all, only you know the correct path for You. No one can tell you how to do it, but they can aid you along in your journey.

So now your worried if you start this journey, whether or not you'll relapse. The truth is, you might but then again you might not. You find might the strength with in yourself to stay on your chosen path. However, if you do relapse, don't let it stop you from getting back up and continuing on down your new path. Think of a relapse as a way to move forward and learn from your mistake. Think of relapsing as a teachable moment for yourself. Just find the strength to keep pushing forward.

Some steps to help you while finding your path through recovery. 

• Admit to yourself that there is a problem and seek the help you need. Find someone to talk to, mentor you, join a NA/AA support group, find a peer ran support group, see a therapist or a psychiatrist. You can even talk to a Recovery Coach if you need to and can afford one. Now-a-days there are so many places online even where you can get help. If you go the self-help route though, please remember to stick to it, no matter how much better it feels giving up. 
• Change your thought process. Note that this does take time, so giving up is not the answer here. Instead of always thinking negative, start adding a few positive affirmations on a daily basis. Repeat them to yourself over and over a few times a day and eventually you will notice the negative thoughts slowly going away. Now keep in mind that this doesn't mean you will never have another negative thought, cause we all know thats just not possible in hard times or times of a crisis. So when you get those negative thoughts, work them out and if you can try repeating positive things to yourself. What you want to do is get into the habit of repetitive thinking, positive not negative.
• Find new friends if you need to. You have your friends who will be supportive of you no matter what your dealing with, then you'll have your other friends. The ones that get pissed off at you because your no longer using, drinking, or wanting to be around negative people. These type of people are not your true friends no matter how much you think they are. The people that stick with you, encourage you to do well in your recovery are your true friends. They will stick by you through thick and thin. You relapse, they will help you recover. Sure the hardest thing you might have to do is tell some of your friends to back off so that you can get through this, but if they are a true friend, they will understand. If you need to, go make new friends. Easier said then done, right. However if you join a peer ran support group or join online communities that can pertain to what it is your going through, you'll be surprised at just how many friends you'll make that you can talk to who might just have similar issues to what your going through. I have 2 of the greatest friends (that I met online) in the world now thanks to others reaching out and me grabbing for it. 

Thinking Positive....

We all hear someone telling us to think positive instead of negative at some point in our lives. For the most part I thought it was B.S. My answer to that when someone would say it to me was always, "you try living in my shoes and then come back and tell me you could think positive." Wrong answer I know, but at the time I liked it.

When I started really getting into my own recovery and started thinking positively, I began to notice things. Such as if I was thinking positive then ideas would happen, if I was thinking negative then negative things would happen. One thing I never thought about was why bad things kept happening to myself and it took me playing games to finally figure it out.

I could be online playing in a game room, be defeating everyone, and then crash my game time and winning streak would go down the drain! When I began to realize what was going on, I started to take notice around me. I noticed if I had my school work or my paperwork for work done then I would win. If I didn't have that kind of stuff done, I'd lose.

  















So was it because of the positive actions that I had done prior to playing those video games or was it just skill?

Then I began trying it with other things in my life. Such as the support group I started at work. As long as I stayed positive about it and encouraged people to come to it, they did, and all my consumers enjoyed it. If I didn't encourage them, they didn't come. Again, fate or negative planning?

Say hello to Someone you don't know day! Inspiration and Sadness...

****Note. While this is not a consumer of mine I felt it best to get permission from him to publish this on my blog, he agreed to it, but asked that I not use his real name. So I will call him Harry....*****

What an awesome inspiring day I have had. A few weeks ago I posted an event on facebook called "say hello to someone you don't know day". Many of my friends got involved with it and so did many people I don't know. Roughly 50 people said they would do it. So I started my day with a bang!

I chose a corner in downtown Durham where I knew many homeless people hung out due to the fact that there are also just as many business people. So more then likely the homeless hang out there in hopes of making a buck or two, but that's not what I was about today. Today was my day to make someone smile and hopefully feel better about themselves. So off to make someone smile Rev and I went. (BTW, Rev is my 2 year old lab mix).

We sat there saying hello to people, Rev first barking and making them walk away from us but he eventually calmed down and began wagging his tail at people instead. Rev ended up with many head pats. Back to the story.....

People smiled at me after I told them hello and good morning, some even said hello back. However this one guy caught my eye. He had been sitting down the street from us watching me and my pup when he eventually decided to come down and see what I was doing. I told him hello and good morning, he smiled and replied the same way as I said it. He went on to let Rev get to know him before he started petting him. I'll call him Harry (for confidentiality issues). Harry sat down next to me and placed this rumpled and ragged backpack between us. You could tell Harry was homeless or close to it by the way he was dressed, overly baggy clothing, un-kept hair and face, two miss-matched shoes and no socks. Being as we are in NC it is still kind of hot but I still thought nothing of it. Harry and I started talking about what I was doing and was actually intrigued enough to start doing it with me. In between Harry and I saying hello we started talking about our lives. I told him some of my story (leaving out the extra crap I have yet to really open up about) and he started telling me ALL of his. I asked Harry if he minded me asking very personal questions and he responded for me to go right a head. First thing I asked him was how he became homeless.

Recovery Plans

Together we can overcome ANYTHING!

One of the biggest parts of a persons recovery is your recovery plan. This shows you what you have done that has worked for you in the past just in case you might relapse.

Your recovery plan should include but is not limited to:

1.  What it looks like to you when your well.
2.  A daily maintenance plan that shows you what you need to do each day to maintain your wellness.
3.  You need to know what your triggers are. What sets you off into a depressive episode or a manic  episode. What makes you want to  over eat, under eat, self mutilate, that drink or that crack pipe?
4.  A list of contacts and their roles in your life so that they can be called upon to help you.
5.  A list of your medications and supplements.
6.  Anything you maybe allergic to that would be of use to the hospital or crisis center. 
7. The numbers to your doctors.
8. Anything else you might find useful to those helping you during your crisis.

All these are very important when it comes to your health and well being. Other options you might choose to do instead of a wellness plan is: 

• Keep a journal
• Write a blog
• Make a video
• Make a wellness CD of music you need to hear
• Record yourself talking about your recovery
• Make a visual board of things that remind you to stay well
• Help someone else

Whatever it is you choose to do, keep in mind that your in charge of your own recovery. No one can tell you that your doing it right or wrong. No one can control your life but you. You deserve this! 

HAPPY RECOVERY!

Bipolar Support and Self-Help

Bipolar Support and Self-Help

LIVING AND COPING WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER

Although bipolar disorder tends to be a lifelong, recurrent illness, there are many things you can do to help yourself. Beyond the treatment you get from your doctor or therapist, there are many things you can do to reduce your symptoms and stay on track, including educating yourself about bipolar disorder, surrounding yourself with people you can count on, and leading a healthy “wellness” lifestyle.

You’re not powerless when it comes to bipolar disorder. With good coping skills and a solid support system, you can live fully and productively and keep the symptoms of bipolar disorder in check.

Living with bipolar disorder: What you can do to help yourself

Living well with bipolar disorder requires certain adjustments. Like recovering alcoholics who avoid drinking or diabetics who take insulin, if you have bipolar disorder, it’s important to make healthy choices for yourself. Making these healthy choices will help you keep your symptoms under control, minimize mood episodes, and take control of your life.

Managing bipolar disorder starts with proper treatment, including medication and therapy. But there is so much more you can do to help yourself on a day-to-day basis. The daily decisions you make influence the course of your illness: whether your symptoms get better or worse; whether you stay well or experience a relapse; and how quickly you rebound from a mood episode.

Bipolar Help

Where to Get Help When You Can’t Afford to See a Doctor

By CANDIDA FINK MD

Bipolar disorder affects not only your health and well being – it can also negatively affect your personal finances. In the U.S. right now, job loss typically equates with the eventual loss of insurance and no income to pay out of pocket for treatment. So where can you turn for help when you can’t afford to see a doctor or purchase the medications that doctor eventually prescribes?

Check to see if your county has a health department (I believe that most do or can refer you to a neighboring county that does). As we explain in Bipolar Disorder for Dummies, a doctor will need to do a thorough evaluation to rule out other possibilities, such as thyroid problems or other medical or psychiatric disorders, that could cause similar symptoms.

In our book, we also point out other free or low-cost care options, including the following:

• State or local Mental Health America affiliate: call 1-800-969-6642 or search the directory at www.nmha.org/go/searchMHA
• Community mental health clinic
• University programs – check with any state universities in your area
• Religious organizations – if you belong to a church, contact your minister
• State medical assistance
• Look up the Social Security office in your area and see if they can do anything for you
• Your child may qualify for free or low-cost insurance, too – visitwww.insurekidsnow.gov for details
• If you have a local NAMI or DBSA group in your area, they can also offer you support and redirect you to state & local resources.

If you have a close friend or family member who can help you navigate these resources, enlist their assistance. Tracking down assistance and then jumping through hoops to get what you need can be very difficult and stressful in and of itself. If possible, it helps to have someone who can share the burden.

If you’re having trouble paying for prescription medications, check out our post “Can’t Afford Your Bipolar Medications?”

Article Copied from PsychCentral.

Finding your own path to Recovery

For me, finding my own path wasn't easy. It took me hitting rock bottom multiple times to see that I needed to find the help that would get me on the right path. I had an awesome job in Maine (even though I was working 77 hours a week), a nice apartment, and I finally had money in my pocket. However, I knew something was wrong when bad things started happening to me. The first was Congenative Heart Failure, the second was a very deep second degree burn from a lobster pot falling off a burner. In my mind, disaster had struck and my life was going down the drain. So I did what I normally do when bad things start to happen and I ran. I made a pit stop in Massachusetts, where I was homeless for 2 months and then I raised the funds to come to NC to my moms house where I felt safe and secure. However, that wasn't enough for me. I knew I had to do something to find the strength to go on.

When I got to NC one of the first things I did was to check myself into Durham Center Access. They set me up with a Dialectical Behavior Therapy class for Borderline Personality Disorder and they hoped it would help with my Bipolar as well since they couldn't help me with that. I started looking into various programs and support groups that would help me and found that I was at a road block due to a lack of funds in the area. So I forced myself out of bed everyday and forced myself to find something to do to help me. I became a Certified Peer Support Specialist and a Certified Recovery Coach. I have found my path through helping others who have a close background to myself.

For starters I had to get rid of the spider webs in my head and the negative thoughts (don't get me wrong, they never completely go away) to over come any doubt I had in myself that I could do this. I called around until I found someone offering the Peer Support Training class, sent emails begging to be allowed in his class even though I had no money to cover the costs, then I joined in with various support groups a little further away then I would have liked to have driven but I did it. I then decided I needed to change my music and boy do I love all kinds of music! But I was soon to learn, I could no longer listen to the heavy metal bands as they have a tendency to trigger me, so country and rock it became.

I next, took 3 walls in my bedroom (I live with my mom still) and made my own personal toolbox. On this vision wall I placed photos, sayings, newspaper clippings, cards and letters, recovery quotes, and drawings. I add to them still and as I look over this wall I reflect when I am and where I have been. I have also started blogging and that helps me more then I ever thought possible. Just to see my thoughts, anger, happiness and fears come out in word and to be able to read of them is a truly amazing feeling.

The point to all this is that recovery is possible if you want it bad enough. It doesn't have to happen over night, nor does it have to be continuous, but it is possible. Put it in your mind that you can and will do it, force yourself if need be, but start finding your way. You are the only one who can live your life, not everyone else, you and you alone. Plant your feet and get started! Take that step to your first support group meeting, find medicines that work for you, start a vision wall, let go of some of your anger and you'll start to see a change. Wake up every morning and tell yourself one thing positive about you or do one positive thing a day and you will see a difference.

Remember, only you can help yourself into and out of recovery. Recovery is possible and it does Happen!

Relaspe, just bad or is there some good to it?

For many of us, fear of relapsing is the stopper that allows us to recover. We fear we might cut again, take that drink, smoke that cigarette, eat too little or too much, and even fall back into a spiraling depression. According to Psychology Today magazine (July/August 2010) " relapse is like riding a bike, everyone falls once." They also went onto state that "if handled right the right way, relapse can actually open the door to lasting success." The entire article, "The New Quitter" (pages 79-85), is actually pretty interesting. If you can find it online, please take a minute to read it.


 I (personally) normally find magazine articles full of crap, but this one drew my attention right away as it made comments that I've made where myself is concerned. That's what drew me to it. After all, for many, the number one reason for relapse is almost always an emotional this or that that pushes us over-board. If we are to overcome these relapses, we need to find a way to overcome our emotional issues I personally find this correct. By me relapsing into my depression I am able to see clearly what went wrong and there for I am able to help myself correct the issue or find a way to avoid that trigger.

Besides, our illness didn't happen overnight so we shouldn't expect our recovery to happen overnight either. Keep your goals small and you will see bigger results. But don't give up on your goals either! Attend a WRAP class, a Wellness class, DBT, CBT or even a WMR class  and you will soon see results in what your looking for. Bottom line: Don't ever give up on yourself! You're too valuable of a person to be letting a small thing like relapse kill the recovery that you have made.