Emotional Self-Reliance

Planning ahead for crisis when you're well, empowers you to maintain the ability to make choices regarding treatment when you may not physically have the ability to voice your opinion or preferences.  Creating a crisis plan requires taking a hard look at what you need when you are in crisis and then expressing it in a way which those around you can understand and respect.  For more information on creating a crisis plan, see Crisis Plan and Working Through Hard Times

Can you recognize the early warning signs of mental illness? Do you have an action plan to keep things in check? Let's build your WRAP. Sarah mentions her guest appearance on the Latter-day Lives Podcast.

Whether you're at the gateway pondering your Recovery Journey or further along in your passage, building & maintaining emotional self-reliance requires having a wellness toolbox filled to the brim with daily, practical strategies to keep yourself on track and a keen awareness of personal triggers which might shift your journey. This week's podcast includes a special guest, my personal cheerleader and ying to my zany yang, David.

Burnout occurs when we become so distracted by circumstances that we become desensitized to our body’s alarms. Using WRAP with the Feldenkrais Method strengthens ability to recognize subtle differences. Feldenkrais Attention to Movement exercise. Copeland, M E (2000). Wellness Recovery Action Plan & Uchtdorf, D (2008). A Matter of a Few Degrees.

On the brink of burnout? Searching for wellness tools to prevent burnout personally and professionally? Since I developed my Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) with a peer support specialist, I can recognize when I'm on the brink and have a plan in place to prevent falling over the burnout cliff.  For more information on WRAP, check out the Copeland Center For Wellness and Recovery.

Do you know the 16 "red flares" of suicide? Can you identify when someone may need your help? Can you distinguish between myths and truths of suicide? If a friend or family member needs help, do you know what to say or do? No worries, I've got you covered! References in this episode include Akathisia 101 class & Mental Health First Aid  

What do lifeguards and camels have to do with Sarah's 32 Wellness Tools to prevent suicide? Listen and learn from Sarah's experiences 12 years of suicidal thoughts and self-preservation.  One tool? Play The Piano Guys' Song, "It's Gonna Be Okay" on a Loop!

What can we do to shift our focus from seeing what is wrong or different about someone, to building on commonalities and recognizing each person's humanity? 

How is learning to fold an ornate origami swan like learning to live with symptoms of mental illness? How can we turn scattered shreds of our life’s paper, into our life's unique origami masterpiece? Embrace your colors and have fun, one tiny fold at a time! Origami swan tutorial.

If your psychiatrist told you "They haven't invented the medication that will help you yet," what would you do? Join Sarah's exploration of "Wellness Tools" as she works to recover a life lost to symptoms of severe mental illness and a memory lost to psychiatric electroconvulsive therapy "shock" treatments.