Recovery
Mental health recovery is a journey of healing and transformation enabling a person with a mental health problem to live a meaningful life in a community of his or her choice while striving to achieve his or her full potential.
— National Consensus Statement on Mental Health Recovery
What is Recovery to you? Share your definition of Recovery with others.
Recovery is cited within Transforming Mental Health Care in America, Federal Action Agenda: First Steps, as the "single most important goal" for the mental health service delivery system.
To clearly define what recovery means, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Interagency Committee on Disability Research and six other federal agencies convened the National Consensus Conference on Mental Health Recovery in December, 2004. On February 16, 2006, SAMHSA released its Consensus Statement and The 10 Fundamental Components of Recovery.
To visit other websites on the topic of recovery, visit our Resources page on this website.
Personal Definitions of Recovery
Recovery from mental illness is a very private and personal issue. Recovery is possible and probable with the right treatment and community supports. While we in Washington State are undergoing a systemic transformation process, we also understand that there are many personal experiences happening and want to honor those transformations as well.
This web page offers a variety of "in their own voice" definitions of recovery submitted to us by consumers, youth and family members. Special thanks to all who have shared their definitions and experiences with us.
Life sometimes offers circumstances that wound a soul. We are left as "glorious ruins". Our God-given beauty is lost under the wreckage. The archeological dig begins with a lot of personal courage and the gentle help of God and other "wounded healers" as they use a fine brush to unearth the mess, to find the diamond in the rough. My personal recovery (uncovering/finding what was lost/restoration) has been discovering what I lost in the emotional/mental wrecks of life. What was lost? Dignity, innocence, trust, pride, self-worth, a sense of safety, etc. What have I found under the wreckage? Healing, a sense of purpose, community, forgiveness, relationship, encouragement, reconciliation and hope.
Maryann Anthony
Recovery is an ongoing process of personal growth that includes belief in my potential and hope for my future. I use a system called the Wellness Recovery Action Plan that helps me with balance and well-being on a daily basis. I try to be very aware of the choices that I make each day. I stay in the present as much as possible. I don't want to miss my life to too much regret about the past or too much worry about the future. I work every day to try to take good care of myself. I reach out to others in many ways. Fun and creativity are a vital aspect of recovery. Positive thinking is also an important part of recovery for me.
Carol Bailey Floyd
To me recovery is the minimization of psychiatric or substance abuse symptoms combined with
- the ability to be self-sufficient in a community of their choice including one outside of the mental health and social service system
- the ability to work consistently for a living wage, and
- satisfying social relationships with others who support the individual's recovery but also his/her talents, kindnesses, or dreams that have nothing to do with mental illness.
"Recovery is remembering who you are and using your strengths to become all that you were meant to be." I have just been taught in a Peer Recovery Support Specialist Training course. I love their definition and application for our recovery, through the META people out of Phoenix, Arizona. They go on to say, and I so very much agree, that "recovery is a deeply personal, unique process changing one's attitude, values, feelings, goals, skills, and/or roles. It is a way of living a satisfying, hopeful, and contributing life." They go on to say, "recovery involves the development of new meaning and purpose in one's life as one grows beyond the catastrophic effects of psychiatric disability."
Charan L. Bird, A graduated peer of services at Greater Lakes Mental Healthcare, Lakewood, WA.
When an individual is believed to be sick, lacking or immobilized and s/he enters into a journey that propels her/his paradigm of belief and state of being beyond a return to normalcy or mere survival, but to a paradigm of thriving, growth and abundance.
I would say that recovery from an illness or addiction would be when that individual has reached a point where they can love and they can work or attend school. If any person can enjoy their relationships and feel productive, in whatever healthy, safe way they see it, that is the state of recovery.
Parent and youth like the word resilience for their situations. Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or even significant sources of stress. It means "bouncing back" from difficult experiences. Resilience is not a trait that people either have or do not have. It involves behaviors, thoughts, and actions that can be learned and developed in anyone.
The primary factor in resilience is having caring and supportive relationships within and outside the family. Relationships that create love and trust, provide role models, and offer encouragement and reassurance help bolster a person's resilience.
Several additional factors are associated with resilience, including:
- The capacity to make realistic plans and take steps to carry them out
- A positive view of yourself and confidence in your strengths and abilities
- Skills in communication and problem solving
- The capacity to manage strong feelings and impulses
All of these are factors that people can develop in themselves. It a process, not an event.
