Phases of Recovery

In a support group I am attending right now we have been talking about phases of recovery. I thought I would like to share a little of what I learned in this group in this article. I will try to relate the information I have to my personal experiences.

The first of the phases in recovery is shock. Shock comes at the time of on-set. This on-set can happen over time or at a specific point in time. It is in my opinion that it is not yet understood what the implications of having a mental illness are. I did not know what schizophrenia was when I was diagnosed. I didn't know what the recovery process would be like either.

The next phase of recovery is denial. Denial can manifest its self in a number of ways. When you are diagnosed, you may not believe that you even have a mental illness, or you may not believe what the implications of having an illness are. I personally felt that doctors could not explain my personal experiences by attaching a label like schizophrenia to it. I could not accept that I was delusional and I did not know how much it would take to recover.

Depression is another phase in recovery. It is the next step after denial. The recovery process is not linear. It is my experience that you may not go directly from denial to depression. The two may coincide as well. I went through a grieving process in my recovery, but not to the extent of the denial phase of my recovery.

The next phase along the route to recovery is anger. I was still delusional during my anger phase. I was angry at people who I thought had wronged me. I believed that I was oppressed and was angry at the government, mostly. It is important to manage your anger properly, to seek support where and when you can.

After anger is acceptance and hopefulness. They say acceptance is a result of the depression phase of recovery. Hopefulness can be assisted by others who support us, but also by small steps made toward have a positive self image. These small steps might include making friends or exercising. The hopefulness a person develops in recovery builds slowly and can be fragile.

Coping is the second to last phase of recovery. It is closely related to acceptance. You accept who you are, complete with your imperfections. I believe I still have a foot in this phase of recovery. I am still grappling with and accepting my limitations. I sometimes set unrealistic goals for myself. When I realize I can't meet them I have to cope.

The last stage of recovery is advocacy and empowerment. I recently have stepped forward into this stage of recovery. It is exciting yet is something new. It doesn't mean your process is over. In this phase of recovery symptom management is more likely. You have the necessary experience to know what to do when times are hard. You also can share with others offering them hope in their own recovery. This is what I attempt to do with Breathe. You have grown sufficiently by this stage in recovery to feel empowered by the experience.