Welcome to my letter R post in the #AtoZChallenge. There are a lot of R topics related to self-care. I want to write about recovering after you’ve been in a mentally hard space or crisis.
First, let me tell you that recovery time is important in preventing a crisis too. You just can’t go, go, go all the time. No-one can, whether you struggle with mental health issues or not. So take your down time. Whether that be a nap, a nice bath or shower, or listening to your favorite music, is up to you. Or something else entirely, of course. I often need to take a little time to unwind in the afternoon. I do this by lying on my bed with nature sounds or relaxing music playing on Spotify. When we still went to the day center, I’d go to the sensory room for about half an hour to an hour.
When you have just come out of a mental health crisis, it’s especially important to take your time to recover. Your recovery time, according to my DBT handout, may help you come to an insight as to how to prevent this crisis from happpening again. It often does for me. It may not, but then at least you’ll need time to come back to your usual self.
I have a crisis signaling plan here at the care facility. Its different phases normally range from -2 (asleep when you shouldn’t be) to +3 (emotional outburst or loss of control, ie. crisis). My staff put in another phase for me, which they call “recovery”. This is what happens after I calm down from a meltdown. I usually feel sadness and shame then. Staff are in this phase advised to stay near and help me process my thoughts and feelings. This is, for me, often the time when I can be most honest about my needs.
What do you do to recover when you’re climbing out of a mental pit?
I take time to reflect on what might have triggered me and try to make changes to avoid those things. If i can’t then i try and give myself grace
LikeLiked by 2 people
That’s a great strategy! I tend to do the same.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m 2 weeks on from being diagnosed with covid19 and still in recovery. I’m happy to do nothing but read and sit in the garden. Thank god the weather is good . X
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s totally okay. I never had to recover from a physical health condition that much, but then again COVID-19 is worse than the flu for most people.
LikeLike
A plan is a brilliant way to make sure wellness happens.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes it is. Thanks so much for commenting. 🙂
LikeLike