Each individual has a personal responsibility for his or her own self care and journey through recovery. Making strides toward achieving your goals will require great courage, effort and support. By understanding and giving meaning to your experiences, you can begin to identify coping strategies and healing processes that promote your own wellness.
Now that we've covered that, let me get to another aspect of responsibilty. Whatever happened to people being responsible? Over the past few weeks I have heard of and witnessed people coming to CVAB and playing the game of "What can I get away with?"
Now, we have a bunch of people wanting and needing to make good use of CVAB's services but there are a few, very few, that want to play a game around responsibility. They tend to stretch community norms, try to hide their digital indescretions, or throw verbal stones at someone else as they complain about things. It leads to peers who are working together at CVAB having to continually try to put an end to the games and it takes away from the great things happening in the lives of so many.
Part of recovery is responsibility and it is important for each person to courageously take responsibility for his or her movement toward wellness. It is equally important to consider the way we act toward and with one another as part of that responsibility. I often quote one of our peers who used to work at CVAB and I think it applies here: "Having a mental illness is no excuse for being an ass."
It looks like some of this could have easily been put under the March component: respect.
ReplyDeleteAs for each person taking responsibility for their own recovery, that is certainly true in any type of recovery, being mental illness, alcoholism, or even recovering from surgery or a broken leg. The individual has to put forth some effort to exercise healthy decisions and action.
When it comes to Mental Health recovery, a lot of people start out unable to make any choice for themselves. There have been extreme cases of self hatred in which a person was unable to even sit up, until someone came and continued to talk positive words to that person, and eventually the individual was able to do things for herself.
As I have heard it said in A.A. "Let us love you until you can love yourself."
Don't misunderstand me, not being able to make any right decisions for oneself does not mean that others should allow you to continue to be abusive in attitude nor words.
Being responsible for my recovery includes no longer allowing people to use me as a doormat. But I hope that I will be able to assert my rights to be treated with respect and dignity without infringing on anyone else's.
kae
Well stated, well said kae.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that the post does relate to respect as well. It should also be said that those playing the games seem to be well aware of their actions.
Finally, let us hope for one another until we can hope for ourselves.
Be a beam of light for ourselves, as we help one another come into light and out of the darkness. We help others by simply letting others quietly express themselves, some times slowly and gently. Everyone recovers at their own pace. I took back the reigns on my physical and mental health and now I make the decisions that are right for me and not someone else. Now I am better. I got tired of being told what I "should" do and I focus on what I KNOW I CAN DO.
ReplyDeleteMay is mental health month. Remember the 3rs. Respect, Reponiabiltiy and recovery. Taking care of ourselves.
ReplyDeletebehavioral health care conference June 17 18 19
ReplyDeleteCongradulations everybody for stepping up and going to the conference. Enjoy your workshop classes, and the key note speakers. Let it be an education learning process. Its what yourown self learns about the different topics and then come back to CVAB and the community and share what you have learned. Carolyn