What Inspires Recovery?

This post is a part of the Recovery 101 blog series. The series will explore ideas, philosophies, language, tools and questions about mental health recovery. Submit any ideas for topics in the comments section of any tagged post.


Stories of success in mental health recovery often include a moment of inspiration.  An action by a friend or family member, a life event, a misfortune or a random bit of information learned may act as a catalyst to change in an individual's life.  The stories I have heard often describe a change in the individual's thinking which promotes a drive or motivation to recover.  They reframe their thinking.  They gain hope or a positive outlook.  They create a goal for themselves. 

As workers or support figures we are often searching to find this source of inspiration for our clients or friends.  Doubtless mental illness suffers are seeking it for themselves too.

Last week saw Bell Let's Talk day get lots of attention.  I decided not to write about it at the time due to it being a corporate sponsored event, and I don't have much to say about Bell.  The next day however one of my clients talked about watching a TV interview with Let's Talk spokesperson Clara Hughes along with other famous sports figures talking about their experiences with mental illness (depression and PTSD were covered as far as I remember) and how they recovered.  This client himself suffers with depression.  He told me that watching the show made him feel even worse.  He said they each talked about how their spouse or partner helped them get through - he does not have a spouse, and when he did she was more cause for pain than support.  He said they talked about how despite their various successes (Olympic medals, major trophies and awards) they still suffered.  His take?  If he didn't even have these type of awards, how much worse off does that make him?

Not the intended effect of the program I'm sure.  What was meant to inspire in this case, really didn't help. 

On the other hand I have taken clients to hear recovery stories shared by those in their community and they have reported feeling hopeful in their own lives as a result.  One woman I worked with who has bipolar disorder described watching coverage of Charlie Sheen go off the rails as inspiration for her to get better because she "didn't want to end up like that guy".  There are stories of people going to their doctor, support worker, family member and hearing the same message every day until finally "click!" something registered that was their moment of inspiration.

The moment of inspiration does not result in life getting fixed over night.  Things may not look any different for a while.  But down the road, further along the recovery journey it's the moment that someone looks back on and says "that's when everything changed for me.  That's when I knew I could get better." 

It's the moment that makes all the difference.  Because we can be surrounded by the most well-meaning people in the world, all the praise and validation one could ask for.  But if we are suffering inside, true change will not come until we are open to it.  And the key to open the door may come in all kinds of strange and unpredictable forms.

Field Trip!

It's a very frosty morning out, but I'm still looking forward to going with a group of clients to the farm today.  Now if I can just get AM to stop making jokes about sending me to the "funny farm"!

Why Occupy?

So I’ve been considering heading down to check out the Occupy Toronto demonstration.  So far, it’s been non-violent which is encouraging.  And the police have been getting along with the protesters.  To be honest though, I’ve been skeptical as to the point of the protest – Canada has not had the same economic downturn as the United States, and our banks did not get bailed out by the government.  Are people showing up in solidarity with those struggling south of the border?  Are they just hippies who want to camp out and play djembe’s in the park (not that there’s anything wrong with that, I am part-hippie myself) or folks who simply enjoy causing a ruckus?  But just when I start to give in to my doubts and feel negative about the whole thing, signs like this are encouraging: 

Maybe there is value in reminding Canadians that the income gap has been widening in recent years. In reminding our government that they must continue to work for improvement in our social systems, not rest on their laurels. In reminding the 1% that their gains are someone else’s losses. In encouraging citizens to become engaged.


Maybe some positive forces will come together and organize out of this for real change.  Yeah, I think I’ll go for at least a little bit.

G-20

So, needless to say, even though I’ve been looking for a job closer to downtown for the past two years, I’m glad to be nowhere near the inner city this week.
I haven’t seen the fence, but I hear it’s big.

As I was discussing with some friends the other day, I don’t really know how to feel about the whole thing.

Back in 2002 when the G7 met in Kananaskis, Alberta, and 2001 when the Summit of the Americas was held in Quebec City, I was involved in a lot of activism and many people I knew attended protests at those events (or as near as the “designated protest zone” was allowed). We were anti-globalization and opposed fair-trade. The issues seemed clear, and we wanted specific alternatives to what the summit members were proposing.

Now, I don’t really know what summit leaders will be talking about. The more I read the news, the more confused I get. If, as Harper says “the discussion should be less about new agreements than accountability for existing ones” couldn’t this have been done on the phone?

Initially, I was frustrated that the news media seemed to be focusing on logistics and risk of violence when talking about protestors and seemingly not paying any attention to the reason the protestors are actually there. But I wonder now if it’s because there is no one good reason the protestors are there.

I’m sure many are well intentioned. I’m sure their issues are important. But when everyone is there yelling hundreds of different and unrelated slogans, I fear the message will get lost.

Am I disillusioned and out of touch? I do still think that public protest and peaceful civil disobedience has its place and can be an effective tool for change. I just don’t see it happening this time.

Given all this, there are only two things I am sure of: 1) $1.2 billion is waaaay too much and so not worth it and 2) this weekend, I will be anywhere but downtown.

Hello, my name is:

Gotta love Can’t even despise my loathing for these agency “planning” events. Had one last Friday.

I hate nametags. And ice breakers. And “small groups”. And brain storming. Not to mention, the only “vegetarian” offering at lunch was egg salad on white bread. Very appetizing. At least I’m not vegan, or I’d starve at these things.