What Should I Expect from Mental Health Recovery?

Mental health recovery is about trying to decrease and better handle your psychiatric symptoms while working toward personal wellness. You should expect some successful days, but also some challenging times as well. You should have some support systems such as community resources in place, so you can easily access help such as mental health counseling when you need it. If you are ready to take the responsibility to use your most successful self-help techniques as well as get community help when you need it, you can expect your mental health recovery to go well overall.

Living your best life possible despite having mental health problems means having adequate knowledge about your condition and the best methods of treating it. Your mental health therapy should prepare you for recovery. Your mental health recovery program should include the self-help, group help and drug therapies that work the best for you as a unique individual. If you find certain treatments aren't working, it's important to work with a community mental health facility or therapist to enact changes in your therapy.

It's reasonable to expect that during your mental health recovery, you may become dissatisfied with your treatment in some way, such as the amount or type of medication you're prescribed to take. Whatever you do, never suddenly stop taking your prescribed medications. The results can be serious or even dangerous. Any side effects of the drug could actually become worse even though you're not taking it; there may not be any apparent change for up to several days. Thoughts of suicide could result, or you could experience painful body aches and other physical symptoms.

Instead, expect mental health therapists to listen to your concerns and work through them with you. A lower dosage or a completely different medication may be prescribed in many cases. Mental health disorders are usually complicated conditions to treat. You're likely to experience some frustrations with your mental health recovery process, so it's best to expect these and be prepared to overcome them as much as possible. The self-help techniques you can learn in therapy and communicating your concerns to therapists in a supportive mental health facility can help you ease through your recovery.

Having a purpose and direction you want to take in your life is also key to a strong mental health recovery. For instance, work or hobbies that you enjoy can help keep you focused as much as possible if or when your symptoms become difficult to control. If you can't handle mental health problems on your own, be prepared to reach out for help when you need it rather than giving in to isolation.