Recovery: What's in a Word?

Well, it looks as if SAMHSA has redefined the term: Recovery.

ScienceDaily (Jan. 5, 2012) — A new working definition of recovery from mental disorders and substance use disorders is being announced by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

The new working definition of Recovery from Mental Disorders and Substance Use Disorders is as follows: A process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.

So, what do you think?

Ben has been "in recovery" since late in 2003, after his medication regime was stabilized and deemed effective. We cross our fingers each and every day that the psychiatric medications continue to work, and that he continues to take them despite his feeling that he doesn't need to.

And so it goes.

[caption id="attachment_565" align="alignleft" width="170" caption="made in Art Class, a step in Ben's recovery"][/caption]

Although I wrote - and promote - Ben Behind His Voices on my own (with the support of my publisher), I have been fortunate enough to occasionally team with a pharmaceutical company whose heart is absolutely in the right place re the messages we share:

1 - a therapeutic alliance/open communication between caregivers, patients (their word), and healthcare professionals is essential to better treatment outcomes

2 - having a variety of treatment options available helps the chances for better outcomes

3 - treatment begins with the right medications, but there is so much more to the plan. Things like structure, usefulness, community and love are also essential.

The opportunity to share our story and book, Ben Behind His Voices, with audiences from pharmaceutical reps to psychiatric nurses, from psychiatrists to the general public, remains a vital part of why I kept writing, and took the many steps to publication and promotion. In the past few months, I have been able to share these messages in the media (such as Fox News, ConnTV and on PBS) - and in person through author talks to NAMI, libraries, book clubs, bookstores and conferences for professionals, families, consumers - anyone who might need to know that compassion leads to understanding, which can replace stigma.

Here is one interview: (feel free to link to the others)

In my partnership appearances, we prefer the word "stabilization" to "recovery" which I use in my book. Along those same lines, is it "relapse" or is it "return of symptoms"?

I don't know. I do know that words have power, and do matter. (Think about the difference between "I have to go to the gym" vs. "I get to go to the gym!"). But, either way, the success is in the details, the attitudes, and the actions.

I said in an earlier post about the Four Cornerstones of Recovery that Structure, Community, and Purpose were as essential as medications.

SAMHSA's post says something similar:

Through the Recovery Support Strategic Initiative, SAMHSA has also delineated four major dimensions that support a life in recovery:

* Health: overcoming or managing one's disease(s) as well as living in a physically and emotionally healthy way;

* Home: a stable and safe place to live;

* Purpose: meaningful daily activities, such as a job, school, volunteerism, family caretaking, or creative endeavors, and the independence, income and resources to participate in society; and

* Community: relationships and social networks that provide support, friendship, love, and hope.

However you slice it or say it, what will matter most is understanding the needs for recovery from mental illness, and backing it up with actions that keep those pieces in place.

Financial cuts to services does no favors for anyone. It only results in heartache, possible failure, and eventually a much greater cost - financially as well as emotionally. We can't afford not to support recovery in all its elements. The cost is too great - and the rewards of success when "individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential." is, yes, priceless.

Whatever you call it, aiming for recovery is a priority we can't afford not to take.