Today, if you've been diagnosed with schizophrenia, chances are you didn't have to go into a hospital, or if you did, it wasn't for a long time and you were placed on one of the newer atypicals that offer hope for a better life. I've designed a blog entry just for you: listing some sure-fire tactics for getting back on track after being hit with a devastating diagnosis. These "Seven Steps to Recovery" focus on the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual needs we have to become whole, healthy people.
1. Give yourself at least one year in which to begin to heal and recover.
The first year is the time for "woodshedding," a jazz term that describes when a musician goes into the wood shed to practice his tune in private before performing it to the public. In 1987, I graduated with a B.A. in English and wanted to be a writer. That fall, I was hospitalized and diagnosed with schizophrenia. When I was released, I could barely pick up a pen. My father had bought me a computer so I could do my writing, and it stood on my desk unused, except for when I wrote one poem and printed it up. Imagine: I couldn't do what I loved; the schizophrenia had robbed that from me. It took me a full year before I opened a notebook and began writing things down.
This was my time spent in the "woodshed," feeling all my feelings and sorting things out. I was in shock, and felt numb, and I was in pain. If this is what you're going through, know that it does get better and you are not alone. We've all been in your shoes. So give yourself at least one year to get stabilized. Set modest, realistic goals for yourself. Even if your objective is simply to get up in the morning and take a shower, do that. Start small, and work your way up. Be good to yourself when you're hurting. If other people, however well-intentioned, don't understand your need for privacy and quiet spirit-nurturing, reassure them that this is what you need to do to prepare yourself for the demands of the rest of your life.
2. In the space of this year, do things to move towards a more secure sense of mental health and well-being.
Join a day program, or an Intensive Psychiatric Rehabilitation Treatment (IPRT) center. A day program is a place you go to five days a week with other people who've just gotten out of the hospital, to get support in a therapeutic environment. Here, you attend daily sessions, typically group therapy and art therapy, health and education workshops, and sometimes dance therapy or fitness classes. Often, a psychiatrist prescribes medication for the patients.
Back in the mists of time when I started in the Rise day program, it wasn't intended to be long-term, and I was sent to a second day program after my time at the first one ended. I spent two years there. Recovery is not a quick process. Remember, "There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going." And since you're making a commitment, research the best treatment center that fits your needs.
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