Recovering Your Mental Health
A Self-Help Guide
Foreword
Consumer self-care is becoming an important part of efficient and effective healthcare
delivery. By exercising best practices of promoting wellness and preventing
illness, informed consumers can dramatically improve outcomes and reduce
costs. This strategy has been widely successful in primary healthcare
delivery; yet, few efforts have been conducted in the mental health arena.
There is clearly a defined need for information and guidance to assist
mental health consumers to become better educated in the management of
their own care.
This publication, Recovering Your Mental Health: A Self-Help Guide, identifies
activities and strategies that people may use to help manage their own
illnesses and services. This booklet is intended to support and enhance
the nationwide focus on self-help for and recovery from mental health
problems. It is based on the extensively-reported day-to-day experiences
of people with psychiatric symptoms, and how they get well and stay well.
The booklet offers practical steps that people need to keep in mind as they
work on their own recovery including: getting good medical care and treatment;
ensuring effective medication decision-making and managing; using specific
simple, safe, free or inexpensive tools to relieve symptoms; rebuilding
and keeping a strong support system; developing and using a comprehensive
plan to monitor and respond to symptoms as well as to maintain on-going
wellness; and developing a lifestyle that enhances wellness.
It is important for mental health consumers to take part in all aspects of
their own care and to have the tools and knowledge to do so. It is our
hope that this booklet will provide self-help skills and strategies to
assist people with mental health problems to achieve new levels of stability,
recovery, and wellness.
Joseph H. Autry III, M.D. Acting Administrator
Substance Abuse
and Mental Health
Services Administration
Bernard S. Arons, M.D.
Director
Center for
Mental Health Services
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