Recovery
Recovery is being able to create and live in a meaningful and contributing life in a community of choice, with or without the presence of a mental illness.
Recovery is a journey, and not a place or a destination. This journey is unique to each person. People with mental illness move along the journey from illness to wellness, sometimes moving forwards, and at other times relapsing and taking a backward step. Just as mental illness can be episodic, so too is the recovery experience.
People can and do recover from mental illness.
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There are many ways you can support recovery:
- learn as much as you can about the mental illness
- have realistic expectations
- acknowledge progress towards recovery
- avoid making comparisons of the person you care for to others and to the person they once were
- hold onto hope