Mental Illness Self Care

Mental Illness Self Care means taking care of yourself and your mental health.

It is doing the things that are necessary for you to function effectively as you cope with life and manage your mental illness.

 

Taking care of yourself; that is really the nuts and bolts of life. 

 

Self Care is transcending your condition. 

 

It is learning to not let your illness define you.  

Self Care is the ever changing process of learning what your needs are and getting those needs met.

For many people with mental illness, self care is a very challenging issue.

To be more specific, what types of things are included in a person’s self-care?

• Taking prescribed medications (includes getting prescriptions filled, calling the pharmacy for a refill when the prescription is running low, calling the doctor when the prescription has no refills or is expired)

• Keeping Psychiatrist and Therapy Appointments (Consider Cognitive Behavior Therapy,  Group Therapy, and/or Psychotherapy, if applicable)

• The ability to ask for help when help is needed (this applies to all of life-for mental health issues as well as all other areas of life)

• Maintaining physical health (exercise, maintaining a healthy diet, keeping Primary Care Doctor appointments, managing other (non-psychiatric) medical issues)

• Having a pastime or two that you really enjoy, such as photography, reading, gardening, listening to music, singing, hiking, or ________. (you fill in the blank)

• Getting enough sleep and down-time.

• Holding on to Hope when faced with challenging life events, such as Dealing with Loss or Dealing with a Divorce.
  

• Maintaining healthy relationships and a healthy support network (family, friends, coworkers, therapist, therapy group.)
  
• Adding Coping Skills and Advanced Coping Skills to your stress-reduction repertoire.

•  Consider the benefits of Journaling for Mental Illness Recovery.
  

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