BY DR. JASON PARK
A four-step guide that helped me on my recovery journey
My goal with this blog post is to help others achieve lasting recovery with the least delay. To accomplish this, I have condensed my mental health life experience into the essentials I needed for my own recovery—one Pre-condition and three Requirements. Both of which contributed to lessening the time I spent suffering and increased my overall well being in the most complete way. I will begin with the pre-condition, then follow with the three requirements before ending with my closing thoughts.
The Pre-condition: Motivation to Get Better Matters
Motivation to get better required me to be open to treatment, i.e., there is a problem, and it lies with me. The world does not revolve around me, and I needed to avoid attempting to cynically manipulate my environment. Resistance to treatment was a sure-fire way of short-circuiting my start on the Road to Recovery. But overcoming that resistance required some external forces in my experience. These are common for many with a mental health diagnosis and hospitalizations, 5150s, Conservatorships, and even Laura’s Law can be useful if you are particularly unwilling. These initiatives are difficult but offer structure and safety for all involved. I learned to embrace these golden opportunities to get better. If I could open the door to treatment, treatment would open doors for me.
Requirement #1: I Trusting My Treatment Team
To establish trust with my treatment team, I needed to create an alliance. The team wanted me to get better, and I needed the team to get better. In this alliance, the psychiatrist heeded my concerns about medication side-effects, and the therapist personalized the therapeutic approach to best support my goals. In turn, I followed the therapist’s instructions and took medication prescribed by the psychiatrist. I did not self-medicate, and remained medication-compliant!
Finding the right doctor takes time and effort. Sometimes doctors you like are not covered by your insurance. I worked hard to find doctors who were a good fit for me and covered by my plan. They weren’t always what I expected but ended up being what I needed at the time. As long as they are willing to work with you, it could be the start of a very productive alliance. I came to trust my doctors, and they trusted me.
Requirement #2: All we need is love
When you and your family love each other, both sides feel close belonging. I felt a renewed sense of this through my relationship with my nieces. Although not my own children, I treated them in some ways as my own. I belonged closely to my family because of my auxiliary but important role in their upbringing. My family’s relationship with me evolved from my initial diagnosis to the current state of remission. Regardless, I always felt unconditionally loved. Even in broken relationships, one can “pick up the pieces,” if honest re-assessment occurs. Ending alienation and cultivating love can be your modus operandi. Even if I didn’t have a supportive, loving family. I knew I could still experience love. We all can experience love with those who know us best. Love them, and they will love you back.
Requirement #3: The road is paved with respect
For myself and others with mental health conditions, isolation is a dangerous outcome of losing the respect of others. But we can attend support group meetings and share our experience with individuals who also have mental health conditions. Such groups accepted me, provided helpful feedback, and helped me move on, without reservation.
I often check-in with myself and ask me if I would want to associate with who I am in this moment? If the answer is yes, then I know I am maintaining my composure, keeping a sense of humor, and remaining interpersonally diplomatic. Since respect is a two-way street, this approach keeps my side of the road open and moving forward.
The immeasurable rewards of hard work
Currently, the only cure for a mental health condition is recovery. That sounds like a poor concession, but it is really a matter of framing. The remission of cancer with chemotherapy, management of diabetes using insulin, or treatment of asthma via steroids, may not lead to permanent cures either. However, they can be very positive forms of recovery. Recovery from a mental health condition is no different.
Understanding the pre-condition and three requirements offers hope. The stigma associated with mental illness is fading and science is tackling mental illness from every possible angle. Therapeutic techniques are becoming more advanced, and psychotropic medications are getting better. So, if you are facing the challenge as I did, remember that learning to master your mental health conditions will be challenging but ultimately it will be very rewarding.
Dr. Jason Park earned his BA with honors in philosophy from Harvard University and his PhD in strategic management from the University of Pittsburgh. He was a professor in Hong Kong first before returning to the U.S. to teach at the University of Southern California. He is now a writer. In his free time, he volunteers for The Stability Network, the Depression & Bipolar Support Alliance, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
