The idea of recovery and maturation with mental illness is a fairly new concept. In order to understand recovery with mental illness, it is useful to place psychiatric disability in the context of the larger disability community. The event of mental illness in a person's life brings with it some predictable crises which are often misunderstood. These crises demand a radical response, both internally and externally. Identity is not replaced by mental illness. We do not become our illnesses, although for most of us there exists a period of "engulfment" as we are overwhelmed by both internal processes and external messages about our circumstance. No psychiatric label is a "one size fits all" proposition. For recovery to occur, people with mental illness must be encouraged to figure out what applies and what doesn't to us as individuals. The search for meaning in life does not end with diagnosis, and should not be treated as if it has. Making sense of what has happened in our lives is the work of being human: to not afford for, permit, or assist us with that task diminishes our very humanity. Recovery is enhanced by communities of people who have these experiences in common to decrease the isolation imposed and reinforced by a culture that devalues and exceptionalizes these experiences.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this presentation, the learner will be able to: (1) articulate the event of mental illness from the perspective of an individual who is in recovery from mental illness; (2) describe necessary conditions to enhance the recovery of individuals with mental illness; and (3) recognize psychiatric disability within the context of the larger disability community
Keywords: Mental Illness, Recovery
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.