We would like to introduce you to a 3 part series for preventing relapse and promoting wellness in mental health. When you feel well, the last thing you want to think about is a relapse of a mental health issue. But you can do a lot to lower the risk of relapse if you plan ahead. Try thinking of it this way: if you have a physical injury, you would likely do things to enhance and aid recovery and prevent the injury from happening again. Preventing a relapse of a mental disorder isn’t much different. This is the first in a series of blogs that are designed to help you learn a systematic way to monitor your well-being and take action when you need it.
A “relapse” is when troubling symptoms come back or get worse. Fortunately, you can take a lot of steps to help prevent a relapse or worsening symptoms. No one can guarantee that you’ll never feel unwell again. But you can look for early warning signs, create a plan to help with difficult situations, and take steps to care for yourself. These steps may help you take action before symptoms become a major problem and help lessen the effect of symptoms on your day-to-day life. This is based on the principles of “self-management,” which means you taking charge of your health. It may sound daunting, but self-management is really about building small, practical steps into your day.
When it comes to preventing relapse, there are 3 parts to self-management;
The best time to do this is when you are well.
If you take medication it’s important to follow your doctor’s recommendations, even when you feel well. You may need to continue the medication for several months or longer, depending on your risk factors. Stopping medication too early or not taking as prescribed is a major reason for relapse. Think of a time you’ve had to take antibiotics for an infection. You probably felt better after a couple of days, but you still had to take the antibiotics for one or two weeks to help stop the infection returning. It’s the same thing for mental health medications. It’s very important to talk with your doctor if you want to make any changes to your medication plan, such as reducing your dose or stopping your medication.
An early warning sign is a sign that shows your health may be starting to get worse. These signs are the first signs to appear, before major symptoms begin to affect your life in a big way. The purpose of identifying your unique warning signs is to help you take action early. The act of identifying early warning signs can make some people nervous. After all, no one wants to remember difficult or unpleasant situations. It may be helpful to think of this exercise as an opportunity to take control of your health. When you identify your early warning signs, you give yourself the power to change and challenge the outcome.
To start identifying your early warning signs, you’ll need to think back on times when your symptoms were extremely difficult. How did it start? How did it progress? What did you experience? What kind of thoughts did you have? Did your behaviour change? Did anything happen in a particular order? It may also be helpful to ask loved ones for their feedback- people close to us often notice changes before we see changes in ourselves.
Now that you’ve thought about what your warning signs look like, think about what was happening in your life when you started to notice these changes. This will help you see when and where your warning signs start to happen. For example, do warning signs seem to come after working extra long hours or during conflict with others? These situations are called “triggers”. While everyone will have their own triggers, there are some common ones, for example:
Now that you have your early warning signs and your triggers, it’s time to put everything together. Think back to your last episode, Can you tie your warning signs to a particular trigger or triggers? If you can, try to map out a timeline that shows your triggers and warning signs in order.
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Imelda McHugh | Dual Diagnosis Co-ordinator &
Edel Fortune | Clinical Manager, Wellness & Recovery Centre
The Support & Information Service is a telephone and email service staffed by experienced mental health nurses 9-5 Monday to Friday with an answering and call-back facility outside hours. You can contact the Support & Information service by calling 01 249 3333, or if you would like to email your query to info@stpatsmail.com we will endeavour to get back to you within these hours.
@HeadstrongYMH @Hspbarwon @schaffaliz @claredaisy @psychologiques no problem. Well done
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