Recovery

The Wellness and Recovery Action Plan (WRAP)

This helps you make a toolkit of things to keep you well and aid your recovery when you have been unwell. Part of this is recognising triggers or warning signs and pre-planning action to take when becoming unwell.

How successful this is does depend to some extent on how much support you have around you. Steps you can take include making an agreement with your spouse or trusted family members that you will give your credit card to them for safekeeping when you are becoming unwell. By planning when well, you can limit any potential problems that might arise when you are unwell.

You can download a free workbook to help you in your recovery plan at this link:

Wellness Recovery Action Plan (cwp.nhs.uk)

The Cognitive Behavioural Approach

This can be effective for a lot of people. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) aims to help you change the way you think, feel and behave. It is used as a treatment for various mental health problems. This approach doesn’t involve medication, though some take it at the same time.

It can be done alone with the aid of a book, online or face-to-face with the support of another person. The principles of the approach help a person recognise the unhelpful thoughts that result in difficult emotions. This is a skill, like any other, such as learning to speak a different language or ride a bike, but once practiced can be learned and put into place on a daily basis.

Advice about this type of approach can be sought from your GP.

Be Proactive

Do your best to try to be assertive with health professionals and look into different sources of help. Or you can ask a friend, family member or case worker to research on your behalf.

Understand Your Spending

It may feel like spending happens out of the blue, but often a similar pattern emerges. You may shop in an attempt to improve your mood or increase self-esteem.

Becoming more aware of these triggers can help make you feel more in control of your situation and recognise the symptoms early on. You can make a plan of action for when you notice your mood becoming low, for example, avoiding shops or giving your credit card to your partner temporarily. For some people, knowing the triggers is enough to help them.

Look at the reasons why you spend:

·        Look for spending triggers: situations, feelings, thoughts. Keeping a diary might help. Identifying these triggers can highlight ways to change.

·        What are your reasons for spending? If low mood is triggering the spending, maybe it would be useful to get help from your GP or a mental health professional.

·        Sometimes spending is triggered by feelings of loneliness, so try asking a friend or relative to visit you rather than heading for the shops.

·        Use parental controls to turn off internet shopping and TV shopping channels if these are a particular temptation

Medication

Sometimes medication’s side-effects make it difficult to deal with money issues.

Get the help you need

Contact your GP to see if they can suggest any local organisations to support you.

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