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For People with Mental Health Problems

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If you have or believe you may have a mental health problem, it can be helpful to talk about these issues with others. It can be scary to reach out for help, but it is often the first step to helping you heal, grow, and recover. Having a good support system and engaging with trustworthy people are key elements to successfully talking about your own mental health.

Build Your Support System

Find someone—such as a parent, family member, teacher, faith leader, health care provider, or other trusted individual, who:

  • Gives good advice when you asked
  • Assists you in taking actions that will help
  • Likes, respects, and trusts you and is someone you like, respect, and trust, too
  • Allows you the space to change, grow, make decisions, and even make mistakes
  • Listens to you and shares with you, both the good and bad times
  • Respects your need for confidentiality so you can tell them anything
  • Lets you freely express and validates your feelings and emotions without judging, teasing, or criticizing
  • Works with you to figure out what to do the next time a difficult situation comes up
  • Has your best interests in mind

Find a Peer Group

Find a group of people with mental health problems similar to yours. Peer support relationships can positively affect individual recovery because:

  • People who have common life experiences have a unique ability to help each other
  • People offer their experiences, strengths, and hopes to peers, which allows for natural evolution of personal growth, wellness promotion, and recovery
  • Peers can be very supportive since they have “been there” and serve as living examples that individuals can and do recover
  • Peers also serve as advocates and support others who may experience discrimination and prejudice

You may want to start or join a self-help or peer support group. National organizations across the country have peer support networks and peer advocates. Learn about the way to find an organization that can help you connect.

Participate in Your Treatment Decisions

It’s also important for you to be educated, informed, and engaged about your own mental health.

Get involved in your treatment through shared decision-making. Participate fully with your mental health provider and make informed treatment decisions together. Participating fully in shared decision making includes:

  • Recognizing a decision needs to be made
  • Identifying partners in the process as equals
  • Stating options as equal
  • Exploring understanding and expectations
  • Identifying preferences
  • Negotiating options/concordance
  • Sharing decisions
  • Arranging follow-up to evaluate decision-making outcomes

Develop a Recovery Plan

Recovery is a process of change where individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential. Studies show that most people with mental health problems get better, and many recover completely.

You may want to develop a written recovery plan. Recovery plans:

  • Enable you to identify goals for achieving wellness
  • Specify what you can do to reach those goals
  • Can be daily activities as well as longer-term goals
  • Track your mental health problem
  • Identify triggers or other stressful events that can make you feel worse, and help you learn how to manage them

You can develop these plans with family members and other supporters. Learn more about recovery.

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Last Updated

Last Updated: 04/24/2023

Last Updated