9.0 Managing Your Resources

You may have identified a few of your resources by now. The next phase is managing them. Much of the management of my own resources can be put down to:

· Research

· Discernment

· Communication

There is a plethora of mental health material these days. Much of which can assist us on the journey. Researching, discernment and communication all play a critical role when we need help. Discernment will come with researching of various materials and fact checking. If communication techniques are used with discernment, then you will be able to notice greater outcomes with mental health clinicians. Communication in this sense means:

· Active listening

· Assertion

· Asking questions

Since many of our resources during recovery are human resources, navigating the mental health system and communicating our needs and wants effectively is crucial. A mental health advocate can play a significant role here, particularly if medication is limiting your right to be heard by clinicians.

If your psychiatrist has told you about something that may affect your biochemistry, get a second opinion, where possible. Whenever a psychiatrist suggested medications, I asked for any material about the drug and I researched it as much as I could before I saw them next.

If you are not happy with an outcome, there is no harm in questioning that outcome. There is also a large amount of written material on understanding your rights. I wish I were given this information when I was in hospital. Under the Mental Health Act 2014, consumers are protected by a number of legalities.

Whether my resources were mental health clinicians or friends and family, I found I had to develop new ways of communicating to these people, otherwise they couldn’t understand my situation, my condition or how to respond to me. Initially, I was always quite honest with my human resources. I learnt over time not to spill the beans to everyone I met. Rather, I learnt how to utilise these resources with the previous techniques to reach a greater understanding and actionable outcomes for my mental health.