Lessons learned in 2013 - what life with WRAP has taught me

Before we enter 2014 I wanted to put my thoughts down on paper about how WRAP has helped me learn a few things this year.   For me WRAP isn't about the 12 page booklet I completed when I first completed  WRAP training.  Its so much more than that.  It has completely changed my outlook about life.  Here are some of my reflections from this year.

 

 

The past is an immovable object.  There is not a single thing I can do about the past.  Its gone and I can't change it.  There is no point in wishing things were different, or playing over and over again in my mind how I would have done things differently.  It is pointless, draining and very detrimental to my health.  I have to accept the past but learn to change the way I think about it. 

 

 

Its okay to ask for help

 

 

True friends are worth their weight in gold  (Thank you  - you know who you are x x x x)

 

 

 



 

I cannot control other people actions - I can only control my reactions.  Their actions is their Karma, my reaction is my Karma. 

 

 

 

Anger, although a normal reaction is not a healthy reaction.  Don't hold onto anger.

 

 

 

Everyone deserves a second chance - but not everyone deserves a third.

 

 

 

 

Don't let anyone else define you - you write your own story. 

 

 

 

Listening is the most powerful tool we have when battling with mental health issues.  Listen to yourself and afford others time to really be listened to.

 

 

 

 

Sometimes I don't know the right answer - that's ok.

 

 

 

There is always hope

 

 

 



 



WRAP really really  has enabled me to take control of my own life.  This is a very unusual feeling - and one that takes a while to get used to as anyone living with a long term condition will tell you that it sometimes feels like you are out of control of your own life.  But this year - especially the last 6 months I have really felt able to play an active role in my own life and own wellness.  WRAP has been a process that has enabled me to become very self aware, and as a result of this I feel much more in control of my own life.  It pulls together all my ways of managing and coping with the challenges life throws at me, and truly learn from them in order to move forward positively. 
 

2013 hasn't been the easiest of years and has seen some huge changes in my life.  But I am looking forward to moving forward and creating new positive memories.   My New Years Resolution for 2014 is quite simply to be happy and find something to smile about each day.
Wishing you all a happy, health and hopeful new year.  Donna x x x

WRAP Reflections

I have been thinking alot lately about Wellness Recovery Action Planning.  It has been a big part of my life this year.  I have facilitated many WRAP workshops this year and each one has been unique yet wonderful in its own way.  The people I have the pleasure of meeting and sharing stories with truly inspire me beyond words. Being around WRAP so much has made me ask myself ............do I practice what I preach?? 
This year has taught me that I mostly do but I don't always - but hey who does??   But what I have learnt is that when I do - it works. 
I have learnt a very very valuable lesson this year - your WRAP needs to change and adapt as you change and adapt.  My life changed tremendously this year.  Work changed, situations in my personal life changed, my health changed and home life as I have known it for 8 years changed when my youngest baby boy started school.  Strangely the one that hit me the most was the latter.  The other stuff  I could actively do something about but there was nothing I could do to stop my baby leaving and walking through the school gates in August.  I didn't fully understand why it was so difficult as I knew it was going to happen, and I was actually quite looking forward to some 'me time' during the day with plans of lying watching TV, lunch with friends etc .  But when the little man walked through those gates and I went home to my empty quiet house a sadness like I have never felt in along time engulfed me.  They say it takes one thing to push you over the edge - maybe that was the thing, who knows?? 
Anyway - I guess what I'm trying to say is that we can't always plan for how we feel, I don't have an action plan in place for every eventuality.  But what I did learn is sometimes I can't change what happens - I can only change my reaction to it.    For a few months there I was slipping down a hole that I didn't want to, regardless of trying to implement my wellness tools.  It took me until the end of November to realise that I needed some new ones. 
I also learnt that not every negative emotion needs a label.  The feelings I were experiencing were a completely natural reaction to a situation which was triggering for me - but I panicked because I didn't recognise fully that a trigger had occurred.  It was labelled depression as it persisted for more than 3 months and it was very unpleasant and distressing.  Funnily enough - anti-depressants didn't help. 
Now that I am thinking a bit more rationally I can see that the issue wasn't starting school - it was the fact that starting school signalled the end of my 'baby years' as I call them.  I cannot have anymore kids due to health issues and this was the real reason that I was so upset.  So  - new wellness tools implemented - weekly counselling sessions to talk through my thoughts and feelings, lots of 'big boy' fun activities,lots of family time and a new project to throw myself into has really helped.  There is no medication that can deal with these things for me, but I have learnt that I can deal with them when I look deep inside myself and find the answers - WRAP helps me to do that. 
I have made a lot of changes to my WRAP by reflecting on my recent period of feeling unwell.  Every experience really is an opportunity to learn
D x