The fall of the year is a time of change for many of us. One of the biggest life changes that happens in the fall for many people is going away to school or college for the first time. Or you may be moving or changing jobs. It has been widely observed that times of change are difficult for many people. They may begin to experience signs of mental health distress, like crying all the time and not knowing why, severe anxiety, deep sadness, lack of energy, unexplainable fears, irrational thoughts, hearing voices, and seeing things that aren’t there. If you are using WRAP, you may want to review it and make sure you are following it carefully. You may even want to make some changes in your WRAP to more accurately reflect what is going on in your life.
Below are a list of Wellness Tools you may want to use to get through this difficult time. If you don’t have a WRAP, this may be a good time for you to develop and begin using a WRAP for your daily guide for prevention and wellness. Click here for resources that will guide you in developing your WRAP. I suggest the red WRAP book or the new WRAP Plus. You may want to develop your WRAP online using the Build Your Own WRAP program.
List of Wellness Tools (adapt these for your own use):
Exchange listen on the phone with a family member or friend
Increase your exercise regime
Spend at least 1/2 hour each day outside
Avoid sugar, high fat and high salt foods
Limit your caffeine intake to two caffeinated drinks a day
Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day
Eat 3 meals a day-avoid skipping meals
Go to bed by 11 PM
Get up at 7 am
Spend at least 1/2 hour a day doing something you love to do
(draw, paint, read, listen to music, make music, etc.)
Relaxation exercise or meditation
Writing in your journal
Attend a concert or other community event
Join a support group
Mary Ellen Copeland, PhD, developed Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) with a group of people with lived experience who were attending a mental health recovery workshop in 1997. She is the original author of the WRAP Red Book, as well as dozens of other WRAP books and materials. She has dedicated the last 30 years of her life to learning from people who have mental health issues; discovering the simple, safe, non-invasive ways they get well, stay well, and move forward in their lives; and then sharing what she has learned with others through keynote addresses, trainings, and the development of books, curriculums, and other resources. Now that she is retired, and that, as she intended, others are continuing to share what she has learned, she continues to learn from those who have mental health issues and those who support them. She is a frequent contributor to this site.
