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WRAP Training reflection
Short reflection (First day down) onWRAP( wellness recovery action plan) facilitator training.
A stream of consciousness.
Heart beating, struggling to breathe, it’s my turn next to have a go honing in on my public speaking skills and being a co-facilitator, speaking about one core value and ethic of what the WRAP self-management program means to me and why.
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Breathe.
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Make a few bullet point notes.
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Listen to what others are saying. Listen…….
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Don’t pre-empt what I am going to say while listening to others.
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Try and understand where that person who is currently in the hot seat, is coming from.
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We are all nervous – we all have feelings.
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Oooh, look! A squishy, colourful ball to play with,it lights up. I hope there is no one who is sensitive to flashing light in this room. Just Fucking do it.
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Remember, my reason for doing what I am doing.
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This is not about what others think but about how I develop as a person and what it means to me, in my life – there is a bigger picture.
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Smile.
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wing it.
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Look people in the eyes when I speak.
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Acknowledge my nerves if need be.
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stick to the topic.
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Believe in my own worth.
THE PRACTICAL EXERCISE:
Choose one out of the 15, WRAP ETHICS AND VALUES that form the basis and success of the WRAP self-management program, get into pairs to practice co-facilitating (with someone I have never met before). Here is what I chose and what I had to say.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED – YOU SHOULD BE 😀
HAHA!
CHECK OUT THE CORE VALUES AND ETHICS CHECKLIST THAT MAKE WRAP WHAT IT IS
HERE ( there are 15)
Here’s another link if you enjoyed what you read 😀
VALUES AND ETHICS -MENTAL HEALTH RECOVERY
MY CHOICE :
Difficult feelings and behaviors are seen as normal responses to traumatic circumstances viewed in the context of what is happening, not as symptoms or a diagnosis.
What I said: Three minutes starts now: tick tock
MAKES MY OWN TICKER BEAT FASTER
“Long story short, I grew up in what is commonly referred to in society as a dysfunctional family and upbringing. Grew up around mental illness, addictions/people who used bad coping mechanisms.
I, family members of mine were Stigmatized because of that.
The global / U.K. NHS model for dealing with Mental health is not working.
Change is needed.
Labels and diagnoses should be a guideline -not something that you are stuck with for life.
We all have feelings – not all most feelings are irrational/impulsive.
Society is uncomfortable in dealing with other people’s feelings.
Feelings can’t be reduced to mere symptoms of illness
We all have Mental health. We all have a mind and a body.
We are all subject to episodes of good and bad MH on a sliding scale spectrum.
People with Feelings should be encouraged to share them.
We are all unique.
We share many similar qualities and are complex beings.
Our narratives – our personal story.
how we came to be who we are today and who we will become should be determined by being able to express our feelings and thoughts without being labelled in jargony terms ( if we want it that way).
We are human. Let’s stop hiding it and act like it.
There is no shame in being human and feeling happy/sad/ insert emotion.
I believe, there is this cultural mentality that people with Mental Health “issues” ( every human being on this planet btw) who have come out or indeed still continue to suffer in silence are deemed incapable of taking true, positive personal responsibility for our own health in an empowering manner.
I think We are afraid because we have been told we don’t have the mental capacity to manage ourselves in the current medical, prescribed model set- up that we rely on still to this day.
This links into another crucial value and ethic of WRAP which is what my co-facilitator will touch upon now”
CO -FACILITATOR’S CHOICE AND TURN IN THE HOT SEAT.
Self-determination, personal responsibility, empowerment, and self-advocacy are key aspects of this program.
How I sum up what my three-minute co-facilitator said, in my own mind, is:
Understanding and wanting to understand how to manage your own issues in new ways – safe ways, different ways requires determination. One-step and that is already a person taking responsibility for their path – their mind /their body.
The result – I have found, is usually empowering.
I can do this.
Why ?
I have just done it.
WOW! Fucking shit man…..
Carry on working on ourselves and focusing on what makes us well, unwell, etc…. is a great prescription. Self-advocacy is a prescription a person gives themselves.
WHY?
Because I know myself better than anyone. I don’t care who believes it or not.
You know yourself better than any doctor, family member or friend. You live in your head and body.
I am the expert on me and I can be pretty fucking resourceful if I am pointed in the right direction.
That’s it.
I’m Knackered.
My Bella Bee is back at school. Missed her first day at BIG school. 😦
My GHD’s said a big F U to me this morning ……
but…..
I did it.
I can’t even focus on the words on my MA in Creative writing on the Open University website that is finally open and we have full access to use.
Finally!
What do I want to write about?
Social issues/ issues that affect us as humans.
I do know that my first Tutor marked assignments (TMA) is going to be an 18-minute play about a homeless person and how society and the community can succeed in aiding a vulnerable person to help him/herself.
Be kind to yourself.
Be kind and rewind. Remember that one?
Catch up soon!
Loads of shout outs as promised at the end of the week.
Can’t wait to explore all the new blogs and Bloggers in the Willows and beyond.
Good night!
Daisy ❤ ❤
Toxic positivity culture
Most of us are aware that suicide attempts are on the rise at an explosive rate.
We all don’t want to see or hear someone who thinks the only way out of life is taking their own life.
We are told to talk about our feelings. Get it all out & call for a chat if we need anything.
People have to get on with their lives.
What if the help they are advised to seek out isn’t there or doesn’t help?
What about our ethical stance or views about people who want to end their lives?
Can we become open to challenging our views and reasons for helping people without being able to have a lasting impact on those people who still have to live with the aftermath of wanting to die?
Of course ,we are humans with complex emotions & at times deep compassion & empathy. We want to help or fix other people.
How do you feel about
Someone with a degenerative disease such as MS who has lost her soulmate & wants to end Life?
Or a man with a family to protect who is struggling financially & can’t see a way out either through shame or pride to seek out help or because they refuse to live in poverty so takes his life so his family can live on his Life insurance?
What can you do to make a positive long lasting change in their mind set or circumstances?
Does it soothe our conscience
We can admonish we have done the right thing
Acts of Altruism?
What about a teenager with body issues, relationship problems, a person.
Who sees no way out?
What if the places we signpost him to get help can’t or doesn’t help?
Well.. at least we tried to be a good person..
Instinctively we feel that it would be wrong to not want to help.
We live in a society where we are bound by outdated traditions, people who believe rhat by giving a person a poster can guide a person to change their perspective .
I believe the quality of life should matter more than the quantity.
I also believe that a teenager or a man in serious debt may be able to find guidance and be able to deal with the desire to die.
When it comes to illnesses I watched my own grandmother become an entity merely existing because that is what. society says we should do. Keep her alive.
Keep people alive even if that life is in a care home, unable to speak, move.
We don’t have enough resources to help people in state care homes to signpost these people to places where they can have a chance to rethink how they can live with a sense of purpose.
I’ve seen people I love live on a “leash” tied to life for what? other peoples peace of mind?
If we can’t get the resources to help people see a way out must they suffer their entire mortal life in mental anguish & physical torture?
What gives life meaning?
Purpose?
Finding a way to grow, achieve happiness – evolve as we have been designed to as humans?
We were born to live in our physical bodies and create a life worth living. To be able to say at the end of our lives that we died knowing for what purpose we had lived.