Post by robyn on Jan 25, 2016 5:02:51 GMT
joshnewberry
We get a lot of questions asking if it’s normal to not want to recover. The short answer is “yes,” but this post should be really helpful for those of you who are asking about it. x
-Mea
every time we (disabled and/or mentally ill people) say that we don’t think recovery should be the end-all or singular or most heavily focused goal for the psychiatric system we literally always get some anti-sj person going “haha typical tumblr speshul snowflakes just dont wanna stop being different lol!!!” or “of COURSE they dont want to recover haha then they wouldn’t be *~unique~* anymore!!! XD”
and it’s like.. the most blatant attempt at completely missing the point in order to silence us that I have ever seen…
How simple do we have to make it for you before y’all get it like?
Not every disorder or disability or mental illness can be recovered from. period. if the only goal is recovery, that itself automatically completely makes the psychiatric system and mental health care inaccessible to many mentally ill folk
Recovery is great, but there needs to be more help for and room for those who are not capable of recovering immediately or are recovering at a slow pace. There needs to be an emphasis on living with your disorder/disability/illness/etc
Not every disabled or mentally ill person wants to recover or feels a need to. For many, our disorders are part of who we are, and recovery isn’t a concern to us. Learning to cope, learning to accept that part of yourself, learning to grow with your illness rather than fight against it, can be just as beneficial as recovering for many people. Mentally ill and disabled people should be allowed to choose whether or not and how quickly they recover.
When an emphasis is 100% on recovery, it puts pressure on us. It inevitably invokes a belief that if you aren’t actively spending all of your time recovering and doing so at a quick rate, you’re either a lost cause, lazy, not trying hard enough, or a bad person. Mentally ill and disabled people should not have to spend all of their time worrying about the speed at which they recover.
Many of us do want to recover. Many of us do want to get over our illnesses or disabilities or disorders. But just like every other person on the planet everyone is different, and when we say “recovery shouldn’t be the end-all goal for the psychiatric system” we’re not fucking saying “recovery is bad and I don’t want to get better” we’re saying let us be seen as more than something that needs to instantly be cured.
and it’s like.. the most blatant attempt at completely missing the point in order to silence us that I have ever seen…
How simple do we have to make it for you before y’all get it like?
Not every disorder or disability or mental illness can be recovered from. period. if the only goal is recovery, that itself automatically completely makes the psychiatric system and mental health care inaccessible to many mentally ill folk
Recovery is great, but there needs to be more help for and room for those who are not capable of recovering immediately or are recovering at a slow pace. There needs to be an emphasis on living with your disorder/disability/illness/etc
Not every disabled or mentally ill person wants to recover or feels a need to. For many, our disorders are part of who we are, and recovery isn’t a concern to us. Learning to cope, learning to accept that part of yourself, learning to grow with your illness rather than fight against it, can be just as beneficial as recovering for many people. Mentally ill and disabled people should be allowed to choose whether or not and how quickly they recover.
When an emphasis is 100% on recovery, it puts pressure on us. It inevitably invokes a belief that if you aren’t actively spending all of your time recovering and doing so at a quick rate, you’re either a lost cause, lazy, not trying hard enough, or a bad person. Mentally ill and disabled people should not have to spend all of their time worrying about the speed at which they recover.
Many of us do want to recover. Many of us do want to get over our illnesses or disabilities or disorders. But just like every other person on the planet everyone is different, and when we say “recovery shouldn’t be the end-all goal for the psychiatric system” we’re not fucking saying “recovery is bad and I don’t want to get better” we’re saying let us be seen as more than something that needs to instantly be cured.
We get a lot of questions asking if it’s normal to not want to recover. The short answer is “yes,” but this post should be really helpful for those of you who are asking about it. x
-Mea