Is Recovery From Chronic Mental Illness Possible?

I know--I know--the title of this blog, the entire premise of it, is based on recovering from mental illness. But it is not titled anything along the lines of "How I Recovered From Mental Illness!" So, is full recovery from chronic mental illness possible?

Reality Check: Chronic Mental Illness and Recovery

Let's define the word chronic so we have a basis to explore the topic. Wikipedia defines chronic as:

A chronic condition is a human health condition or disease that is persistent or otherwise long-lasting in its effects.

Okay. Simple enough, right? Well, not when you live with a chronic mental illness on a daily basis. But it is--at its very core--persistent and long lasting. I suppose we can come to the rather daunting conclusion that the reality of living with a chronic mental illness is not much fun. We need to take medications, often altering them when our moods change, and practice diligent self-care.

This all seems pretty negative, I must admit, but despite the chronic nature of mental illness we can--and we do--recover. But recovery from mental illness is not black and white, it's a process. Recovery from chronic mental illness is not absolute; it is not like breaking a leg, wearing a cast, and throwing running shoes on again.

What does Mental Illness Recovery Look Like?

Recovery looks and feels different for each of us. We all live with different symptoms and we all learn to treat them in a different way. The goal when working towards recovery is to find medication that keeps us as stable as possible, educate ourselves on our illness, and practice self-care. We also learn that we need to focus on healthy relationships, learn to draw boundaries in our lives, and focus on ourselves sometimes.

Recovery is a process and the destination is one in which we can live our lives with the understanding that, yes, we have a mental illness that needs to be treated, but we can recover from it.