1. Caring for myself through a mental health challenge In popular media, self-care is often presented as a relatively passive action such as having a long bath or treating yourself to a special meal. The reality is that self-care is an active process that requires work: it includes setting goals, taking care of yourself and strengthening your connections.
1.1 Working toward my goals When you start to think about setting goals, think about the time frames: what do you want to achieve in the near future, and in the longer term? Set short-term and long-term goals. Short-term goals can can address some of the little things in life that have perhaps become difficult. Long-term goals might address your bigger lifelong intentions. Write your goals down so that you can keep track of them. Share them with others who can support your process and hold you accountable.
What can I do... To set achievable goals? People in recovery offer the following suggestions: • Focus on your strengths. • Focus on solving problems. • Focus on the future instead of reviewing hurts from the past. • Focus on your life instead of your condition. • You are more likely to achieve a goal if: • The goal is realistic. Know your weaknesses as well as your strengths. • You have a plan on how to achieve it. Break the goal into smaller objectives and work on achieving each one of those. • You set a time frame.
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