Planning for Well Being
Begin with the end in mind!
This is part of a wellness recovery action plan and the reason this helps to manage stress and worry is because it gives you a self-directed way forward on days when you feel like you need some help.
In order to know what’s happening for you when you are well, you need to start by identifying what you on a good day might look like, sound like, what might you be saying, how might you be responding to compliments and or criticism, what thoughts, actions and feelings might you have when you’re feeling good?
You may find this a difficult task, it’s not intended to trigger or create stress for you, if you start to feel this way when you are doing the task. Put it down, have a break, use STOP or another strategy and go back to it when you’re feeling OK to continue, maybe ask a supporter to help you with it – but make sure you are OK with their suggestions, writing down what they want when you don’t agree is people pleasing, we will call that a symptom later on if you’re likely to do that!
What might we notice if someone is having a good day that would change if they weren’t?
Daily Routines
Think about all the routines you would normally have when you’re feeling well and make a list. *Look back at routine regulation if you need some inspiration*
Remember to include daily strategies such as PMR as well as the regular routines that you would follow on a good day.
What might be forgotten to be done if wellbeing is affected by worry or stress?
Rewarding activities, less frequent than daily.
This part of the wellbeing toolkit is where you identify the activities you like to do occasionally to boost your wellbeing, activities that you might look forward to – time out with friends or a holiday for example.
When we aren’t managing our stress and worry well it’s often these activities that we stop doing first.
Who are your supporters?
Who or where might you go to if your stress and worries are becoming unmanageable?
By identifying the people and places you can go to when you are feeling well, you have a greater possibility of remembering to go to them when you really need them.