I have created a Mental Health Plan so that I am able to make a commitment to monitor and improve my mental health.
Creating a mental health plan has been on my 30 Before 30 since July 2014 and I am glad that I have finally taken the time to create it. If you suffer from mental illness having a plan is a really good document to have. It can be used to monitor your current condition, provide information to professionals (if you want to share it) and allow you to list goals and activities that enable you to help yourself.
I created a custom document that is appropriate to me and could be used by other people who might want something to help them (it can be downloaded at the bottom of the entry). I have broken it into sections that focus on different areas. Such as personal information, carer or emergency contact, health care providers, medical information, current medications, triggers, personal goals, my commitment (where you can list activities you will do that can help you) and a declaration to sign and date.
Personally, the document has enabled me to clearly list my mental health problems, focus on triggers and how to avoid or alleviate them, write short term and long term goals (I only wrote a few that focus mainly on study at the moment) and activities that I can do to help myself (such as taking medication, seeing my doctor, keeping a journal, eating healthy, exercise). The important thing is that I can also change it whenever I want or need to. Everyone is different and has unique ways that they should focus on helping themselves, but being able to write them down is a key step.
I have provided the document I created and you can download it. Please keep in mind that this is a guide that I created and it is not an ‘official document’. It should be used with your own judgement and is best kept private and confidential and shared only with professionals or people you trust. Your doctor or psychiatrist may even be able to assist you in creating a custom plan. I also decided to keep the document very basic in styling because the focus is on the information.
Questions
1. Do you have a health plan (for any illness)?
2. Do you have any suggestions for other sections that could be added to the Mental Health Plan?
3. How do you keep yourself well?
30 Responses
This is really interesting and I might actually give this a try. 🙂 I have recently been diagnosed with bone deficiency on top of my other conditions and haven’t been feeling too great emotionally about things, so perhaps something like this will help put things into perspective. I also have a healthcare assessment at the end of the week, so I may even take this along with me! Thanks so much for sharing. <3
1. Do you have a health plan (for any illness)?
Not currently, but after reading this blog post I very much want to try and keep one!
2. Do you have any suggestions for other sections that could be added to the Mental Health Plan?
I have never seen or used one before, but your template looks like it covers most of what would be recommended to include. 🙂
3. How do you keep yourself well?
I try to incorporate new foods into my diet and get out in the fresh air at least once a day, even if it is only walking my dog. Sometimes it helps to refresh your body and mind!
*a million billion hugs*
This is actually really helpful with my anxiety. I’ll be honest and say that I’m not entirely organized or very good at all when it comes to controlling my anxiety attacks and I should probably be more proactive instead of just excepting that these breakdowns are just an everyday part of my life. Thanks for this!
I am glad that it could be helpful! If you ever need someone to talk too, don’t be afraid to reach out. <3
While I’m not struggling with any mental health problems right now, I can totally see how this would come in handy. I’ll be saving the document to my drive so I can use it in the future. I know a lot of people who struggle, myself included, although thankfully not lately. I think this is a fantastic idea! Thanks for making it available for others. 🙂
That is really good to hear that you are doing well at the moment. It can be really difficult sometimes, and making sure you understand where you are ‘at’ in the present moment is a big thing too.
It’s good to see that you have done something like this for yourself, Kya. 🙂 It must surely have been a good way to summarise your condition and I’m sure it will help you encourage and monitor your own progress.
I have never thought about doing something like this for my mental health, but I noticed that every now and then I hit a happier peak and have some nice thoughts to write and take some actions, and something like this would help me look back on it and see what works for me and what doesn’t. I particularly like the section about triggers, as I know I have some really bad ones and others that have disappeared over time.
I make sure I talk to people like my close friends and family because it helps. And sometimes I have to make sacrifices but I make sure I do that if it assists my mental health.
It is really important to talk to people. It can be a hard step sometimes, but if you have people who are willing to listen and care about you it’s so healing. <3
This is a brilliant idea, I’ll definitely be taking a look to see what I could put into action.
🙂
I suffer from mental illness, specifically Bipolar Disorder NOS, Personality Disorder NOS, and PTSD. To be honest, I think I’ll print this out and write out my goals so I can not only hang them up in my house, but also discuss it with my therapist. That’s the key to improving mental health. Goals. Having them and achieving them as best as you can. Thank you so much, Kya for this! This will definitely come in handy! I’m also thinking of getting a journal and I will definitely follow this template!
I hope it can help in some way. 🙂
It’s great that you got around to making this plan. I’ve never thought about creating a health plan for my hip condition but it would be a good idea to monitor it more closely.
That would be a good idea to monitor. You might want to make a document that suited your needs a bit better, with less on the mental health. But keeping an eye on any continual health problem you have is a really good idea.
That’s a great idea! It’s really nice you’re doing something that’ll not only help you, but help others as well.
My biggest mental health problem now is anxiety. Post-college life is looking to be sooo overwhelming right now. So most of the time, I’m afraid to make any move- especially in social situations as my anxiety tends to get the better of me. How to adult and how to be with people ugh O_o
I hope that you can find some calm and feel less anxious soon or find a way to manage those stresses and some how use them in a positive way. It’s never easy though. *hug*
To be honest, I don’t really have much of a plan for my health even though I should. I guess the most I do is TRY to moderate, because I love sweets and generally unhealthy foods and sometimes will have way more than I should. 😛
Those evil sweets. They look so pretty. >.<
Thank you for sharing your template! I think I will give it a try. I definitely go through some intense lows and I have very troubling thoughts when I do. I’ve been fortunate to have a good support system in my friends now, instead of just people taking advantage of me. But I still can’t help how I feel sometimes.
I am glad that you do have good people around. I hope that it might be helpful in some small way. We can’t help the way we feel, and I think there is a big stage where we also blame ourselves for what we are going through, which can be so destructive.
I think that’s a great idea to have a mental health plan. It looks really helpful to write down your goals and how to avoid your triggers. Congrats on completing another thing on your 30 before 30 list!
I don’t have a health plan, but it looks like a good thing to make. My main thing is having to manage my stress levels, usually by taking breaks and ending the day with things I enjoy doing.
Thank you! 🙂
Congratulations on creating the mental health plan and crossing that part off of your 30 before 30! I like how organized the sheet is along with the fact that it’s simple to use. Hopefully it’ll take you a long way :).
I don’t really have a health plan aside from a mental note on what I eat. I don’t really have any suggestions, but keep it up! I do a bad job at keeping myself well from time to time, but I try to learn my lessons. As for keeping myself mentally well, I need hobbies to clear my mind of some bad vibes @__@.
Hobbies can be a really good thing to focus on if you are in a bad place.
Thanks for sharing this, Kya! I think this is great that you’re doing this and I’m sure there are others who will benefit from your form. I keep myself well by trying to keep a balance between my work, social life, and hobbies. Some days keeping that balance is rough, but I know when I’m through with “life” and will escape to my hobbies or something.
Hobbies can be a good way to escape when things get hard and give you something to try and focus on. 🙂
That’s a good idea. You never know what kind of illness will be thrown to your way. This Mental Health Plan (Template) is a good way to keep a record of your health progress. You’ll be able to keep track for yourself as well. I downloaded Google Fit on my Android phone. Every day, I have a goal to met. It keeps track of the number of miles, steps, and calories.
1. Do you have a health plan (for any illness)? Yes. I’ll treat minor illness with home remedies. I’ll treat major illness at a local clinic or physician.
2. Do you have any suggestions for other sections that could be added to the Mental Health Plan? No. You pretty much cover the basics.
3. How do you keep yourself well? Yes. I’ll go out walking at night around my neighborhood.
That sounds like a good way to track your fitness and have goals for that. 😀
I think it’s a great idea to have one! I’m lucky that I have a team, a caseworker and a therapist to help me focus on mine. I keep myself well with my hobbies, and family time. Isolation can be my biggest problem though. So I’m glad to have my blog friends to visit with. 🙂 Good luck with it! *hug*
That’s great. 🙂