Glyn Butcher, a WRAP Facilitator who lives near Sheffield, England, shared his WRAP with his friends on facebook. He is kind enough to let us share it here as well.
Wellness Recovery Action Plan (Wrap) not only changed my life but also saved my life. WRAP gave me hope that things could change, I could change, and my mental health problems could change, and with that change came personal recovery for me, though the transition that WRAP created within me.
I learned through creating a WRAP plan, that I, Me, could have the very thing I had been searching for, through attending thousands of hours within Mental Health Services, through Psychiatrists, Hospital Appointments, Care Plans, Day Centres, Counselling and CPA Reviews, and that very thing was Personal Recovery, and not only that, everyone else who chooses to have personal recovery can have it too.
WRAP brought my recovery from my Mental Health Problems to life, it made it real, genuine and authentic and because I created my own Personal WRAP Plan it placed me at the centre of my recovery, where previously I felt like an afterthought or an outsider within my care package, feeling done too, done for and not done with. It was a ‘their’ plan, not a care plan. Creating my own WRAP Plan has also made my recovery feel closer, real, not out there like some sort of fantasy or daydream, which has been my experience with typical clinical care plans, unreal, impersonal and untouchable.
Creating a WRAP plan enabled me to take personal responsibility for my recovery instead of blaming everyone else for my situation or the things that had happened in my life. WRAP helped me to see the part I played in perpetuating or sometimes sustaining my illness, for example playing the victim, sabotaging my treatment/Medication regime or isolating or socially excluding myself from the support I was given, and more importantly the people who love me. WRAP also taught me as well as taking personal responsibility for myself, that it was important to give back responsibility to the people who had or tried to push their responsibility onto me. This was very difficult, and I sometimes faced powerful resistance, but WRAP gave me the courage and determination to carry on and succeed.
WRAP taught me that as I embark on this new chapter of my life, my recovery started with me, that I was in control of my future, my destiny and my life and I was allowed to make my own decisions and allowed to make my own mistakes without fear of the consequences. Furthermore, WRAP taught me how to value to prize or to cherish the opportunity I had been given to change or transform into the person I had always longed to be and that now I had the power to form my own identity without mental illness or mental health services dictating it to me.
Though creating a WRAP plan, I have been able to change my world. My WRAP plan as saved thousands of pounds of NHS Resources by me not being on CPA, needing a Care Coordinator, The cost of attending a Day Centre 7 days a week, Hospital Appointments, Care Reviews, Support Workers, Crisis Helpline and Services, GP/ and A/E now to receiving Tele-Care Support once a Month. If that’s just me how many more thousands can WRAP save Mental Health and other Professional Services though out England. My question would be, in light of the money that has been saved just on my care package alone, can we afford Not to Deliver WRAP?
Here are some of things I’ve lost since Creating my own Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) and gaining personal recovery.
- I lost my need to blame everyone and everything else.
- I lost my anger.
- I lost my fear of making a difference.
- I lost my dependency on services and staff.
- I lost my fear of being alone with myself.
- I lost my fear of being me and all I can be.
- I lost my fear of saying No.
- I lost my fear of looking and being different
- I lost my fear of being pro-active.
- I lost my fear of professional authority.
- I lost my victim mentality.
- I lost my fear of communicating my thoughts.
- I lost my fear of needing other people’s approval.
- I lost my fear of making mistakes.
- I lost my fear of being a success.
- I lost my fear of the future and what it may bring.
Really positive and life enhancing things to Lose, I hope you would agree.
Thank you for listening
Glyn Butcher’s Wellness Toolbox – List of things that help me stay well
- Eating Healthy
- Attending Meetings
- Pray
- Read Self Help Books
- Paying my Bills
- Having a good Social Network
- Meeting up with Friends to Socialize
- Staying in control of my life
- Public Speaking
- Communicating
- Being in a Relationship
- Acting and Behaving Responsible
- Showing Love
- Education
- Listening to Music
- Writing Poetry, Letters, Homework
- Campaigning against Stigma and Discrimination
- Have Positive Relationships
- Being Responsible with Money
- Foster a greater, more loving and real relationship with both my daughters
- Sing
- Have Medication
- Being Valued and Respected
- Being Appreciated
- Having a close-knit network of friends
- Drawing
- Dreaming Dreams and Thinking Positive
- Keeping my brain active
- Being in Love
- Keeping up to date with my Relapse Signature
- Having Mental and Emotional Support
- Doing everything in moderation
- Having a quiet half hour by myself to put the day in perspective
Daily Maintenance Plan – Words that describe me when I’m well
- Talkative
- Clean
- Happy
- Patient
- Non-Argumentative
- Energetic
- Restful
- Empathetic
- Creative
- Empathic
- Balanced
- Focused
- Eager
- Communicative
- Outgoing
- Humorous
- Active
- Optimistic
- Spiritual
- Reasonable
- Competent
- Compassionate
- Loving
- Supportive
- Content
- Extrovert
- Sympathetic
- In control
- Assertive
- Calm
- Affective Problem Solver
- Capable
- Curious
- Easy to get on with
- Contemplative
- Rational
- Peaceful
- Outspoken
- Fair
- Mentally and Emotionally Strong
- Understanding
- Tolerant
- Interchangeable
- Fluid
- Retrospective
- Dynamic
- Caring
- Ambitious
Things I do every day to maintain my wellness
- Get Washed/ Clean My Teeth/ Wear Clean Clothes
- Learn Something Useful That Requires Effort
- Have a Flexible Plan of What I’m Going to Do That Day
- Have a Quiet Half Hour by Myself
- Complete My Household Chores
- Check in with Family and Friends (Socialize)
- Visualization Exercises, Positive Sayings (Coping Strategies)
- Communicate with People, (Email, Text, Phone, Facebook)
- Take Responsibility for My Life.
- Maintain Control of my Money, Bills, and Finances
WRAP My Triggers – Upsetting or intrusive thoughts and experiences that have a negative effect on your mental wellbeing.
- Christmas/ New Year
- Anniversaries / Births/Deaths/Marriages
- Flashbacks/ Trauma • Shouting /Being Ridiculed • Power Imbalance
- Feeling Out of Control
- Feeling Used/Abused
- Negativity / No Future
- Excess Pressure/ Caring Duties etc.
Things I must do at Early Warning Stage
- If Out, Come Home/ Go to Sleep
- Sit in Quiet
- Eat Something and Drink Something
- Ask My Sister to Stay with Me/ Or pick me up
- Read My Wrap Plan • Look at the things in my Wellness Toolbox
- Listen to my Favorite Music
- Stop and Think/ Remember if I don’t know what to do, don’t do anything
- Do My Visualization Exercises
- Write Down How I Feel
When Things are Breaking Down or Getting Worse
- I have Suicidal Thoughts
- I Withdraw from friends/family and isolate myself
- I Stop Communicating/ Talking/Email/Phone
- I become Obsessive with /Food/ Gambling
- I Sleep less and become Hyper
- I Get Confused and Afraid
- I Become over Sensitive
- I act Irresponsible/ Risky Behavior
- I become unmotivated and lethargic
- I Become cold with my feeling and negative
Daily Personal Development Checklist
- Have a quiet half hour at the beginning and the end of the day, think things through
- Write down 3 things that went well though the day before you go to sleep
- Finding your “signature strength” and using it to accomplish the things you don’t like doing.
- Be thankful for 5 things in your life
- Say the serenity pray, and just for today I do not gamble throughout the day
- Say the lord’s prayer and ask for forgiveness, loves, hope, cleansing
If some of these feeling intensify I have to do the following:
- Have plenty of rest/ Sleep
- Stop Doing Voluntary Work
- Stop Carrying excess money
- Ring Crisis Team/ Samaritans
- Attend A/E • Read my Wrap Plan
- Pray
- Eat/ and Drink plenty of Fluids
- Take Prescribed Medication
- Ring Carers Team for Support
Mary Ellen Copeland, PhD, developed Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) with a group of people with lived experience who were attending a mental health recovery workshop in 1997. She is the original author of the WRAP Red Book, as well as dozens of other WRAP books and materials. She has dedicated the last 30 years of her life to learning from people who have mental health issues; discovering the simple, safe, non-invasive ways they get well, stay well, and move forward in their lives; and then sharing what she has learned with others through keynote addresses, trainings, and the development of books, curriculums, and other resources. Now that she is retired, and that, as she intended, others are continuing to share what she has learned, she continues to learn from those who have mental health issues and those who support them. She is a frequent contributor to this site.
