A sample of the WRAP Plan put together by a group of Veterans who gathered in White River Junction, Vermont in February of 2008.
Wellness Tools
- Go fishing
- Shut down and think, “what to do and what not to do”
- Get into a good book
- Draw
- Focus on something other than negatives
- Be aware of where I am mentally
- Music
- Kick back and watch the news rather than read about it
- Avoid the news
- Take care of my horses
- Keep my hands busy
- Go outside
- Go into town
- Make a to-do list
- Help other people who are having a hard time
- Be around people you know can understand
- Play with photos of family members and friends for fun (on the computer
with Photo Booth) - Write in my journal
- Not write a journal
- Call a friend
- Do peer support
- Quiet, silence
What I am like when I am well
- Caring
- Good sense of humor
- Energetic
- Responsible
- Interact with other people
- Regularly take care of personal hygiene
- Wear better clothes
- Things I need to do every day
- Don’t worry about today-or next week
- Live for today
- Do something for myself
- Go to a group
- Stretching
- Read a book
- Things I might need to do on a particular day
- Take personal time
- Go outside, get sun on my face
- Get vehicles serviced
- Get animal feed Get a hair cut
- Take care of fishing gear
- Back up the computer
Triggers
- Loud sounds
- Going back
- Loud, threatening, controlling people
- People treating me like I don’t count, like my opinion isn’t important
- Crowds
- Bloody scenes
- Certain ethnic races
- Hearing certain accents or language
- Sirens, ambulances
- People avoiding me
- News
- Being around people
- Hearing a door slam
- People approaching quickly
- Movies
- reminders seen on the news
Triggers Action Plan
- Self-talk
- Breathing exercises
- Get myself grounded-know it’s just a flashback Journaling
- Ask for help
- Call friend or supporter
- Leave an uncomfortable situation
- Shut down, don’t say a word
- Catch my breath
- Focus on something pleasurable
- Figure out why I was triggered
- “It won’t last forever” “This too shall pass”
Early Warning Signs
- Start to isolate
- Feel overwhelmed
- Tunnel vision
- Can’t hear too much or focus
- Lack of motivation Increased irritability
- ”Nobody else cares” “why bother” stage
- “Stinking thinking”
- Using more caffeine
- Using more caffeine
- Increase in smoking
- Doing “what if” in my head
- Thinking about drinking or using
- Overeating or undereating
Early Warning Signs Action Plan
- Groups at VA
- Tell myself “Winners never quit; quitters never win”
- “What is try? You just do it, or you don’t do it
- go to Vet-to-Vet meeting
- prioritize
- go to a 12-step meeting
- Daily Maintenance Plan
- Call someone to talk Peer support
- Talk to my partner
- Let my care provider know that I am experiencing early warning signs
- Write in my journal-conversation with myself, can use this to explain what is
going on
Signs that Things are Breaking Down
- Start to get irritable and could get abusive
- Racing thoughts Days without sleep Can’t shut down
- Thoughts of self-harm Obsessed with negative thoughts
- Thoughts of running
- Spending excessive $
- Anger-if I can’t catch it, it escalates doing mental damage to my family
- irrational responses to others
- trying to get others pissed off so they leave
When Things are Breaking Down Action Plan
- Give partner car keys, check book, credit cards, computer
- Let someone know I need help and accepting the help
- Sit down and tell my family- “things are breaking down”
- Listen to music
- Find a small project I can finish
- Get back to my routine-check Daily Maintenance
- Take a break from what is flipping me out
- Go out in the woods
- Go to a safe place
- Self-hypnosis Meditation Visualizations
- Read
- Physical and mental work
Signs that others need to take over for me
- Being very verbally abusive to others for 24 hours-
- I am out of touch
- Won’t talk at all-for a few days
- Isolating, pissed off at the world
- Could care less what anyone thinks
- Find fault with everything
- Sleep a lot-all day and night
- Can’t sleep
- Total loss of motivation
- Won’t eat for days
- Won’t do anything, then beat myself up for it
- Stop coming to groups
Help from others
- Talk me down, calm me, explain the situation to me “These things you are upset about are not real…”
- Listen to me
- Don’t judge me
- Be with me, even if I tell you to leave
- Advocate for my sons, so I can stay in the area and work with them
- Food shopping and food preparation
- bag of potato chips hamburger Cherry Garcia, Moosetracks
- House cleaning, laundry, vehicle maintenance
- Pay bills
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.
