The Person's Role in Recovery

As they began the journey of recovery from psychosis, informants described the importance of making their own initial decision to get well and maintain their physical and mental health. Developing a sense of self-control in their lives by managing their symptoms, determining how they spend their time, developing their own ways of defending themselves from stigma and social demands, and listening to their own needs and experiences were crucial to developing a sense of independence and agency. Informants described aiding their own recovery by allowing and encouraging new and different identities beyond their status as mental patients and apart from the person they were before the illness. Developing this new identity often enabled them to feel strong and to derive meaning from the difficult experiences of their illness. As in much of the informants' descriptions of their recovery processes, this development of identity and sense of purpose and independence often occurred beyond the scope of the mental health system and its professionals.