The WRAP Plan: Post Crisis

I have tried over the course of several articles to explain and promote the benefits of the WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan). Today we will talk about the final part of the plan: Post Crisis Planning. The fact that we have reached the ‘last part’, does not mean that you are DONE with the cycle of troubles associated with having a serious illness. It simply means that this is the last piece of advice the WRAP Plan is offering in the face of extreme duress and trouble with your illness. We may have to revisit any one of the seven parts of the plan at any time depending on what you may need on a given day. Please take a look at my articles regarding the other parts of the plan to get a better feel for what I’m referencing. So, without further ado: The Post Crisis Plan.

What's the post crisis plan?

In our last look at the WRAP Plan, we took a look at what type of planning should be done in a worst case scenario. Crisis may look different for everyone depending on the illness and a particular individual’s reactions to the stimuli they are experiencing. To summarize, the Crisis Plan is developed to recognize the symptoms, signs and warnings that things have gotten beyond your control and you need extra help to deal with your illness. Crisis Planning is very precise and organized. It deals with medication, doctors, supporters, hospitals, special treatments and even what your supporters should or shouldn’t do in the case of a crisis situation. The POST CRISIS PLAN is meant to define the support you are going to need to get back to equilibrium over the weeks or months that follow a particularly bad time. We don’t get better overnight, even though sometimes our family and friends may think that because we are out of the hospital or ‘seem’ better, that they can just resume normal activity. This is usually not the case.

The Post Crisis Plan helps you define what is going to need to happen once you are back on your feet again. Once again, you should be deciding who it is that can support you. What does it look like when the ‘crisis’ passes? What things or responsibilities need to be addressed that may have been neglected while I was incapacitated? What changes can I make to my lifestyle to help support my recovery?  These are the types of questions we must ask ourselves once we have recovered to the point we can function again. Now would also be the time to return to the beginning of our WRAP Plan and take a look at our Wellness Tools and Daily Maintenance plan. Crisis sets us back, and unfortunately it may take a while to get back to the level of healthfulness that we achieved prior to a breakdown or significant medical incident.

With tenacity and hope, we can come full circle and find ourselves in an even better place than we were before what I call ‘the dark times.’ We know how to take care of ourselves, but there is no shame in experiencing a time when, for whatever reason, we cannot. So…take a walk, listen to some music, call a friend…it’s a beautiful day today. It’s just really important to remember that we are constantly on duty with our illness…and it requires planning and maintenance.