sweetschizo:

We need to redefine recovery from “becoming neurotypical” to “learning to live a good life with a mental illness” cause in many cases the chase for the first gets in the way of the second.

Recovery doesn’t always mean “doesn’t have a mental illness anymore” – it can also mean:

• Learning to cope with your symptoms in a healthy and constructive way.
• Getting the accommodations and support that allows you to live with the impairments of your mental illness.
• Learning to live a happy, fulfilling life despite your symptoms.
• Knowing your limits and triggers and adjusting your life accordingly.
• Learning to take care of your physical, mental and emotional health.
• Learning to live with symptoms without having them control your life.
• Finding and sticking to treatments that work for you.
• Accepting and learning that even though you may not be able to live a “normal” life, you can still have a good life.

Many of us can’t expect the full recovery that we are told to strive towards, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t get better or that we shouldn’t work towards getting better, and it’s important that the language around mental illness and recovery reflects that.