How Long Does Recovery Take ..?

Q:I just want to recover. That is all I think about. I am obsessed with it and no matter how hard I try I just can't seem to get there. Everyone is expecting be to be better and I do try everyday to do everything I have to, but it is all just so hard and I am still so scared of having a panic attack. How long does all this take?

A: Recovery takes time and as I also say patience patience patience.

Don't worry about your 'obsessional' need to recover. This is HEALTHY. The need and drive to recover has to be absolute, it has to be the most important priority of your life. The need to recover has to be strong enough to push past all your fears including the fear of people not liking you.

The length of time for recovery varies with individual people. It is dependent upon how strong the need is to recover, how disciplined people are in practising the management techniques and for some people the resolution of past issues. As a rule of thumb, it can take 12 - 18 months from beginning to end, but during that time people can have days, then months of freedom, before a set back. The more set backs you have the better, because it gives you more to practice with and ultimately ensures a life of freedom.

A note of caution, when the need to recover becomes very strong, people have to learn to pace themselves and not push to extreme. Pushing yourself to extreme limits all the time will cause a set back and the feeling that 'I will never make it.' Use this time to get to know yourself fully and learn to be kind and compassionate towards yourself. This way you can learn to push past your limits with more care and understanding of yourself and the Disorder. Be kind to yourself and above all be patient.

One day at a time.

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