Recovery From Mental Illness People of all ages, backgrounds, and walks of life have, at some time or another, experienced catastrophes. When these tragic events occur, the challenge of recovery must be confronted. Recovery is a unifying human experience that transcends both illness and disability (Anthony, 1993). In regards to mental illness, recovery has not been addressed through research or discussion as extensively as recovery from physical illness or injury. Recovery involves much more than symptom alleviation. It is a subjective, unique process of altering and adapting one's values, attitudes, goals, feelings and roles in order to live a more satisfying, hopeful and fulfilled life (Anthony, 1993). Anthony (1993) and Deegan (1988) both provide evaluations of the mental health system in reference to its efficacy in aiding and encouraging, not only rehabilitation, but recovery. Deegan (1988) explains the importance of recovery-based mental health services through the parallel stories of a man, diagnosed young as a quadriplegic, and the author's own story of her struggle with schizophrenia. Anthony (1993), on the other hand, demonstrates the basic assumptions intrinsic to a recovery-focused mental health system and the structures necessary to implement such a design.

Deegan (1988) expresses how most people with disabilities share similar fundamental aspirations and needs. The most paramount need is to confront the challenge posed by the disability and to establish purpose and integrity within the new limited realm imposed by the disability. The foremost aspiration held by the disabled is to function, thrive and contribute in the community.

The important distinction...

Rehabilitation includes the technologies and services available to those with disabilities, so they are better able to adapt to the world around them. Recovery, on the other hand, is the lived experience of people in the process of accepting and overcoming the challenges presented to them due to their disabilities. In effect, the process of recovery provides the basis on which rehabilitation services are constructed. To ensure the success of rehabilitation projects, people disabled by mental illness must be active and courageous participants. The recovery process facilitates this essential participation.
Deegan (1988) illustrates the parallels in recovery between mental and physical illness through the description of her personal experiences with schizophrenia and a man's experiences as a quadriplegic. Similar sequences of events were experienced by her and the man, as they both went through phases of denial, anguish, and in time, hope. The author emphasized the fact that recovery is not a sudden conversion experience, and that hope is a turning point at which the willingness to act must be initiated quickly. Little steps must be taken in order to ensure progress on the path to recovery.

Three cornerstones of recovery are stressed by Deegan (1988): hope, willingness, and responsible action. Effective use of rehabilitation services stems from this process of recovery. Recovery is not an end, but is instead a process marked by an acceptance of certain limitations, which enable unique possibilities. This is the paradox in recovery explained by Deegan (1988), in which acceptance of what one can…