Schizophrenia …. Bipolar Disorder … Major Depression. The diagnosis of a severe mental illness no longer equates to a life sentence of severe mental anguish and pain.

In truth, diagnosis is now the first step in a real recovery process that gives people back their lives, dignity, health and self-respect.

Patricia Deegan, PhD., co-founder of the National Empowerment Center in Lawrence, MA, and the Institute for the Study of Human Resilience at Boston University, knows personally about the struggles faced by those with severe mental illness.

She has been a pioneer in recognizing that the path to healing is first about separating the person from the disease and then moving toward meaningful life goals.

Diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 17, Deegan experienced nine hospitalizations and received little hope for a future. But she wasn’t willing to accept that. Instead she amazed her doctors by completing college and graduate school, and continuing until she received her PhD. in 1984.

“Recovery is different than stabilization and remission,” she said. “It’s about rebelling against the prognosis of doom. I was told I couldn’t be anybody – I proved them wrong.”

Deegan kept hope alive through personal determination and self-direction. That is the basis of recovery … finding it, having it and keeping it, regardless of what any naysayers may profess.

Recovery is healing transformation that leads people to look within and discover the ability and confidence they need to finish school, go to work, build careers, have homes, take care of families, and be contributing members of our society. It is about effecting change to last a lifetime; change that reduces homelessness, poverty, health problems, premature death, unemployment and crime.

We live in a society that moves very fast, so it can be tempting for many people to search for or deliver quick relief to pain and struggles with a “one pill does it all” approach. While medications are definitely part of the solution, they are not the whole solution. Medications alone (without other important recovery measures) tend to be a quick fix remedy that can lead to masking symptoms while leaving larger problems to escalate.

Symptoms of severe mental illness may look very similar on the surface, but the approach to healing is as individual as the person affected. Therefore, we have learned to look beyond the symptoms to help heal the entire person.

The path to healing is a holistic approach that encompasses mind, body, spirit and community. It embraces all aspects of life, from housing, employment and education to treatment, services and social networks.

The recovery process involves many components, such as: teaching an individual about his/her illness; educating him/her about treatment and program options; building a sense of personal responsibility for self-care and physical health; building supportive relationships with others in recovery; and empowering the person to make important life decisions as well as define his/her unique life goals and personal strengths. Invaluable in this recovery process is support fostered by peers, families, friends, health providers and others involved in the person’s life.

We hold much knowledge and ability to help those who suffer from severe mental illness overcome their struggles and reclaim their lives.

Now, our most important struggle as a society is to ensure all who are affected are able to gain access to the treatments, services and programs that are vital to the recovery process.