Developing Your Post Crisis Plan
The Post Crisis Plan is different from other parts of your Wellness Recovery Action Plan™ in that it is constantly changing as you heal. It is anticipated that two weeks after the crisis you will be feeling much better than you did after one week and therefore your daily activities would be different.
As with the other parts of the Wellness Recovery Action, it is up to you to decide whether or not you want to develop a Post Crisis Plan. If you decide you want to develop a Post Crisis Plan, it is up to you to decide when you will do it. Like the rest of the plan, the best time to develop your Post Crisis Plan is probably when you are feeling quite well. Then you will have it if you ever do go into crisis. But again, it is up to you. It would probably be difficult to develop such a plan when you are in crisis or when you are trying to recover. It seems like it would be advantageous to have developed this plan in advance.
If you are hospitalized and you don't have a Post Crisis Plan, you may want to develop one with your care providers or on your own before you are discharged-a kind of comprehensive discharge plan. While you are in the hospital you may want to ask your care providers to explain any possible discharge conditions and how these conditions would affect your post crisis plan if they were imposed on you.
You may decide to develop your plan when you are working with a group or with your counselor. You could do it with a supportive family member or friend. Others could give you suggestions or advice if you wish, but the final word should be yours. Or you could do it by yourself. It is also up to you to decide whether or not you want to show your Post Crisis Plan to others. It may be a good idea to share your plan with people who you want to assist and support you as you heal.
You may want to sit down one afternoon and spend three or four hours working on your plan until it is finished. Or you may want to take your time-work on it a bit today, and a little more another day.
In developing your Post Crisis Plan, you may find it helpful to refer to your Wellness tools and your lists of what you are like when you are well, your Daily Maintenance Plan and your list of things you might. You also may want to refer back to your Crisis Plan as you make plans to resume activities and take back responsibilities.
The forms for developing a Post Crisis Plan that follows are quite extensive. As with other sections of your Wellness Recovery Action Plan™ you can skip over sections that don't seem relevant to you or that you would rather address at some other time.
You may choose to use the worksheet at the end of this form to set up recovery timelines. In the first column you would write the task or responsibility you would like to resume, in the second column you would list the steps you would take to resume that task or responsibility and in the third column a possible day or days for accomplishing that step.
You may want to revise your plan after you have used it-especially if certain things weren't as helpful as you thought they would be or plans did not work as you expected.
POST CRISIS PLAN
How I would like to feel when I have recovered from this crisis.
You may want to refer to the first section of your Wellness Recovery Action Plan--What I am
Like When I am Well. This may be different from what you feel like when you are well--your
perspective may have changed in this crisis.
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I will know that I am "out of the crisis" and ready to use this post crisis plan when I:
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Post Recovery Supporters List
I would like the following people to support me if possible during this post crisis time.
Who: Phone number: What I need them to do:
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Arriving at Home (if you have been hospitalized or away from home)
If you have been hospitalized, your first few hours at home are very important.
If you have been hospitalized, your first few hours at home are very important.
Do you feel you will feel safe and be safe at home? ___yes ___no
If your answer is no, what will you do to insure that you will feel and be safe at home?
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Things I must take care of as soon as I get home
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Things I can ask someone else to do for me.
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Things that can wait until I feel better
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Things I need to do for myself every day while I am recovering from crisis.
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Things I might need to do every day while I am recovering from this crisis.
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Things and people I need to avoid while I am recovering from this crisis.
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Signs that I may be beginning to feel worse--anxiety, excessive worry, overeating, sleep
disturbances
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Wellness tools I will use if I am starting to feel worse--star those that you must do--the others
are choices
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Issues to consider
What do I need to do to prevent further repercussions from this crisis--and when I will do
these things.
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People I need to thank.
Person: When I will thank them: How I will thank them:
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People I need to apologize to.
Person: When I will apologize: How I will apologize:
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People with whom I need to make amends.
Person: When I will make amends: How I will make amends:
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Medical, legal, or financial issues that need to be resolved.
Issue: How I plan to resolve this issue:
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Things I need to do to prevent further loss--like canceling credit cards, getting official leave
from work if it was abandoned, cutting ties with destructive friends, etc.
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Timetable for Resuming Responsibilities
There is a worksheet at the end of this form that may assist you in this process.
ex. child care, pet care, job, cooking, household chores, etc.
Sample: Responsibility start back to work
Steps:
1. in three days go back to work for 2 hours a day for five days
2. for one week go back to work half time
3. for one week work 3/4 time
4. resume full work schedule
Responsibility _____________ Who has been doing this while I was in crisis _________
While I am resuming this responsibility, I need (who) ____________________________
to ____________________________________________________________________
Plan for resuming
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Responsibility _____________ Who has been doing this while I was in crisis _________
While I am resuming this responsibility, I need (who) ____________________________
to ____________________________________________________________________
Plan for resuming
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Other issues I may want to consider
Signs that this post crisis phase is over and I can return to using my Daily Maintenance Plan
as my guide to things to do for myself every day.
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Changes in my Wellness Recovery Action Plan that might help prevent this, such as a crisis
in the future.
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Changes in my crisis plan that might ease my recovery.
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Changes I want to make in my lifestyle or life goals.
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What did I learn from this crisis? ______________________________________________
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Are there changes I want or need to make in my life as a result of what I have learned?
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If so, when and how will I make these changes?
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Post Crisis Planning Worksheet
Task or Responsibility Steps When you would like to take this step
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