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This blog is part of a larger series of blogs of open letters to people living with mental illness. Kayla is a woman who had been very sick and has grown more stable over time. Now she is looking for ways to move forward and achieve more without losing her previous gains. The home page for these blogs includes letters to Tony, who is much sicker and needs more basic interventions. That page can be found at http://beyondmentalillness.blogspot.com.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

11/13/11

Dear Kayla,

One critical piece you are probably thinking about is becoming more involved in your community. That is a great step, a critically important one for many people. That also means you need to be very careful.

I would recommend starting very slowly. For most people, I would suggest starting with volunteer work. Think about what you do well and what you enjoy doing in your day-to-day life. Could you bring those skills into a role which could help other people? Don't worry about a job right now. Just think about what you can and can not do. Working or volunteering is demanding and straining enough by itself. It is likely to be overwhelming if you are not familiar or comfortable with the job.

Also try to imagine where you have failed or succeeded in the past. Are any of those conditions still in place today? If so, you will need to honor them. When people are starting out, they often don't have much flexibility. Do you need to limit work to a few hours a day or a few days a week? Are you able to regularly work in the early morning or afternoon or evening? Again, those issues could be problematic at first.

Do the best you can. I know the current economy has limited most peoples' choices. But you need to decide which of these issues is most important and push for that. That is an individual decision which no one else can make for you. You cannot completely subvert your own needs to your employer's for very long.

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