Mouse to man, a mental health recovery journey

Abstract

What is known on the subject?: The need for recovery narratives written by people with lived experience of mental illness is widely acknowledged in mental health research. Insights from lived experience narratives can assist nurses to reflect on practice in new ways. What this paper adds to existing knowledge?: By describing the lived experience of one man's journey through adolescence crippled by anxiety to become one of the Australia's leading consumer advocates, this paper emphasizes the importance of retaining hope no matter how difficult challenges become. What are the implications for practice?: Flexibility regarding service age limits for young people who experience mental illness is important, particularly if therapeutic relationships have been established. Services should provide longer-term treatment options for youth who experience mental illness. Mental health nurses need to guard against too much focus on getting rid of symptoms. Nursing should seek to develop the whole of a person's life as they move along their recovery journey.