Dr Manaan Kar Ray said: “Without risk, there can be no recovery.” You can read the first post in this series here.
Dr Manaan Kar Ray went on to share these stories from his hospital.
They had numbers of long-term patients who self-harmed and would come to hospital for treatment over the years.
What the hospital did was phone the clients up who they knew had been coming over the years and said to them that you can get admission to the ward if you pick up the phone, and you will be given a bed. However, if you are there for the 2 nights we provide, and if they self-harm, the contract is that they are discharged.
The hospital took a risk in taking this approach, and the client is taking on board risk and responsibility. It did work in many but not all cases. You can see how it takes the fight out of accessing service, and to me, I feel a sense of reduced anxiety were I to be a patient, knowing with some surety, I can get access if needed. Sometimes knowing our bases are covered can go a fair way to settling us. Perhaps we need a couple of actual proofs to be sure, to be fair, but emotionally it feels more efficient use of my emotions.
While Dr Kar Ray says without risk, there can be no recovery, I prefer to say without risk (and responsibility) there can be no recovery. His point is the main one, we need to engage risk, and take it, for therein lies responsibility and the possibility for recovery. What a simple but powerful concept! Harnessing our power. Engaging some risk. Taking, as we are able, some responsibility.
How does that make you feel? A little trepidation perhaps, a little fear, sacredness. That is okay. Remember what I said in the first post about breathing. Remember to breathe. And may I remind you or what I said in the last post. Be kind to yourself. Sometimes something can be a great idea, but the timing and staging of it, maybe it is ‘doing 10 minutes today’, may be it is for my mulling ideas list. Avoid using the words “I should” or “I must” which are harsh, and critical, and are associated with procrastination. Instead find the joy, the cup of tea, the walk in your good time. And while you are be thankful for the day, be thankful also for “the way” (you go about your day). And practice that.