The virtues of work for individuals recovering from mental illness

Contributed By: Edward Allard, Communications Representative

As many people know, I have had a long experience with a serious and persistent mental illness. In spite of this, for the past thirty-five years, I have done my best to work for a living. In this essay, I will share my thoughts on the importance of work throughout an individual’s journey of recovery.

As I see it, work’s importance in recovery cannot be overrated. Oddly enough, my ambition to work initially came about in response to stigma. When I was first diagnosed, my parents and other family members were resistant to the notion that I needed medicine and rehabilitation because of their belief in the stigma surrounding mental illness. They emphasized strongly that I needed a job, and to “pull myself together.” I agreed with them, partly because of my own stigma, and also out of the deep respect I held, and continue to hold, for them. We shared a lack of knowledge.

What followed for me was a long journey marked by unsuccessful attempts to support myself without treatment, periods of partial remission, hospitalizations, poverty, homelessness, and ultimately, recovery. I have learned the hard way that successful recovery first requires medicine and treatment, followed by gainful employment. I have been fortunate to find medicines that are effective and a lot of good therapeutic service. I remember particularly my vocational specialist at Fellowship Health Resources, Jesus Barrio, who helped me get my first post-treatment job as a janitor at the robotics firm Yushin America. Jesus, you did better than you know. The job was straightforward, as jobs go, and I was honored there, and had a little bit of money. They liked my work and I was finding a measure of success, although I did not realize it at the time because I knew I had the potential to do better.

The years that followed involved a variety of other jobs, accompanied by struggles with finance and alcohol. I had to learn to manage money, and ultimately, had to give up drinking. I found out I could not drink in the context of a healthy lifestyle that included employment.

Working did more than make me more prosperous. In giving my time to an employer, I had to rise to a greater degree of order. Any job requires that one do certain things according to a pattern. My illness had damaged my ability to establish order in my life. There is a very real reason why these diseases are called “disorders.” It is literally true, and being orderly in life is essential to living successfully. Frequently the word “structure” is used to describe this principal. Working requires the life skill of structured and ordered living, at least when one is on the clock.

The personal strategies I used to keep a job extended into other areas of life over time. I am now much better organized, cleaner, healthier, and happier. Work is a lot like a rehabilitative treatment for an injured limb. By practicing painful and difficult exercise over and over again, the joint regains some motion and, with luck, might be as good as new one day. When a serious illness like mine damages a person so much that they have to live in a hospital or a group home, too injured for a time to do more, emerging once again into the real world is worthy of special comment. The word miracle is not inappropriate.

Work helps in other ways as well. I take special satisfaction in the fact that I contribute. Paying taxes contributes to my self-esteem. Knowing I have certain responsibilities that are valued leads me to feel that I am valued, and this in turn helps me to value myself. Doing so means living a healthy lifestyle and taking my medications. At one time, I struggled with this due to low self-worth, which was no doubt the result of the long periods of poverty and homelessness. Getting a paycheck and receiving compliments from my employers, knowing that my work is better than some, and in any case valued, makes me aware that I was also “worth the effort.” I cannot fully describe the positive revolution this has been for my injured spirit, mind, and body, and how much it helps me to do better.

When pondering what advice I would give to a fellow consumer on the basis of my experience, I would say, “Do all you can to rise above the SSI lifestyle.” While the system respects work and allows for it to a larger extent than it gets credit for, sadly it enforces a kind of poverty when supplementary employment is absent. “When able, get some work, find some that pays, and keep trying. Anything less is a disservice to yourself.” To others I would say, “Be supportive of our work in every way you can, but don’t require it. Injured people may need quite a while to heal.” Finally, I would ask the following questions: “Is it not true, really, that working for a living describes a full recovery?” I am not saying that I will ever fully part with a need for ongoing financial support, but doesn’t work really talk about equality in our society? Is it not an antidote to stigma? Who can fault someone who is also a contributor to the common good? Where can anyone go wrong, making a difference in the marketplace?

I intend to keep working, and my goal is to one day part with all government benefits. I will maintain my medicines and treatment. I learned the hard way that they come first, as I stated above. If I succeed, I will have what I have sought for thirty-five years, namely a full recovery. I will see it that way, medicines or not, because I will have risen out of these experiences to be not only an equal to anyone in our society, but also what I call “a full participant.” Coming as far as I have to date has already helped me to forgive and forget the past.

In conclusion, I claim that work for hire is an unparalleled medicine for me and others like me. It is a treatment for the consequences of mental illness such as poverty, lack of structure, and a lack of enjoyment in the routine pleasures of day-to-day living. I highly recommend it as an adjunct to other forms of treatment for individuals living with serious and persistent mental illnesses.