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| Hope in the Preparation Stage: Mobilizing Resources |
Hope in the Preparation Stage: Mobilizing Resources
From that point on, I reinvested in life, in my own recovery process. I was no longer just a ‘mental patient’ who would recycle in and out of hospitals the rest of my life. I dared to begin to think of the present and make future plans instead of dwelling on the past. (Lynch, 2000, p. 1430)
This quote is a fitting introduction to the Preparation stage of psychological recovery. We can continue to utilize Snyder’s theory to describe hope in the Preparation stage. Hope can be seen in the mobilization of both personal and external resources to foster agency and find pathways to goals. Agency involves building on inner strengths, while finding pathways can take the form of gathering knowledge and information, utilizing resources such as rehabilitation services and/ or seeking peer support.
From that point on, I reinvested in life, in my own recovery process. I was no longer just a ‘mental patient’ who would recycle in and out of hospitals the rest of my life. I dared to begin to think of the present and make future plans instead of dwelling on the past. (Lynch, 2000, p. 1430)
This quote is a fitting introduction to the Preparation stage of psychological recovery. We can continue to utilize Snyder’s theory to describe hope in the Preparation stage. Hope can be seen in the mobilization of both personal and external resources to foster agency and find pathways to goals. Agency involves building on inner strengths, while finding pathways can take the form of gathering knowledge and information, utilizing resources such as rehabilitation services and/ or seeking peer support.
The notion of ‘taking stock’ of personal resources and building on strengths is a recurring theme of the Preparation stage of recovery (e.g. Davidson and Strauss, 1992; Young and Ensing, 1999; Mead and Copeland, 2000; Lapsley, Nikora and Black, 2002; Lunt, 2002; Spaniol et al., 2002). This idea was colourfully illustrated by Betty (in Davidson and Strauss, 1992), who used the analogy of baking a cake:
I have a good will . . . [but] the kitchen has to be right, so to speak, before I . . . do the endeavours. The feeling . . . has to be right . . . everything has to be right before you can make a cake . . .. If you don’t feel like buying the flour for six months . . . then you don’t feel like it. Then you get your flour, and then you notice you don’t have enough cinnamon, so you wait a while. (p. 137; ellipses in original) Betty’s story relates to building inner resources, rather than finding external sources of support. Her words describe building on the agency component of hope. The development of a wide range of personal skills was identified by the participants in Young and Ensing’s (1999) research, including: learning to live in the moment – not being preoccupied with the future or the past; learning to be honest with self and others; learning to be assertive; learning to accept what you need from various resources; and learning that there are many productive ways to use time and energy.
Changing self-destructive behaviours has also been identified as important in nurturing hope during recovery (Kirkpatrick et al., 2001).
During this period, the use of information resources can be important in helping people to understand both their illness and the resources available to help them to grow beyond the illness (Armstrong, 1994; Frese, 2000; D. Marsh, 2000; Mead and Copeland, 2000). Berman (1994) spent many years during his illness as a leader of a peer support group, while battling with the blunting effects of medication. In this role, he organized a strong educational programme, and relates the value of seeking knowledge about the illness:
For me this played a crucial role in building a background of knowledge and understanding upon which I grew, even significantly enough to question my continued use of lithium. In my opinion, knowledge and understanding are the foundation for all successful coping. (p. 43)
The theme of seeking out resources and building the necessary skills for recovery was echoed in a number of stories and studies. For example, Thornhill, Clare and May (2004), in their analysis of recovery narratives, relate the experience of Simon, who, after deciding to ‘let go of being mad’ (p. 189) started on his journey of recovery by taking on unskilled work, and exploring mental health resources and alternative avenues to wellbeing. In terms of hope theory, Simon’s story represents an example of finding new pathways. Schmook (1996) tells us ‘As one begins to take action and experiences small triumphs, which may or may not be noticed by anyone else, hope of recovery begins to be internalized’ (p. 14).
I have a good will . . . [but] the kitchen has to be right, so to speak, before I . . . do the endeavours. The feeling . . . has to be right . . . everything has to be right before you can make a cake . . .. If you don’t feel like buying the flour for six months . . . then you don’t feel like it. Then you get your flour, and then you notice you don’t have enough cinnamon, so you wait a while. (p. 137; ellipses in original) Betty’s story relates to building inner resources, rather than finding external sources of support. Her words describe building on the agency component of hope. The development of a wide range of personal skills was identified by the participants in Young and Ensing’s (1999) research, including: learning to live in the moment – not being preoccupied with the future or the past; learning to be honest with self and others; learning to be assertive; learning to accept what you need from various resources; and learning that there are many productive ways to use time and energy.
Changing self-destructive behaviours has also been identified as important in nurturing hope during recovery (Kirkpatrick et al., 2001).
During this period, the use of information resources can be important in helping people to understand both their illness and the resources available to help them to grow beyond the illness (Armstrong, 1994; Frese, 2000; D. Marsh, 2000; Mead and Copeland, 2000). Berman (1994) spent many years during his illness as a leader of a peer support group, while battling with the blunting effects of medication. In this role, he organized a strong educational programme, and relates the value of seeking knowledge about the illness:
For me this played a crucial role in building a background of knowledge and understanding upon which I grew, even significantly enough to question my continued use of lithium. In my opinion, knowledge and understanding are the foundation for all successful coping. (p. 43)
The theme of seeking out resources and building the necessary skills for recovery was echoed in a number of stories and studies. For example, Thornhill, Clare and May (2004), in their analysis of recovery narratives, relate the experience of Simon, who, after deciding to ‘let go of being mad’ (p. 189) started on his journey of recovery by taking on unskilled work, and exploring mental health resources and alternative avenues to wellbeing. In terms of hope theory, Simon’s story represents an example of finding new pathways. Schmook (1996) tells us ‘As one begins to take action and experiences small triumphs, which may or may not be noticed by anyone else, hope of recovery begins to be internalized’ (p. 14).
While the person is building on his or her strengths, developing skills and learning about resources, they may not yet have a clearly defined goal. Although in the Awareness stage the person may have developed a goal of recovery, this may as yet be a somewhat nebulous idea. Hopeful thinking has been associated with concrete goals rather than vague goals, and there is less likelihood of achieving a poorly defined goal (Snyder et al., 2006). Identifying a goal may sometimes require abandoning longheld aspirations, and taking small steps towards a new goal, as we saw plainly expressed by Crowley (2000) in Chapter 2.
Therefore, in the Preparation stage, the person may have a highly motivating long-term goal, or alternatively, may set him or herself short-term, incremental goals. King (1998) notes that when a person’s life goals become unattainable, day-today goals can provide a buffer and a sense of agency while the long-term goal changes. Whatever the level of goal chosen, the tone of the consumer stories is that it is approach rather than avoidance goals that are in the spirit of recovery. That is, goals directed towards attaining desirable outcomes rather than avoiding negative outcomes (e.g. Higgins et al., 1994; Elliot, Sheldon and Church, 1997). The nature of the recovery stories is that there is a determination to break free of a life ruled by the illness (e.g. Crowley, 1997; Young and Ensing, 1999; Mead and Copeland, 2000; Tenney, 2000; Lunt, 2002). Therefore, a goal of avoiding stress, for example, does not reflect the recovery ethos as does the goal of learning to self-manage one’s illness.
Approach goals have been associated with higher levels of hope (Snyder et al., 2000), wellbeing (Emmons, 1999b), goal attainment (Elliot and Church, 1997) and perceived confidence in illness management (Elliot and Sheldon, 1998). The development of approach-oriented goals or tasks implies hope for the future and entails a budding sense of agency – a necessity for taking responsibility.
Therefore, in the Preparation stage, the person may have a highly motivating long-term goal, or alternatively, may set him or herself short-term, incremental goals. King (1998) notes that when a person’s life goals become unattainable, day-today goals can provide a buffer and a sense of agency while the long-term goal changes. Whatever the level of goal chosen, the tone of the consumer stories is that it is approach rather than avoidance goals that are in the spirit of recovery. That is, goals directed towards attaining desirable outcomes rather than avoiding negative outcomes (e.g. Higgins et al., 1994; Elliot, Sheldon and Church, 1997). The nature of the recovery stories is that there is a determination to break free of a life ruled by the illness (e.g. Crowley, 1997; Young and Ensing, 1999; Mead and Copeland, 2000; Tenney, 2000; Lunt, 2002). Therefore, a goal of avoiding stress, for example, does not reflect the recovery ethos as does the goal of learning to self-manage one’s illness.
Approach goals have been associated with higher levels of hope (Snyder et al., 2000), wellbeing (Emmons, 1999b), goal attainment (Elliot and Church, 1997) and perceived confidence in illness management (Elliot and Sheldon, 1998). The development of approach-oriented goals or tasks implies hope for the future and entails a budding sense of agency – a necessity for taking responsibility.
