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| Recovery Series Booklet 3 |
Wellness Recovery Action Planning
How to Look after Yourself in the Working Environment 
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Wellness Recovery Action Plans (WRAP) for Work
WRAP is a way of dealing with and recovering from emotional and mental stresses and distresses and improving your well-being. Many people will have already developed their own Personal WRAP. This
version has been adapted to focus on people's experiences at work.
Work can be very good for you. It can provide you with a lot of things human beings need - interest, stimulation, friendship, creativity, status, money, a feeling of community, challenges, and
working with others towards a common goal. It is known that work is a "protective experience" for most people. Fewer people experience mental health problems when they have meaningful employment
than those who are unemployed. Meaningful employment includes paid work, volunteering and could include caring.
But work can bring pressures and stresses that add to the ones we have to deal with in our daily lives. So, workplaces can also put pressure on our well-being, even when all seems to be running
smoothly.
There are other aspects of work place that can easily trigger our distresses. This can happen, for example, when there is tension, conflict, confusion, or when we are given tasks that are too
difficult, perhaps too many tasks, and when we feel we have no control over what happens to us. And in the worst cases there can be bullying and harassment.
People are often keen to find safe, effective things they can do for themselves, that will improve their well-being and quality of life at work. |
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Wellness Recovery Action Planning
One way the people are finding useful to self-manage life at work is WRAP. WRAP can help you keep yourself well at work. It guides us how to identify monitor signs and symptoms and encourages the
use of safe, personal skills, support and strategies to reduce or eliminate the impact of distressing experiences.
WRAP is not meant to replace any professional support you might have but complement it. Using WRAP has though been found to shift the focus of mental health and well-being towards self-management
and away from dependency on medical and professional social supports. |
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Who is this booklet for?
WRAP is useful for everyone. It is a way of maintaining and improving your quality of life on a daily basis. It's particularly useful if your well-being is being threatened by events at work. WRAP
puts you firmly in the driving seat in your life, not in the passenger seat, nor in the back of the car and certainly not in the boot!
What is WRAP?
WRAP is a plan that helps you focus on the detail of what you can do for yourself, when you want to improve your emotional, mental, physical and social well-being - however difficult or stressful
your life is currently. WRAP can also be used in many other situations, such as, dealing with a physical illness or disability, improving or ending a relationship, dealing with an addiction, losing
weight, keeping yourself well when you are a carer, moving house. |
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How Can You Help Yourself with Wrap?
WRAP is based on the fact that you know yourself best. You are your own expert by experience on what brings you down or makes life difficult and equally you know best the ways you can live life to
the full. No one else can tell you what to do to make yourself feel good as well as you can for yourself - though other people's ideas might be worth considering.
Wellness Recovery Action Plans have been used across the world and have enabled millions of people to take control of their lives, in a way they previously thought impossible.
WRAP invites you to write things down about yourself. So, most people start by getting themselves a ring binder, a set of section dividers and some blank paper.
People find that starting their WRAP is best done when they're feeling ok, they are in comfortable surroundings and have a bit of time to think. There is no time pressure with WRAP, you can take as
long as you like. And if you find WRAP useful, you'll go on adding to it, so it never stops.
People also find that developing and using your WRAP with someone else or a number of other people brings it to life. Sharing ideas about wellness is an excellent way of learning and growing.
Finding other people at work who are interested in improving their well-being in this way and sharing the experience with them would be excellent.
WRAP is based on a number of key Recovery concepts
Hope - people with mental health problems DO get better:
- Personal responsibility - you are in charge of your own life and can make choices that will improve your wellbeing
- Self advocacy - you can work out what you want from your life and can let people know about what it is and how you intend to get there
- Education - learning about wellness and wellness tools from books, the internet, and most importantly directly from other people is important
- Support - we all need the support of positive people we can be real with
A WRAP for Work is split up into a number of sections. This booklet will introduce you to the framework of WRAP. If you want to know more about it there are some ideas about getting further
information at the back of this booklet. |
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Work-related Wellness Tools
These are the things that you do to keep yourself well, and the things you do to help yourself feel better when you don't feel well at work. You may have discovered them yourself or learned about
them from others. Most of them are simple, safe and free.
Examples of Wellness Tools for Work might include:
- Getting my clothes ready for work
- Buying clothes for work
- Arranging transportation
- Making lunch and snacks
- Relaxation and stress reduction techniques
- Talking to my employer
- Talking to my co-workers
- Talking to a supporter
- Arranging child care
These might add to Wellness Tools you are already using in your Personal WRAP, such as:
- Going for a walk
- Listening to music
- Talking with a good friend
- Taking a hot bath
There are hundreds of things people do (Wellness Tools) to make themselves feel good.
What I'm like when I'm well at Work
It is important for us to know who we really are when we're well at work - when we feel good and are doing a good job. Some people have been stressed or distressed for so long though, that they've
almost forgotten what they are like. This is useful because it helps us see the person that we really are and might like to get back to. For most people this is a collection of adjectives like;
calm, curious, fun, optimistic, quiet, outgoing, sociable, responsible, creative...
and some behaviours like:
- I get to work on time
- I can make good decisions based on common sense
- I usually stay focused and can concentrate
- I am able to work together with others
- I can accept kind criticism
- I am flexible and easy to work with
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Daily Maintenance Plan
This is a collection of things you know that you need to do for yourself every day to keep yourself feeling good and well at work. Of course, they are different for everybody and the following are
examples of things you might do every day on your personal Daily Maintenance Plan:
- Eat three healthy meals
- Take some exercise
- Spend at least a quarter of an hour in peace and quiet
- Talk to somebody I can feel real with
There are things that you will do with work in mind such as:
- Go to bed at 11 pm and get up at 7 am
- Eat a healthy breakfast and dinner
- Pack my lunch and lunch for the children
- Set out my clothes for work the night before
- Take a shower and dress
- Do at least two stress reduction exercises each day
- Transport the children to school
- Do everything on my personal Daily Maintenance Plan
You also might make a list of things that you might need to do, especially if things are getting difficult, such as:
- Buy bus tickets
- Get the car fixed
- Put petrol in the car
- Buy groceries
- Do the laundry
- Buy some new clothes
- Meet up with a friend or family member
- Meet with your peer counsellor
- Meet with your boss
These might be in addition to your Personal Tools such as:
- Get a massage
- Get a haircut
- Get more sleep
- Plan some fun
You can also put in these additional WRAP sections - 'New Wellness Tools that I would like to try in the future', 'New Wellness Tools that I am learning about and trying now', and 'Things I
should like to avoid or cut down on.' |
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Supporters
One of the most effective ways of dealing with difficulty or uncomfortable feelings is to reach out and get the support of a good friend or colleague at work, telling them how you are feeling or
sharing an activity with them.
Many of us do have good friends who like us, listen to us and readily give us support, when we need to express our feelings, without judging us or criticising. It is important that we choose
supporters that we feel safe with.
When things get difficult and we start feeling bad about ourselves, a lot of us feel quite isolated. Sometimes we start to think we're the only people in the world this is happening to and we're on
our own. And sometimes, we even isolate ourselves - not answering the phone and not reaching out to make contact with our supporters, for example. In your Work WRAP you can identify your supporters
and what they have to give you, so you never need feel alone. |
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Triggers
So, now you have plenty of Wellness Tools to use - plenty of ways in which you can maintain your emotional, physical and social well-being - now to make a plan of how these can be used when things
get difficult at work.
WRAP invites you to look at your triggers at work that may make you feel uncomfortable or distressed. They may even make you think that you are getting "ill". But actually these are normal reactions
to events. If you don't respond to them, or deal with them in some way, they might actually cause your distress to get worse.
Triggers can be anything. They are things outside of ourselves, events, people, situations, that we know are likely to upset our well-being, here are some examples:
- Having a disagreement with a co-worker
- Making a big mistake
- Being corrected by your employer
- Equipment break-downs
- Sexual harassment
- Being passed over for a promotion
- Having too much to do
- Missing breaks
- Transportation problems
- Being late
It's important to recognize what Triggers you, so you can make a plan to deal with them.
Triggers Action Plan
Now we know what our triggers are, we can make a plan to deal with each of them if they come up, to stop them provoking a more serious reaction in us. So for example you might:
- Make sure I do everything on my Daily Maintenance Plan
- Call a supporter and ask them to listen
- Work on changing my negative thoughts to positive ones
- Take some exercise, go for a walk
- Take a five minute break and do some deep breathing
- Speak to my employer
- Speak to co-workers
- Arrange to have lunch with a supporter
- Do extra stress reduction exercises
You may make a specific Plan to deal with each of your major Triggers. |
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Early Warning Signs
In spite of our best efforts at reducing our distress, we still might begin to notice some Early Warning Signs. These are experiences inside of ourselves - thoughts and feelings. Everyone has
different Early Warning Signs, in their reaction to triggers - so it is important to identify what yours are.
Again, these Early Warning Signs may make you think you are getting "ill", and they could be considered "symptoms", but they are in fact normal reactions to stressful situations. Some Early Warning
Signs that people have reported concerning stress at work are:
- Not looking forward to going to work
- Not wanting to go to work
- Being late
- Falling behind in my tasks
- Irritability or anxiety
- Difficulty doing what I need to do
- Messy work space
- Cry easily
- Inability to concentrate
- Forgetting things
- Losing things
- Feeling slowdown or speeded up
- Being obsessed with something that really doesn't matter
- Increased irritability
- Increased smoking
Early Warning Signs Action Plan
Now that you know what your early warning signs are, you can make a plan to deal with them. You can make a list of things you must do such as:
- Do everything on your Daily Maintenance Plan, whether you feel like it or not
- Tell a supporter or counsellor about your feelings
- Spend at least an hour doing something from your Personal Wellness Tools list
- Take some time out to do something you really enjoy
- Meet with your Peer Counsellor once a day
- Do a focusing exercise
- Ask for help with specific tasks
- Temporarily shorten your work hours
- Negotiate job changes
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When things are getting worse or breaking down
At this stage, you must act to prevent crisis, which might mean an absence from work, perhaps for some time. You need to use more of your wellness tools.
The next section lists the sort of signs that you know show that things are getting even more difficult. They might include:
- Missing the bus three days in a row
- Feeling like I am dragging myself to work
- Arguing with my co-workers
- Being very irritable
- Making many mistakes
- Unable to focus on my work for more than a few minutes
- Taking unsafe risks
- Unable to pay attention when others are talking to me
- Feeling very anxious
- Sweating excessively
- Staying in bed all day
- Drinking or smoking more
- Cutting myself off from friends and supporters
- Not eating or sleeping
- Feeling despair
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Things Getting Worse Action Plan
If any these Warning Signs come up for you, you do need a plan that might include things such as:
- Discuss my situation with my employer
- Arrange to take some time off
- Talk to my work counsellor
- Do Peer counselling every day
- Use focussing exercises
- Spend at least two hours each day doing things I enjoy
- Consider making some job changes
- If necessary contact an advocacy support service
- Get in touch with your doctor or other health or social care professional
- Phone and talk for as long as you need to one of your main supporters
- Make arrangements to be with somebody until you are feeling better
- If things are really serious take action so that you cannot hurt yourself - perhaps giving any medicines, my chequebook or car keys to a supporter
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| Crisis Planning Lastly, if you have been unable to achieve wellness by using the Wellness Recovery Action Plan, you might need to make a Crisis Plan, for a time when others might have to step in and take care and
responsibility for you and parts of your life. This happens to very few people, but if you have experienced such times before or you realise you might have a very serious reaction to events around
you, a Crisis Plan may be useful. This might be a time when you are in hospital, for example, or being looked after quite closely by someone else.
Your Crisis Plan will involve other people - your supporters - as they will be asked to assist you and to follow the crisis plan in your Personal WRAP if you have one.
Be sure your plan tells your supporters to contact your employer, who to speak to and what to tell them. You may want them to call them with updates as well, to let them know as you begin to feel
better.
This Crisis Plan is a little more complicated than the rest of WRAP and you would certainly need to do it along with other people. A Crisis Plan is likely to involve quite a lot from your Personal
WRAP. It will be list of instructions and wishes that you would hope would guide other people's actions to support you, if you are unable to look after yourself.
For example it might include such things as:
- Ask my friend or supporter to pick up the children
- If I am anxious, it helps if you take me for a walk
- If I talk about harming myself, please do everything to make sure that I am safe
- I may need sleep and I'm okay about being given a sleeping pill
It will contain a detailed list of needs and wishes so that your time in Crisis can be as short as possible and as comfortable as possible. It will enable you to return more easily to your life and
your work. |
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| Post Crisis Planning After you have been in a crisis and have been out of work for some time, you may have to carefully consider if, when, and how you will return to work.
Questions you might need to ask yourself include:
- What role did work play in causing this crisis?
- Is there something about the work I need to change?
- Do I need to talk to my employer to negotiate some changes in my work?
- Do I need to work fewer hours?
- Should I resign and look for a different job? If so, how should I proceed?
In your WRAP you may wish to write down a plan for when you are returning to your normal life after a crisis - a timetable by which you can take back control of your life. It is important for this
part of the plan to recognise the pace at which you want to go - not too quickly or slowly, so that you can heal and mend in a way that is best for you.
You could plan something like the following (you may need to revise this plan as you proceed):
- Talking with my co-workers to take back work they have been covering for me
- While I am resuming this responsibility I need to be sure I do everything on my Daily Maintenance Plan
- I need to talk to loved ones about sharing out my household
chores again
- I might consider more child care hours
My Plan for resuming work
- Three days after I determine I am in the Post Crisis Stage, I will go back to work for 2 hours a day for five days
- For one week go back to work half time
- For one week work 3/4 time
- Resume full work schedule after this, if it all goes well
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With acknowledgement to Alain Topor
Produced in partnership with
Wirral Department of Adult Social Services Published September 2007
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Wirral Carers