Before you can overcome Conservatorship, there are a few things that need to be overcome first. I have in a previous article discussed overcoming denial. It is essential to good mental health if you have an understanding of why and what you are being treated for. As long as you deny having an illness, then your treatment team lumps you in a group of deniers who show no progress because they cannot get past denial. Overcoming denial is an essential step. Once you accept your illness, you can start the next step of sending your illness into remission.
If you are under Conservatorship, it has been decided by the court that you are unfit to care for yourself and the court orders that certain services be handled for you. If you are having difficulty showering on a daily basis, you wear the same clothes all week, if you are having trouble staying “lucid”, if you have poor eating habits, if you spend rent money on things other than rent, if you cannot prove that you take your medicine, if you hold verbal conversations with others unseen, if you have trouble staying awake, if you have trouble going to sleep; any and all of these factors (there may be more examples) are things that the court takes into consideration when someone is on, being placed on, or continued to be under Conservatorship.
Going off conservatorship is a long and difficult process. There are things that you have to prove to the court and your Conservator. Once a year, a hearing is held to see if you need continued services or if you are fit enough to go it alone again. It is a long and tedious process and there are milestones along the way. You cannot prove in a week that you are of sound mind and body. You cannot prove this in a month, but, you might be able to go the program and prove after one year that you are capable of handling your affairs and activities again.
I understand the feeling of autonomy. It was instilled in every child in school, preparing us for the world (so to speak). We, in society expect that after a certain age a person should be able to care for themselves and sometimes others too. Under Conservatorship a person might know how to care for themselves or they might know how to pay bills, but the actions of the Conservatee are random and irregular. One of the clues is to be consistent. Another would be stick to a routine. This could mean going to a day treatment program. This could mean seeing your doctors regularly and being on time avoiding no shows. Try to get the doctor on your side. Participate in your treatment. Ask questions. Ask many questions, the more the better. Ask what you have to do to reach the next step.
Sometimes the next step seems obsurd. You tell yourself that you already do such a thing. But, if that is the next step, do it. Show your treatment team of counselors and doctors that you are listening. Doing the next step shows that you care and you want to get better.
One of the wrong things to do is to use your symptoms as a description of how you are doing. For example, if you have someone out of body that visits you and has gone away or has changed communication, if you use your symptom's identity to explain your stability you are just going to get more medicine and those caring for you will tell your Conservator that you are not stable yet. This gets to your doctor and your treatment team. This can keep you from going off Conservatorship.
Another tip would be learning how to utilize what you have available to you. This can be things such as the patient advocate or requesting one on one therapy so you can get better faster. This puts people in your corner when the time comes to see the justice about your recertification of Conservatorship. Also, utilize peer to peer counselors. Learn from someone who has been there and got through it.
So, take a deep breath. Calm your worries. Tuck your chin while touching your toes (this stretches the bottom of your neck releasing unknown tension). Then, realize it is going to take a while and that others have been there too and are in your corner, supporting your independence.
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