Self-Advocacy
There are many ways to practice Self-Advocacy and today I am going to discuss two of them. One will focus on the Mental Health side and the other will focus on making desired improvements in your life.
What is the definition of Self-Advocacy? Let’s begin with the broad definition of advocacy – The process of actively supporting the cause of, speaking or writing in favour of, or defending or interceding on behalf of a person or a group. Did you get chills as you read that, I did. Those are some powerful words when you think about them. Now let’s look at the definition of Self-Advocacy – the act or condition of representing oneself, either generally in society, in a medical stand point or in formal proceedings. Both definitions are at the heart of what I will discussing today.
Mental Health Self-Advocacy
Mental Health Self-Advocacy could include making decisions regarding medical treatment, access to mental health education, knowing your rights and knowing there is supportive groups available. In order to advocate for yourself you must first learn how to disclose your mental health.
Talking about your mental health maybe difficult; however, by being more vocal you will develop better coping skills and build better relationships.
Telling your friends and family –
Telling those closest to you about your mental health may seem intimidating. You might be afraid they will judge you or feel uncomfortable around you in the future. But they could also provide you with a support system that is vital to mental health treatment and stability.
When to tell friends and/or family –
It is best to speak to friends and family when you are well. This will allow you to share warning signs, what type of behavior to expect and what your “go to” coping skills or recovery action plan will be. Sharing these important details with them will allow them to provide you with better support and encouragement. If, you need to tell someone when not well you will want to tell the person who you feels will be the most supportive.
When to share at the work place –
Sharing at the work place can have its advantages and its disadvantages. Before you disclose any mental health disability decide on why you feel you need to disclose. Do you need an accommodation to perform your job duty? Sometimes an accommodation is needed and sometimes it is just desired. Speak to your treating physician to discuss your job description and the need for accommodations. They should be able to help you discover what you may or may not need. I would also highly suggest researching your legal rights and reviewing the Americans with Disability Act https://www.ada.gov/employment.htm
The most important thing to remember is that you chose who you share with and when. This is very personal information and you should feel very comfortable sharing such private details. Therefore, it important to weigh the pros and cons for disclosing with each person.
Making Changes and Reaching Goals
We’ve all been there before. We want to make a change or reach a long awaited goal, but we’re scared. Scared of something new, scared to change our normal routine, and scared to fail.
BELIEVE IN YOUR SELF!
Self-esteem is hard to come by and there are times you need to evaluate yourself. Make a list of all your strengths no matter how little. Then give yourself credit for them; you deserve appreciation for each item you have listed. Don’t be discouraged by the length of your list – there is always room to add to it. This how you will being building up your self-esteem.
Next you need to list all the good things you do to take care of yourself. Once again give yourself some appreciation for being so proactive by doing those actions. Maybe you exercise, eat well balanced meals, or even take time to do something just for yourself. You might find that you do more for yourself than you realized. Again, don’t fret over the length of your list – you can always add to it.
CHANGES?!?!
Do you want to make changes in your life? A better job, go back to school, get a raise, change your medication or treatment?
This might be a long list as we all should want to better ourselves, but take some time to review it. Decide which ones you can attain by being a stronger advocate for yourself and then prioritize them.
Now that you have identified your most important goals it’s time for you to find out how you reach these goals. This will require homework on your part. Reach out to friends or family who have experience with your goal or gone down a similar path. If you are wanting to return to school then visit a local campus and speak to an advisor and tour the educational department you are interested in. Libraries are a wealth of information. Below is are examples of self –advocacy and self-discovery.
New Job
Kasey obtained her current job straight out of college. At the time it was her dream job; she had always seen herself in this type of work and she’s good at it too. Fast forward ten years and Kasey now feels stuck in a dead end job. She’s already advanced as far as she can go and topped out on her salary. She loves the company she’s with but she wants more now. There is a job opening she’s interested in but she is hesitant to apply for it. She feels she can do the job but is afraid she doesn’t meet the needed skills. The first thing Kasey did was compare her job description and the new job description. She highlighted all the required skills and duties that were the same between the descriptions. She noticed that many of them are the same and that she was already proficient in those skills. As she continued reviewing the new job description she realized that she had already mastered many of the needed skills and duties that are not similar to her current job duties. Her self-esteem started to increase and her outlook on the possibility of getting the job improved. Next she decided to speak to a co-worker who is already in the new job. They discussed the job descriptions and what a typical day entails. From how the day begins to how it ends. Kasey concluded that the new job wasn’t much different than her current job and that the job was completely within her reach. Now all Kasey had to do was apply for the position and prepare for a possible interview. Up to this point Kasey has worked very hard to increase her self-esteem and learn what she is worth. Next she will have to take all this gathered information and present it to the hiring staff at her interview. This is where she will practice self-advocacy. During the interview she used the lists she made of all her accomplished skills in the work place and described how she had mastered each required skill and how she was already completing the duties listed. She gave examples of each one and was able to relate them to the new job.
Regardless if Kasey got the job or not is not what is important here. What is important is that Kasey built up her self-esteem and learned her self-worth. Knowing this will allow her to advocate for herself throughout her life in one situation to another. She will know how to figure out where she stands and how to go for that new goal with confidence.
Going Back to School
Jimmy has worked in construction since high school and felt this is the industry he could retire in. Then he is injured on the job and while recovering he starts thinking about whether he wants to return to the construction field or not. He has always wanted to work in an office maybe drafting building designs. But does he have the skills to obtain that job? Jimmy thinks that he has the basic knowledge but knows that to truly obtain a job in drafting that he would need to return to school. Can he cut it with the younger students? He decides it’s worth researching the possibilities. First Jimmy figured he should see what the job outlook is like in his area for this profession and what the starting pay will be. Jimmy learns about O’Net, an online resource has detailed descriptions of the world of work for use by job seekers, workforce development and HR professionals, students, researchers, and more. He learns that the education required is more than he has accomplished but the salary is within his desired range. Now he must look at the local schools that offer this type of degree. Jimmy arranges a meeting with a school advisor and a tour of the drafting department at the local college. He explains his construction background and duties he was responsible for while at the job sites. The more he discusses this the more he realizes that he truly does have the basic knowledge that could benefit him in this type of training. While taking a tour of the department he took a moment to speak to some of the students and he noticed that many of them had the same start as he did. He concludes that he is capable of this change. All of which was made possible from self-advocacy and self-discovery.
Self-advocacy can be long process to prepare for however it’s a process that we can all benefit from in the long run. We should all strive to improve even the smallest parts of our lives. Self-advocacy means to step out of our comfort zone, but only by doing exactly that are we able to advocate for yourself and others.
Learning how to advocate for yourself can be challenging, but it is well worth the effort. If you are going through life transitions that is requiring you to stand up for yourself and your choices, let’s connect so I can help you through this period.
