Recovering Our Lives –
Kitchen Table Wisdom

We came from down the road, over the hill and across the river – from Balloch, Helensburgh and Paisley. Some of us traveled farther – from Greenock, Kintyre and Perth. As we stepped into the Coach House Coffee Shop in the village of Luss, Loch Lomond, Scotland and introduced ourselves to one another, we shared our names, our towns and respective roles in mental health – service user, carer or provider. Our hosts put the kettle on as we soaked up the warmth from the coal fire. We closed the French doors, poured ourselves a cuppa, passed around the scones and gathered around the pine table. The ambiance encouraged us to leave the world behind for a few hours.

Our topic of conversation was Recovery - nurturing the Recovery through the practice extreme self care. Everyone knows of the importance of ‘looking after yourself’, but tagging the word extreme to the concept of self care implies something exceptional, something tremendous. Extreme self care means putting our self care above all else – making our self care our priority whether we are a service user, carer and/or a service provider.

As our day unfolded and our conversation about extreme self care continued, we began to step out from behind our labels. We recognized that the message of Extreme Self Care is a message for all of us. We became human and vulnerable as we openly shared the stories of ourselves and our lives. We were sensitive and compassionate as we acknowledged our challenges in practicing extreme self care. There was both lightness and depth to what we talked about. We learned from one another and encouraged one another. We left invested in: making time for ourselves and for what is most important in our lives; in restoring our energy and in taking steps towards strengthening our bodies, hearts, minds and spirits. We left having being reminded of what it is like take the time to ‘be’ and to be ‘amongst human beings’.

Our conversations about Recovery and Extreme Self Care continue. Join us