What To Do If You Start Getting Symptomatic: 5 Steps For Any Peer Support Specialist

Peer Support Specialists are hired, in part, because of their personal experience in recovering from a mental illness.  Most mental illnesses follow a relapsing/remitting pattern, with symptoms coming and going over time.  It is therefore very predictable that most Peer Support Specialists will experience at least some remission of their symptoms while they are working. This remission may be mild but it may also be more pronounced and may interfere with their ability to do their jobs.  I have known several Peer Support Specialists who were not prepared for this, with the unfortunate result that they relapsed and eventually lost their job.  To make matters worse, their clients saw them not dealing with their illness and so they modeled negative actions.  Other clinicians also saw this, with the result that they were less optimistic about working with Peer Support Specialists.  It all could have been avoided with some preparation.

 Consider the following strategies to successfully manage recurring symptoms once you are working as a Peer Support Specialist:

1.      Be prepared before any symptoms recur.  This includes:

a.      Know your organization’s policy on sick leave, disability, etc.  Every employer has made arrangements for when employees get sick, including mental illness.  Those arrangements are there for you, but you want to know what they are and how to access them.

b.      Know what the ‘red flags’ are that will alert you to the fact that you are starting to get symptomatic.  You want to be the first person to recognize that you are getting symptomatic. 

c.      Have a plan for how you will respond to getting symptomatic.  Know what clinical resources you will use for your own healthcare.  Know what informal resources (support of family and friends, peer support groups, etc.) that you will use.  Know what you will say to your work supervisor.  If you have a prepared plan, you are more likely to respond proactively and effectively.

2.      If symptoms do appear, respond quickly.  Talk with your providers and your family and friends to activate their support.  Think carefully about the impact of those symptoms on your ability to do your job.  If there is a significant impact, talk with your supervisor about the need to take sick leave.  Again, by taking responsibility for the situation, and taking action that will ensure your work is not impacted significantly, you are showing your employer that you can manage your symptoms and maintain your work.  People with other illnesses like diabetes or back pain are doing this all the time, and so your employer will be used to people taking action to manage their health issues.   What will reduce their support is if you act like you don’t have to be responsible for these symptoms and their impact on your work.  When that happens, employers are stuck with a messy situation that they have to take care of without you.

3.      If symptoms become significant enough that they interfere with your ability to work over time, you again want to be proactive in addressing this.  There are procedures for employees with very disruptive health issues, including accommodations, extended sick leave, leave of absence, and disability and disability retirement.  Your employer has used these with other employees and so knows how they work and will open to talking with you.  Again, you want to be proactive.  You will want to educate yourself about your organization’s policies.  You may consider talking to a lawyer if necessary.  Pursue these issues before your employer feels a need to bring them up to you.

4.      Be thoughtful about how much you tell your employer about your health.  As a Peer Support Specialist, you were hired in part because of your health issues.  However, that does not eliminate the privacy issue between you and your employer.  They are not entitled to know details about your current health issues except in special situations.  Be sure that if you are going to share personal information about your health with your employer, that you are doing this in a way that protects your interests.

5.      Keep your clients in mind in all of your planning.  You want to minimize the impact of your symptoms on your clients, and good planning and quick response will help you do that.  Your employer is responsible for the care of your clients regardless of whether your health does or does not interfere with your ability to provide care.  By keeping a focus on your clients, and your employer’s ability to serve those clients, you will be a good partner to your employer as you try to deal with these health issues.  That will result in a better outcome for everyone.

KEY WORDS: Peer Support Specialist, Recovery, Self-Care, Peer Support Training, Peer Support Certification, Peer Support Jobs