Who knew Alyssa Milano was a mental health advocate? Being proactive in our recovery isn't just making sure we renew our prescriptions on time or popping our meds as directed. It's about speaking up and speaking out about those things that aren't satisfactory or perhaps are satisfactory but could be better. It's putting ourselves in the driver's seat of our health matters; taking responsibility but not the blame for our illness.

And when we can't find the energy or our voice (which is such a common upshot of depression and other psychiatric illnesses) it's getting someone who won't stand up for us, but stand up WITH us. When meds have too many side effects; when manias are gone, but depressions aren't; when your psychiatrist is good at pharmacology - but not at psychotherapy - these are things we deserve to have addressed and corrected. And when we are fortunate to be feeling well and stable even then it can be, as my dear long time psychiatrist Dr. Kirkpatrick says: "about making a good thing better". THIS was a completely new concept for me: creating a life beyond stability and into vitality. Don't laugh, it is possible. I've seen it when individuals find the means and the courage to demand better, to say I deserve more. Our wellness and recovery depends on asking ourselves, not others, to be the authority of our own healthcare needs; fighting to be an active, collaborative participant in our treatment plans and our life. It's not about having all the answers, or any, for that matter, but being willing to ask enough questions to find some.