1. What Is a Wellness Plan?

A wellness plan is a personalised document outlining what keeps you well, warning signs that you're struggling, strategies that help, and what to do in crisis. It's created when you're relatively well, to guide you and others when you're not. Think of it as instructions for maintaining your wellbeing and responding when difficulties arise. For people with recurring mental health difficulties, wellness plans can prevent crisis and ensure appropriate support happens early.

Wellness plans are personal. What works for one person won't work for another. The point is identifying what specifically helps you.

2. Identifying Your Needs

Creating a wellness plan starts with understanding what supports your wellbeing. Questions to consider:

  • What helps you feel stable and well?
  • What daily activities or routines matter?
  • What relationships are important?
  • What do you need to maintain mental health?
  • What makes things worse?

Be specific. General statements like 'exercise helps' are less useful than 'a 20-minute walk each morning helps me feel calm and gives structure to my day'.

3. Recognising Warning Signs

Understanding your personal warning signs that things are getting difficult allows early intervention. Warning signs might include:

  • Changes in sleep patterns
  • Increased anxiety or low mood
  • Withdrawing from people
  • Neglecting self-care
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Increased substance use

Early warning signs appear before full crisis. Recognising and responding to them prevents situations from escalating.

4. Strategies That Help

Your wellness plan should include specific strategies that help when you notice warning signs. These might be:

  • Reaching out to specific people
  • Increasing certain activities like exercise
  • Using particular coping techniques
  • Reducing demands or stress
  • Getting more sleep
  • Accessing professional support early

List what actually helps you, not what you think should help or what helps others.

5. Who Can Support You

Identify who can support you and how. This might include:

  • Friends or family and what they can help with
  • Support workers and how to contact them
  • Mental health services
  • Crisis services
  • GPs

Include contact information. In crisis, looking up phone numbers is an additional barrier you don't need.

6. Crisis Planning

Part of wellness planning is having a crisis plan for when things become severe. This should include:

  • How to recognise crisis
  • Who to contact and in what order
  • What you need others to do or not do
  • Emergency services numbers
  • Preferences about treatment if possible

Having this planned when well means you and others know what to do in crisis, reducing panic and ensuring appropriate action.

7. Reviewing and Updating

Wellness plans need regular review. What works changes over time. Circumstances change. New strategies are discovered. Review your plan:

  • Every few months when things are stable
  • After any crisis or significant difficulty
  • When major life changes happen
  • When you discover new strategies

A wellness plan is a living document, not something created once and forgotten.

8. Final Thoughts

Personal wellness plans are valuable tools for maintaining mental health and preventing crisis. They require thought and honesty to create but provide guidance when you most need it. For people with recurring mental health difficulties, having a plan can be the difference between early intervention and full crisis. Even for those without diagnosed conditions, thinking through what maintains wellbeing and what to do when struggling is worthwhile.

If you want to create a wellness plan, start simple. Identify a few things that keep you well and a few warning signs. Note who you can contact if struggling. Build from there. Share it with support workers or trusted people so they know how to help. And review it regularly to keep it relevant and useful. This planning is an investment in your future wellbeing.