Rowing to Recovery
The sport rowing employs a definition of recovery, which is particularly relevant to the mental health field:
• The act of returning to the proper position for making a fresh strock.
The key characteristics of this recovery state are that the rower
a) Rests albeit briefly
b) Prepares mentally for the next action
c) Allows the boat run beneath her/him
Most significantly, this state involves “not rowing” and suggests a parallel with the necessary work of recovery in the mental health field. The person needs to balance, carefully, “action and rest,” needs to “prepare mentally” for the next step’ and needs to “release control” of aspects of her or his “lived experience,” however, temporarily, effectively “trusting to fate.” (N.B. We are indebted to Jim O’Neill, the Irish rowing coach for the analogy.)
The vital aspects of recovery involve “getting into the right position” and “being fit and ready” to act in everyday life. These vital elements occur out of the water, where the water might serve as a metaphor for everyday life. Much of the work of delicate balance of rest, mental preparation, and trusting to fate.