Back in January 2012 I sent the following email to a colleague who is also a mental health activist:

‘I think that although hope (a key element of the ‘recovery’ discourse) is vital for getting better/recover, I find the conceptualisation of ‘recovery’ in the ‘recovery’ discourse rather problematic – especially when it is presented as a  linear journey of continuous and ever increasing optimism that will inevitably lead to a finalised acceptance of one’s mental health crisis and therefore happiness (exaggerating a bit here)…

my recovery has been far from a linear process where hope has alternated with bitterness/anger and grief, a much more muddled journey…perhaps the current ‘recovery’ discourse romanticises recovery in the same way that for example, creativity is often regarded as an inherent element of the bi-polar mental state-which also strikes me as romanticising the bi-polar mental state’