Author Archive | Jillian Exel

Doing my WRAP really helped me to reflect and look at myself and my behaviors. I had struggled being independent and letting my support team help me. By using my WRAP I was able to give them an insight about me. And now I am pleased to say that this is the longest time I […]

I started with WRAP ten years ago. My community mental health provider had it as a class. No one had ever told me I could make a plan to help me stay well or about things I could do to help myself when things start breaking down. At first I had a hard time coming […]

As I began my career working as a Certified Peer Specialist in October 2012, I was introduced to WRAP. As I sat in my two week training to become a CPS the word WRAP was used multiple times, as I sit there thinking what is WRAP? As the first week went along I began to […]

I learned to trust myself to make better decisions in my life on a daily basis. It has been a long challenging adventure. My desire to journal my thoughts, travels and entertainment kept me moving forward acknowledging my strengths. I too share these dates, my recovery starting in 1996, absorbing Mary Ellen’s books at that […]

When I had completed my rehabilitation program and later employment at Baltimore Behavioral Health there were two things that I took with me and to this day they are essential parts of my staying at the top of my game most days. Those two things are my dual diagnosis information and my WRAP. First, let […]

Today my life, both personally and professionally, is all about mental health recovery and wellness, but that was not always the case. About 8 years ago, my mental health issues really came to a head once again, this time robbing me of my life’s work, my closest relationship, and my will to fight back. I […]

My story begins back in the fifties. My parents owned a bar and we lived above it. These were my biological aunt and uncle who adopted me at age 4. Both of my biological parents were alcoholics. Sometime when I was about 11, my dad began to touch me and beat me on a weekly […]

WRAP has helped me gain control of my life and guided myself, as well as my supports, along my path to wellness. The wellness toolbox gives me a weapon to attack the monster when I am not feeling well. It reminds me of the things I can do to make myself feel better, like exercising […]

My 25-year-old son has bipolar disorder along with past self-medicating of drugs and alcohol. He took WRAP training about 3 years ago and continues to receive his Peer Support Specialist certificate. Just before last Christmas he became depressed. The holidays and time of year are a challenge for him. He informed his father and me […]

I was first diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2005 following a long pseudo-pilgrimage I took by hitchhiking to California. I was feeling a deep sense of unease, blaming, and dedication to do something about my problems driven by paranoia which was sparked after watching a video on human trafficking. When I returned, my mental anguish […]