A Statement of our Common Values

• Renewal is about reclaiming our personal power, cultivating our awareness and connecting with our own inner wisdom. Healing is aided by trying to make sense of our distress and life experiences.
• We believe that the experience of psycho-spiritual distress is fundamentally a healing and renewal process, and not an illness, which may be created by the mismanagement of distress. Renewal is an ongoing process and a natural part of life.
• Renew is a caring community of equals, each with vital characteristics to contribute to the good of all.
• We believe in supporting each other to find methods and resources that will help us through our experiences of distress. We can find and foster opportunities not only to grow and recover but to thrive.
• We believe in interdependence. Isolation and stigmatising often accompany experiences of distress. Parts of the journey can be very difficult. We can give each other strength by sharing our friendship, experience and hope.
• We aim to connect with others in our communities that broadly support the common values stated here. These may be people who can offer health or caring services. In addition we hope that this contact will work towards removing the unwarranted fear and stigma that attached to people in distress.
• Renewal is best supported with attention to all facets of our being: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.
• We foster awareness of the barriers preventing wellness and thriving.
• Renewal is a process involving breakdown, breakthrough and break-out.

In more detail:

Renewal is about reclaiming our personal power, cultivating our awareness and connecting with our own inner wisdom. Healing is aided by trying to make sense of our distress and life experiences.

Many of us have had the experience of being told that we were suffering from mental illness that could be
managed but not cured. Our treatment may not have consisted of much more than a periodic checklist of symptoms and an adjustment of medication. We believe that we need to reclaim our own power in recovering from distress. This means asking questions, informing ourselves about what is going on and most of all listening to ourselves. Being distressed doesn’t make us stupid, nor does it render us incapable of exploring our psyches for answers to our problems. With a supportive environment people can start to trust again their own inner wisdom and move from distress to wonder.

We believe that the experience of psycho-spiritual distress is fundamentally a healing and renewal process and not an illness, which may be created by the mismanagement of distress. Renewal is an ongoing process and a natural part of life.

The most common descriptions of psycho-spiritual distress in our society are: depression, mental illness; madness; psychosis, schizophrenia; bi-polar disorder etc. People in distress are often told that they suffer from a malfunctioning of the brain and that this can be treated with medication/drugs. We encourage people to examine the scientific evidence for the illness hypothesis. We ask people to consider the evidence that distress comes from a person’s life experiences and the ways in which they have dealt with them. We also encourage people to examine the function, efficacy and side effects of medication used in psychiatry. We advocate that people examine what is going on in their inner lives to see if there is a way of making sense of their current distress and healing it. It is our understanding that distress can be tackled by doing inner work with support. We can make changes in the way we see and do things. This requires taking ownership of our own growth and realising that it will be difficult at times.

Renew is a caring community of equals, each with vital characteristics to contribute to the good of all.

Community is founded on ideas of equality and justice. A peer-to-peer relationship is the only sensible relationship. Everyone in community has abilities and characteristics which are essential to and enhance the vitality of the whole community. Peer-to-peer relationship enables decision-making in the best interest of all while not harming the well-being of an individual member.

We believe in supporting each other to find methods and resources that will help us through our experiences of distress. We can find opportunities not only to grow and recover but to thrive.

Through meeting and sharing information and our experiences, we can find out what options are available to us to aid our return to greater and greater levels of wellbeing. Renew has a growing library and links to websites for information. Through our group meetings and person-to-person we share our own experiences of what has helped us in terms of recovery and thriving. This can include our experiences with peer support groups, psychotherapy, physical therapies, medical support, exercise, meditation, complimentary health practices, nutrition, etc. We can also encourage each other to develop a broad outlook on thriving in our lives and ensuring that we have fulfilment in occupation and fun in our lives.

We believe in interdependence. Isolation and stigmatising often accompany experiences of distress. Parts of the journey can be very difficult. We can give each other strength by sharing our friendship, experience and hope.

Distress can carry many different labels, people are complex multi dimensional beings and labels restrict our own and other peoples awareness of this. We can be unaware of how normal and widespread our feelings and experiences are until we meet others who are going through similar things. In Renew we have both group gatherings and one-to-one contact. Our group gatherings are responsive to the needs of those who attend and give people a chance to share their experiences and get to know each other. Furthermore we inform each other of the opportunities for further interpersonal support such as peer groups, therapies, classes, etc. Support makes recovery a great deal easier and less lonely.

We aim to connect with others in our communities that broadly support the common values stated here. These may be people who can offer health or caring services. In addition we hope that this contact will work towards removing the unwarranted fear and shame that attach to people in distress.

We are aware that there are people working in the healthcare system who are dissatisfied with the limited options being offered to people suffering distress. Renew aims to make alliances with healthcare professionals and other carers, demonstrating that with a wellness model and a broad support network, recovery and thriving are possible. Education at a local level can begin to transform fear into compassion and stigma into understanding.

Renewal is best supported with attention to all facets of our being: physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual.

We understand that humans are integrated beings of mind, body and spirit living in community and that a depression or other form of distress is either a disruption at one or more of these levels, or a prevention of synergy of these aspects. Therefore to thrive, attention to each aspect of being is valuable and essential.

We foster awareness of the barriers preventing wellness and thriving.

Wellness and thriving imply a healthy lifestyle in a healthy environment. Factors such as addiction, stress and lack of sleep will seriously impact on recovery. Isolation, lack of support, no structure and no occupation will also negatively impact on progress. Renew believes that people need to take ownership of their recovery and thriving.

Renewal is a process involving breakdown, breakthrough and break-out.

Distress can become overwhelming and leave us reeling. In Renew we see this as a necessary, if painful, stage in renewal. As we make sense of the experience we make breakthroughs. We break out of the mindset that we are, or ever were, crazy, mentally ill or fatally flawed. We accept and then celebrate our differences, idiosyncrasies, unusual beliefs and uniqueness. Our goal goes beyond recovering to thriving.