Active people find it challenging to deal with the consequences of suffering an injury. Some injuries heal in a couple of days, but others require long-term recovery. Unfortunately, some health issues take weeks or even months to heal and prevent the individual from returning to the activity level they’re used to. Sometimes they even require surgery which prolongs the recovery period even longer and puts a toll on the patient’s mental health.
Any individual would have difficulty adjusting to a life without their favourite activities, whether jogging with their dog in the local park or swimming with their children in the pool. Being stuck in bed for a long time can cause people to suffer from anxiety, depression, loneliness, or a combination of multiple mental health issues.
If you suffered an injury at work or a car accident and have to put physical activity on hold until you recover, here are some science-backed recommendations to help you adjust to your daily routine.
Common post-injury psychological reactions
Whether it’s a broken arm or more critical injuries, the health issues resulting from an accident can change your routine and life drastically. The reaction to an interruption of your daily schedule can vary depending on your psychological and personality factors, and you should prepare to deal with a mix of emotions. Suppose you’re usually an active individual who engages in different kinds of activities. In that case, you can experience sadness and frustration when you can no longer enjoy the things that bring you joy. Also, when you can no longer be as social as you were before the accident, you may feel isolated. Suppose your injuries prevent you from working; you could even feel a loss of identity or lack of purpose.
Here are other emotional responses you might experience:
– Guilt
– Irritation
– Withdrawal
– Denial
– Anger
– Disengagement
– Anxiety
– Depression
– Post-traumatic disorder
Mental health issues occur when your injury-related symptoms worsen or do not resolve over time.
Recommendations on how to improve mental health after an injury
Drink and eat healthier
Being less physically active means you’re burning less calories, so you need to adjust your diet. Your body will have to learn to get accustomed to burning most of the fat throughout the day because you’ll no longer exercise. Being unable to complete your daily exercise might mean you’ll gain weight during the recovery.
Remember that the accident had been outside of your control. You can hold the one at fault accountable for your injuries and ask for compensation. Use a website like https://www.howmuchcompensation.co.uk/ to determine how much they should pay for your injuries. However, even if your injuries are outside of your control, your diet isn’t, and you should learn to manage it. Learn to eat healthier and adopt a healthy lifestyle that supports your mental health. If you feel good about yourself and your appearance, you’ll no longer experience feelings of anxiety and depression. A healthy diet can help you maintain positive vibes during recovery.
Stay in touch with your loved ones
If you’re a gym enthusiast, you might’ve built your social life around your workout regimen. You probably participate in running competitions regularly, lift weights with your friends at the gym, or spend your weekends playing softball and basketball with your family and friends.
After you suffered the injury, you could no longer take part in your regular activities. You might’ve slowly felt how loneliness crept in, and you’re afraid you’ll get depressed before your physical injuries heal, and you can get back to your regular schedule. Just because you’re confined to your house or bed, it doesn’t mean you should revolve your days around watching Netflix TV series. Stay in touch with the people you used to meet daily, text your gym buddies, chat with your friends via social media platforms, and invite your loved ones to your house to eat dinner, watch a movie, or play board games.
Staying social helps you maintain your relationships alive and strong during your recovery.
Focus on recovery
It’s normal to feel down about your injury and the reduced number of activities you can do while you recover. However, transform your recovery into the main activity you focus on because it requires your entire attention.
Recovery is a vital step in healing, especially when you experience a serious physical injury. If you don’t invest energy into rehabilitation, your body won’t regain its strength. Try to focus on the recovery exercises your therapist prescribed, and they’ll enable you to maintain positive mental health. It’s crucial to stay determined and make the recovery a challenge you can overcome. Focusing on rehab can help you keep listlessness and complacency at bay.
Understand that your emotions are normal
It’s natural to feel down about the injury, and even if you don’t experience negative emotions in the first days preceding your injury, expect them to appear sooner or later. Most people suffer mental health issues when they experience long-term injuries or undergo a lengthy and challenging healing process.
Feeling stressed out and upset about your health and long-term recovery isn’t a reflection of your character. You have to put on pause most of the things you love to do and learn to do others that won’t affect your recovery. Additionally, your body deals with a chemical makeup because it no longer produces the endorphins exercising releases.
Talk to people you trust
Talking to your loved ones or someone you trust can help you keep negative thoughts and emotions at bay. Whether you talk about your challenges with a family member, friend, or co-worker, it helps. You’ll feel better once you openly share what you’re going through with someone you trust and who cares about your health. Suppose you cannot interact with them face-to-face; use social media or phone calls to stay connected to your loved ones.
Even when you have to deal with a long-term injury, you can still keep your morale high if you follow the above recommendations.
