Getting injured is an emotional stress as well as a physical one. Rehabilitation can be hard and demanding, you must be prepared. There are many stages in the road to recovery and as everyone’s situation is different, this reflects in a broad variety of rehabilitation and treatment needs. It’s important to stay motivated!
The sudden onset of injury can have a large impact on your life, be it to family, work, sport or social life. To be suddenly incapacitated can lead to depression, being aware of this and seeking treatment sooner rather than later can minimise the frustrations felt and lead to a more successful outcome long term.
The 5 Emotional Stages of Injury
The same grief at the loss of a loved one can apply to an injury. It’s beneficial to be aware of these stages of grief, it will help identify your feelings, especially if it is out of character and at the very least it will reduce the potential of these feelings impeding your goal attainment and therefore hindering your motivation and rehab.
- Stage 1: Denial – Refusing to believe you are injured or pushing through the pain. Being in this danger zone can make matters worse both physically and emotionally.
- Stage 2: Anger – Can appear in different forms and be directed at oneself or at the ones closest to us.
- Stage 3: Bargaining – Negotiating to do more ahead of schedule. Don’t go too hard too soon, it’s a slow process. Stick to the program!
- Stage 4: Depression – This involves acceptance of the injury with an emotional trigger. It’s understandable to be down. The positive is you are starting to accept the reality of the injury.
- Stage 5: Acceptance – Emotional detachment from the injury, objectivity has arrived. Sticking to the plan and seeing progress. Your mind is at peace which encourages healing.
Goal Setting
What is your Significant Emotional Motivation, SEM? Yes you are injured but why is it important to you to recover? There are many reasons but not enough people tap into this reason, this hinders your recovery. Establishing an SEM can help attain your goals and help you recover quicker. Whether it is returning to your beloved sport, playing with your children, or even assisting you in being more driven at work so you can get a promotion, it is important to acknowledge your long term goal.
We use goal setting in our everyday lives, it is no different here. SMART goals or any other form of goal setting, sitting down and setting objective performance goals with your treating therapist is extremely important for success. These stepping stones will allow you to attain your ultimate goal of that SEM.
Being committed and having the motivation to succeed in completing your rehab program can be a challenge all by itself. The main thing that will help you is the completion of the goals that you have or will set.
If you have any questions or would like to book in to see one of our physiotherapists, please do not hesitate to contact Get Active Physiotherapy on 1300 891 011 or email us at admin@getactivephysio.com.au
