When you’re injured, your body needs energy to repair damaged tissues, fight inflammation, and rebuild strength. But when you’re constantly stressed and anxious, your body diverts resources away from healing to deal with the perceived threats that stress creates. This means that managing your emotional wellbeing is a key component of your physical recovery.
While it’s completely normal to feel like you’re drowning in responsibilities and emotions after an injury, there are ways to regain control and reduce stress during this time. We’re going to explore a few of them together.
1. Accept That Your Emotions Are Normal
The first step is to understand that your emotional responses are completely normal and expected. You might feel angry about the accident or frustrated with your limitations; however, these feelings don’t mean you’re weak or handling things poorly.
Many people try to push through these emotions or pretend they don’t exist, thinking that staying positive is the key to recovery. While maintaining hope is important, forcing yourself to suppress legitimate concerns and feelings often creates more stress, not less. Instead, acknowledge what you’re feeling without judgment and give yourself permission to have bad days along with the good ones.
Consider keeping a journal where you can express your thoughts and emotions freely. Writing about your experiences can help you process complex feelings and often provides clarity about what’s bothering you most. You might discover that some of your stress is coming from specific concerns that can be addressed practically, rather than just endured emotionally.
2. Delegate Legal and Administrative Tasks
One of the biggest sources of stress during injury recovery is dealing with the mountain of paperwork, phone calls, and legal issues that often follow an accident. If for no other reason than this, hiring an attorney can significantly reduce your stress levels.
When you have legal representation, you can focus your energy on healing while your attorney handles the complex legal matters and logistics. Instead of spending hours on the phone with insurance adjusters or trying to understand complicated legal documents, you can concentrate on following your treatment plan and taking care of yourself.
3. Establish Routines Within Your Limitations
The injury recovery process usually disrupts your normal routines, which can increase stress and make you feel like your life is out of control. While you might not be able to maintain your pre-injury schedule, creating new routines that work within your current limitations can help restore a sense of normalcy and predictability.
Start with small, manageable routines that you can realistically maintain. This might be as simple as having your coffee at the same time each morning, doing gentle stretches when you wake up, or setting aside time each day to read or listen to music. These consistent elements can provide anchors of stability during a time when many aspects of your life feel uncertain.
Build your routine around your medical needs and energy levels. If you have physical therapy appointments, schedule other activities around them rather than trying to cram everything into an already challenging day. If you know you typically feel more tired in the afternoons, plan less demanding activities for those times.
Remember that flexibility is key. Your energy levels and symptoms might vary from day to day, so your routine needs to accommodate these fluctuations rather than adding pressure to perform consistently.
4. Stay Connected With Your Support Network
Be honest with your loved ones about what kind of support you need. Some days you might want company and distraction, while other days you might just need someone to listen to your concerns.
Let people know how they can best help you, whether that’s bringing meals, helping with errands, providing transportation to appointments, or simply checking in regularly.
Whatever you decide to do, don’t feel guilty about asking for help or accepting offers of assistance. Most people genuinely want to help but don’t always know what you need. Giving them specific ways to support you actually makes them feel more useful and strengthens your relationships.
5. Practice Stress-Reduction Techniques
Learning and consistently practicing stress-reduction techniques can have a significant impact on both your emotional state and your physical healing. The key is finding techniques that work for you and that you can realistically incorporate into your recovery routine.
- Deep breathing exercises are simple but effective tools that you can use anywhere, anytime you feel stressed or overwhelmed.
- Progressive muscle relaxation can help reduce physical tension that often accompanies stress.
- Meditation apps designed specifically for people dealing with chronic pain or illness can provide guided practices that address your specific situation.
- Gentle movement can be another excellent stress reliever. This might include short walks, gentle yoga, or simple stretching exercises that work within your physical limitations.
- Don’t underestimate the power of activities that bring you joy and help you feel like yourself again. Whether it’s listening to music, watching favorite movies, or doing crafts, doing stuff that brings you joy is a key component of reducing stress (and staying sane).
Putting it All Together
Recovery from injury is rarely linear. You’ll have good days and setbacks, progress and plateaus. Understanding this from the beginning can help you manage your expectations and reduce the stress that comes from unrealistic timelines or comparing your recovery to others.
Here’s to your long-term recovery!
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