Rehabilitation programs are needed for burn survivors in order to get hold of the maximum level of recovery. The goal is to prepare them to reintegrate into society. To avoid Psychological Distress, treatment can consist of both physical and mental rehabilitation.

Psychological distress occurs in survival patients with large burn injuries. Every individual may experience physical and social challenge as well as psychological distress. Long term recovery such as rehabilitation typically begins after discharge from the hospital, when patients are integrated back into society.

Reasons for Psychological distress

Constraint in physical ability is the major reason for psychological problem.

Physical problems:

Physical discomfort results in variety of daily hassles such as depending on other people for assistance and severe itching. They start feeling helpless and upset due to their dependence on other people for support and help.

Physical therapists as well as occupational therapist are necessary to improve the burn survivors mobility and place an extremely important role in enabling a more functional role following surgery and grafting. Physical therapy and occupational therapy includes activities like standing and walking and help making them with activities of daily living skills such as bathing, dressing, personal hygiene and grooming.

Skin grafting tends to cause skin-tightening, and limit the variety of motion required for functional activities. In order to avoid skin-tightening and joint contractures, daily activities and stretching exercises must be done. Scar massage may endure for up to one year. Positioning devices and thermoplastic splint may be needed to sustain and improve the burn survivor’s range of motion.

Psychological Problems

After discharge from the hospital, many people develop psychological distress. Besides physical rehabilitation, patients must deal with social stressors which include back to work, disfigurement.  As a result, distractions in daily life may include uneasy or hopelessness

The common consequence for survival patients with severe burn injury is the disfiguring particularly in observable places such as the face, neckline, hands and lower arms. Scars in visible places allied with adverse physical and emotional significances on patients. Scarring can be related to the burn survivors body image e.g. appearance related teasing and verbal aggregation resulting in increasing anxiety when they try to reintegrate into society. Intimate contact with others can also become difficult.

The Common Psychological Distress the Burn Patients Facing are

• They continue to have intense remembrances about the incident and the way the injury happened and worry about the scarring, resulting in additional distress
• Their physical appearance may be markedly unusual and this gets people’s attention. So they have a tendency to stare at burn patients and even make adverse remarks about their appearance. When the patients realize people are staring at them, they are embarrassed and awkward resulting in additional uneasiness.
• They feel disturbed when people stare at them. The way people react make them feel even more uncomfortable
• They may have a sense of being isolated from family, friends or the general public and feel alone.

These are some of the social anxiety that occurs. When people stare at them, make snide remark, give dirty looks and scare little kids, they feel so scrutinized and uncomfortable that start to avoid people. It makes them feel so extremely self-conscious. Consequently, they start separating themselves from society and want to disappear and dislike going out. They hate going outside because they hate people looking at them.

To Overcome Psychological Challenges and Recovery

It is essential for burn patients to overcome their anxiety. The remedy is to stop resisting, stop hating the fact that people look/stare at you. Embrace it. Accept it. If they feel weird, embrace and accept that. Often they do this, helping them to get over their anxiety.

To Improve their Social Interactions

To enlighten and inspire victims to life beyond trauma few Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play key roles in rehabilitation. A Night Out is a non-profit organization partnered with the Chicago domestic violence agency, Between Friends. Their activities include rehabilitation, crisis line, counselling and support services, court advocacy program (Legal assistance). Rehabilitation counsellors encourage survivors to explore their options and make their own decisions in order to build a safe future

A Night Out believes special events can bring hope, healing, and joy to victims of domestic violence.Once each month, a group of trained volunteers and clinicians take 30 – 40 women for a special night out. They are treated to private dinners/comedy shows, spa nights, theatre, dance performances and sporting events that make them feel special. It provides an invaluable opportunity to overcome their social fear, improve self-respect and self-worth and enable them to move in a positive direction and have a pause from the challenging effort of recovery.

Programs to improve social interaction and some activities they can do:

• Field trips to entertainment parks
• Beach outings
• Holiday celebrations
• Movie nights
• Camps & Retreats
• Holiday Parties
• Dinner and a comedy show
• Evening at the spa
• Plays, musicals and Sporting events

It gives them hope, pride, self-respect and a brief escape from their everyday world and on the path to recovery and self-belief. The impact of outing away from their traumatic lives is ever-lasting. Pity causes people to think about their disabilities. Access to communication in the extensive sense is access to understanding, and that is extremely important. They do not need pity and reminder that they are weak. They should be treated as equal, and interaction is the approach that can bring this. People return from these activities feeling better and having a greater sense of hope. Acceptance and support from the society play a dynamic role in both the physical and mental health.They feel self-confident while speaking to someone, can make eye contact, use assured body posture, smile and use a friendly tone of voice.

At the end of the day, special events bring hope, healing, and joy to victims of domestic violence and make them understanding life as part of a larger community in a safe environment. This has a remarkable difference in their lives by presenting a re-energized world where they can feel motivated. They make a significant difference in the lives of participants by opening a new world where they can feel inspired.