Being injured in any situation can be traumatic and affect all areas of your life. From a lack of mobility, potential surgery or even major adjustments to your life, injuries should be taken seriously when it comes to recovery.

How does your physical health affect your mental health?

Depending on the type of injury you are recovering from, you may have a lot of things to process. Dealing with trauma can be hard, and if it goes unchecked you may find yourself with depression, anxiety or other mental health issues. 

If your injury has restricted your mobility, it may be harder to do tasks in your everyday life. This can leave you feeling frustrated and angry at your situation. Similarly, socialising can become difficult which may lead to feelings of isolation and abandonment.

Pain can also play a part, leading to less sleep and the inability to relax. This will also affect your mood and overall mental health as you will not feel well-rested. 

Accept and acknowledge your feelings

Although it can be hard, acknowledging your feelings is one step towards recovery for both your mental and physical health. By acknowledging them, you are getting them out in the open rather than trying to bury them away and keep them contained. 

This may even give you a sense of relief as you can explore the causes of those feelings and maybe even begin to work through them. 

Control what you can 

Being injured can feel like you have lost control of your whole life, but that isn’t always the case. Keeping control of parts of your life will help to push that feeling away.

For example, if you have been injured at work, you could start working on a compensation claim. This will give you a focus and distract you from the things you cannot control like physical recovery. Similarly, if you can pick up a new hobby or habit such as preparing meals not only are you distracting your brain, but you can take care of your physical health by making them nutritious to aid your recovery. 

Set achievable goals

There can be a temptation to set these huge goals for your recovery that may be unattainable. Not being able to achieve your goals can lead to a mental health downward spiral. 

If you have a huge goal in mind, try breaking it down into more manageable pieces which can lead to the ultimate ending. By gaining small victories, you will feel more in control and proud of yourself. 

Accept and ask for help

When you are struggling with a health issue, either physically or mentally, you may want to hide away from everyone and wallow. This can be counterproductive in the long run. Friends and family will want to help you in any way they can. 

Accepting help doesn’t make you weak – it actually is the opposite! Whether it is getting lifts to medical appointments, or accepting a home-cooked meal, if the help offered makes your life easier then it is a win for everyone. 

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