Staying Motivated While Being Sidelined
We never expect to be sick or injured until it happens and when it happens we aren’t prepared. I am not sure we can ever be prepared but there’s more to dealing with being sick or injured than the physical symptoms.It’s important to take care of the psychological side. I am going to discuss the recovery cycle, psychological reactions to illness or injury and the psychology of recovery.
The recovery cycle
There are three phases of illness or injury and the recovery that are of importance to understand. The first phase is the illness or injured phase. In this phase the sick or injured person is dealing with the emotional upheaval that accompanies the onset of being sick or injured. Phase two, the rehabilitation-recovery phase; a good time to work on sustaining motivation and adhering to rehabilitation. Lastly, phase three, return to full activity phase, is important to understand that although you might be cleared to return to full activity, recovery is not complete until you can return to normal functioning which might take time and patience. And although the you might be recovering physically the mental side might take much more time to deal with.
It’s one thing to be able to move through this cycle, i.e. you have pneumonia or a broken leg but at some point you are able to return to full activity. Some people are not able to return to full activity, i.e. concussion or cancer. Unfortunately they get stuck cycling between phase I and phase II.
Psychological reactions to illness or injury
To give you a better understanding of how people react to and deal with illness or injury and to understand the emotional response, the stages have been compared to the work of Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross on terminal illness. Kubler-Ross suggests that terminally ill patients go through five stages in struggling to cope with their illness:
- Denial
- Anger
- Bargaining
- Depression
- Acceptance
I have found this to be true with my clients. The amount of time it takes to move through these stages depends on the individual.
In addition, another study has extended the research on to include the cognition’s that affect the emotional response to injury. These cognition’s were categorized into 4 main themes including internal thoughts, illness or injury and rehabilitation concerns, concern for and comparison to others and looking ahead to the future.
- Internal thoughts included worry, concern, time lost, and effects to future plans causing sick or injured participants to feel depressed, down, low self-esteem and increased anxiety.
- Illness or injury and rehabilitation concerns. There was a struggle to remain positive while dealing with the emotional impact of the now physical limitations. For many, there was a period of time spent reflecting on the cause of the injury, the what ifs and self doubts.
- Concern for and comparison to others. It’s not uncommon for people to compare themselves with others. These thoughts were reported to cause anxiety and tension.
- Looking ahead to the future. Fear of staying sick or injured or getting sick or reinjured again brought with it apprehension and hesitation.
The psychology of recovery
Recent studies have shown that psychological interventions positively influence a sick or injured participant’s recovery, mood during recovery, confidence, and adherence to treatment protocols. Sustaining and recovering from an illness or injury can be emotionally difficult and that’s why it’s important to have a basic understanding of the psychological reactions and to understand that those reactions derive from the cognitive and emotional responses to being ill or injured. It’s also important to have an idea of psychological techniques to assist in facilitating the rehabilitation process. Those techniques include: having good rapport with health care professionals, physical therapists and coaches, education about the illness or injury and recovery process. It’s imperative to learn specific psychological coping skills: goal setting, relaxation techniques, anxiety management and imagery. Effective emotional management of the illness or injury is essential for staying motivated throughout regardless of whether or not you are able to fully return to activity.
Next week I’ll talk a little bit more in-depth on what to do if you are unable to return to full activity.
Happy Tuesday!
Dr. Michelle
