I am the work
People often speak about the discomfort they experience having to leave their jobs following injury. Theyâre eager to push through their symptoms, trying to get back to work as quickly as possible. The interesting thing is, pushing to speed up recovery often has the inadvertent consequence of slowing it down.
When it comes to recovery, you have to go slowly in order to progress quickly.
What does this mean?
Recovery isnât a vacation as others might think. We all know itâs a period of time requiring intentional work.
Instead of asking yourself the question âWhen can I go back to work?â It might be more helpful to consider the following statements:
I am the work.
There is no other work.
Recovery is my mission.
Processing traumatic events is a part of being a first responder. If you donât do it while youâre operational, youâll likely be forced to take time off to deal with it later. Itâs like putting off paperwork. It never actually goes away.
The skill of emotional processing is a necessary component of health but is something that is not often awarded the time and space it needs.
This my friends, is the work.
Warm regards,
Belinda Seagram, Ph.D., R. Psych.
Executive Director, Landing Strong
