Dealing with an injury or health setback can sometimes be the hardest part of a diagnosis. So many ‘what ifs’ run through our minds. Our lives are changed, but how severely, we wonder? In this post, we’ll focus on just a few of the important points to consider when dealing with life’s unplanned setbacks.
How many among us are guilty of going into ‘denial mode?’ “Aw, it’s not THAT bad!”
Why do we do this? Fear is at the core of it! We really don’t like to face what’s uncomfortable. Who could blame us there?! When we’re dealing with an injury or other health matters – this feeling is amplified.
Acknowledging your fear and choosing to face it head on may not be easy but it’s necessary. We can always hope for the best. But there are times your injury could be worse than you realize.
In some cases of injury, reaching out to an injury attorney is not only wise but necessary!
What happens if you choose not to receive medical attention and that choice leaves you permanently suffering with pain?
I was in a severe car accident a few years back that should have claimed my life. Due to a lack of health insurance, I declined medical care while sitting in the ambulance. Even though my reasons for doing so were legitimate, I’ve suffered the consequences. Please don’t do what I did!
Choose to deal now with what’s uncomfortable. You’ll be thankful you did later when your body is healing nicely.
Whether your health condition involves chronic disease, injury or loss of limbs, it’s important to establish the best level of care and treatment available.
Consider less invasive options such as rehabilitation or physio. These medical professionals have seen injuries, ranging from mild to severe, day in & day out.
They’ll come up with a treatment plan to get you on the road to recovery as quickly as possible.
We always need to give ourselves time to heal, and often, this can be one of the hardest things to do.
We can all find ourselves in a situation where we don’t want an injury or illness to define us in some way. What happens next is we tend to try and defeat it in the only we know how: by moving on too quickly!
Have you ever had a wound that on day 1 or 2 wasn’t so bad? Then day 3 and 4 rolled around and you were in agony? The healing process in our bodies is automatic and necessary.
You need time to understand the level of severity, and time to come to terms with things. There may be treatments to take advantage or wounds needing to be healed. Mentally, your mindset needs time to adjust.
Rushing the healing process only prolongs your injury and can even lead to long-term, irreversible damage. Don’t do it!
persevere
: to persist in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of counter-influences, opposition, or discouragement
Meriam-Webster
I don’t know about you, but sometimes my perseverance has been pathetic! 😀
A health setback is usually always going to be a shock. No one plans to injure themselves, be wounded in some way or be subject to disease or illness and have their life altered.
If your injury is temporary, remember that! Don’t be so consumed with the here & now that you forget about your long-term health.
Always persevere with your plan to move forward and overcome. Whether that is medication, treatment or simply giving yourself time, never give up.
Research has even proven that thinking positively helps the healing process be much more effective in our minds & bodies!
It won’t be easy but dealing with the tough stuff today can ensure a better, healthier tomorrow!
You only get one body! Are we considering our bad habits and lifestyles creating the perfect storm for injuries and other diseases to occur?
Ask yourself:
- Is my pace in life too hectic? Do I need to slow down and re-evaluate my priorities? How can I accomplish this? (Then take small steps of action to correct what you see is wrong)
- What can I change, if anything, to prevent this kind of health issue in the future?
- Do I have any bad habits either creating, or worsening, my health condition?
- Have I been ignoring my health or injury because it’s difficult to face? Or due to a lack of health insurance or resources?
If you see yourself in any of these, or can think of your own, what steps can you take today to correct it? In my post about self-doubt, I discuss the difference between making short-term and long-term goals.
Setting yourself some short-term goals makes them seem much more attainable. Use your short-term success to gain long-term momentum. – Holly ♥ #goals #health #injury #bloggers
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Please don’t slay me for saying this, but just because someone holds the title of “Physician,” does not mean they know what they’re talking about!
Many of my readers don’t know this, but I spent years of my life bed-ridden. I have spent far more of my life sick than healed. It’s one of the reasons I chose the name, “Wholeness Haven.” (more on that later!)
What I found out through all of this, is the medical community is fallible. As the patient, you need to be educated on your health! I’m not saying be a smarty-know it all. Please don’t be. None of us know everything there is to know!
There are many phenomenal nurses, doctors and medical staffers in this world tirelessly dedicated to the cause of making us well. There are also some who simply don’t care & don’t listen! If you have one of the latter, move on and find a better fit for you.
Just remember: there will be times when they say or recommend something we don’t really want to hear. We must humble ourselves and listen. Then, we need to follow-through on sound medical advice.
Being stubborn and not taking care of ourselves won’t do anybody any good! Why waste our precious time?
Do we value our health and wellness enough? Are we pushing ourselves too hard at the cost of our well-being?
Even seemingly small, positive changes, make for big pay-offs years down the line. Let’s not put off for tomorrow what we can take care of today.
Has dealing with an injury or physical limitation ever created problems in your life? What did you do to overcome? I’d love to hear your best tips & tricks!
Thanks for reading, friends. Please share if you found this helpful. ♥
Sending My Best To You,
Thanks for the reminder….
Sending hugs and peace
You are so kind, Eliza. ♥ Sending hugs & peace right back to you!
This is such an important reminder Holly! So often, we think we can just ‘power through’ an illness or injury, and end up causing ourselves more problems in the long run. You give some concrete, common-sense suggestions to ensure we don’t complicate things. I especially love your list of questions that we can use to assess how we’re doing. Blessings to you sweet friend!
Terri, I love your comments. You’re right – our stubbornness to ‘power through’ when we shouldn’t does create big problems for us later on down the line.
Your encouragement means more than I can say. I’m glad you enjoyed the list of questions. 🙂 Longer blog posts aren’t always the easiest to read so I try to make them more easily digestible. Coming from you, these compliments mean so much. You’re a brilliant writer and wellness blogger, Terri. I’m grateful to have ‘met you.’ Keep up the amazing work you do and thanks a million for all you do for me! ♥ Sending my love!
Oh Holly, you are far too kind! I’m so grateful to have met you too, sweet friend! One of my favorite things about blogging is that I get to ‘meet’ wonderful people like you. Sending love and hugs your way!
Great post! Thanks for this important reminder!🌸
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed.
I’m just so sorry for what you went through, Holly. And so, so angering that you were put in the position of deciding between medical care and expense. I’ve always though medical care should be free and accessible for all, not where people have to fork out a fortune, or struggle with insurance, or pay insane amounts of tax to cover it. You highlight very well the potential consequence of not getting the care you need, I just wish you didn’t have first hand experience of it.
I’m very fortunate in not having had many accidents, but I definitely know health set-backs and some of this applies to post-surgery stuff, too. Like being slow and giving ourselves time to heal, which can become frustrating when we have other things we need to do. Patience is a virtue, and it’s worth taking things steady rather than pushing your body when it’s not ready.
And a good point on positive thinking. It’s not always easy but it does pay to try to change your perspective if you can, to find the ‘silver linings’ (sorry for the cliche!) and find ways to keep going. Any kind of illness, injury or set back can have an emotional and mental knock-on effect, and we don’t want that looping back around to negatively affect our health.
Excellent tips, Holly – I’ll make sure to heed your advice (or at least try 😉). Hopefully everyone else will too because the damage in the short and long term could be significant and hindsight of what we could/should have done differently will be a painful thing.
Caz xx
You are so very kind, Caz! Thank you for your heartfelt concern. It means so much to know we still have caring people in this world who empathize with the hurts and struggles of others. It’s a gift far too often lost in this world today, in my humble opinion.
You and I are in full agreement concerning healthcare. I too believe that receiving high quality medical care should be a right – not a luxury to be toyed with. I’m aware that it costs money to provide services to the public. Yet, there should be absolutely no one, at any time, anywhere, that cannot receive the medical care they need and deserve. Here in the USA, the #1 cause of bankruptcy has been medical debt. Many of these people didn’t even survive but their loved ones are saddled with the loss of their beloved and the financial burden left behind. To me, it’s despicable and unacceptable.
I agree, patience is a virtue. And you’re right, waiting out the healing process can be incredibly difficult. It’s worth not facing those long-term complications for short-term frustrations, though. 😐
Another amazing comment from you my friend. Thank you so much for taking time to share your thoughts and your compassion. I don’t take your visits, support or friendship for granted!
I’m so sorry to hear about your accident. We were in a really bad accident on our way to my 6th grade dance. A drunk driver hit us in the side while we were crossing the road. My dad was driving and never saw him flying over the hill. Luckily we were all okay with just cuts, bruises and some broken bones. I have to say that God put his arms around us that day!
I love your tips about dealing with a health setback. I think the hardest one is allowing yourself time to heal. We’re always in such a rush to get things done and as soon as we think we feel better we’re right back out there working. In the meantime we can’t see what it’s doing to the inside of our bodies, but they sure let us know about it later!
Another amazing post with some very helpful tips!
Oh Michelle!! Bless your heart! That accident sounded awful. Praise the Lord that each of you came out alive. It sounds like it really could have been so much worse. (sigh) Drunk driving ends countless lives every day. Some people seem to believe they have the ‘right’ to do what they choose. Sending hugs with gratitude that you & your family are still with us today. 🤗
Your comments, as always, make my day! Thank you sweet friend for all you do! ♥
Great points Holly and especially agree with the perseverance point and also that as a patient you need to be educated on your health , most of us have the gut feeling about our health or options we need to take or do and not be forced into situations.
I agree! Those ‘gut feelings’ we get are ones to be paid attention to most of the time. We know when we simply don’t feel like ourselves. Sometimes that’s temporary due to increased stress, pressure, etc. Other times, it’s much more than that.
Thank you for your thoughtful response, Nisha! ♥
Holly, I’m sorry to hear what you have gone through with the car accident. I am proud of you for getting to a point where you can share what you have learned with others to help those who are in pain, both physically and mentally. It saddens me that you had to choose between medical care and going into debt while sitting in that ambulance. Finances are the last thing you should have to think about at that time. Your guides are amazingly heartfelt and speak to so many, as shown by the large number of comments here. Bless you, dear Holly.
Aw Christy, you are so kind! Thank you for being concerned with what I went through. I agree completely with you. No one should have to think about finances in the midst of a medical crisis. Yet, in the USA and many other countries, it’s a daily reality. So tragic, if you ask my humble opinion!
You never cease to brighten my day, friend. You are so very special and I am forever grateful for your friendship & support! ♥ Bless you, Christy. BIG love & hugs on the way to you…
Thank you for sharing this inspiring message and I am sharing the link in my blog to be posted tonight.
Aw Tangie, thank you so much!! You’ve just made my day, sister! ♥ Sending my love to you.