Supporting your mental health can be as simple as practicing a few techniques that work. This post is about physical health, that impacted mental health, and some practical things I did to help myself feel better and move forward. I used evidence-based techniques that I’ve learned since being in the mental health field as a coach. I’m sharing this example from my life, not because I’m looking for sympathy but because I hope you might try these techniques too. If you don’t want to read my example, jump to the “how can I apply this” section.

About a month ago, I injured my wrist. Re-injured is probably a better way to put it. I had an old injury from 9 years ago when I was ziplining (an amazing experience – just a pity I didn’t follow the stopping instructions ☹ In the moment when I came screeching towards the cliff face, I did exactly what they told us not to do. It injured my wrist.)

Aside from causing me quite a lot of pain, the recent injury has messed up my plans for maintaining my strength and fitness. I was feeling quite proud of myself for 3 months of being dedicated to fitness through attending boot camp with a trainer and swimming on alternate days. I had noticed a huge improvement in how I felt, and in the functionality of my previously hurt wrist. It was all going well, until it wasn’t. At first, I didn’t realize quite how serious it was. I thought a few days of rest and wearing a wrist support would do it. Then I could carry on with my plans. I didn’t want to fall too far behind. Fast forward a few weeks and there was so much pain that I couldn’t sleep. I found myself in the emergency room getting a wrist X-ray. It wasn’t broken (as I suspected), but it was sufficiently hurt that I needed to adapt what I was doing and expecting of myself.

You can imagine, I was quite discouraged. I found myself feeling like it might never heal and worrying that this would be my new normal. I even had thoughts that it might be less painful and annoying to just cut it off! (Yes, I realize I can be a bit dramatic at times 😉).

There are a few things I did to put myself on a better path mentally while I wait for physical healing.

Reality Check

Sometimes when things are challenging, it can feel like a good approach is not to focus on it too much and just get on with things. Sometimes diverting your attention can help, but not always. It can be a way of resisting reality. We sometimes have this fear that accepting what is happening is like giving up or giving in. We might even worry that it will make things worse if we don’t struggle against it. I found myself falling into all this. In addition, I felt like I was just on hold until I could get back to my previous plans. It was frustrating. Thinking this way was just making the situation more stressful and me more miserable. I felt utterly powerless. Doing a reality check is about accepting things the way they are and letting go of struggling with them or pretending they are some other way. It’s a valuable starting point. In my case, part of my reality check was seeing a doctor, and getting an X-ray. Accepting what was happening, helped decrease the stress I was feeling. It also helped me see other possibilities that were not available to me while I was so focused on getting back to boot camp and swimming.

Doing a reality check is about accepting things the way they are and letting go of struggling with them or pretending they are some other way.

Expose Your Thinking

What we’re thinking is often the cause of at least some of our stress. In my example, thinking it wasn’t that bad and I could just carry on, actually made my situation worse because I kept exercising albeit with some modifications. Another unhelpful thought – this is my new normal; it might never change. I don’t know if these thoughts are accurate, but I do know that I was reacting to them as if they were true and it caused a huge amount of distress. A more helpful and accurate way to think about the situation (until I hear anything further from a doctor) is that I don’t know how long this will last.

Just because we are thinking a thought, doesn’t make it true or helpful. When thoughts are unhelpful, we can come up with another way to see the situation that is more helpful. We can challenge what we’re thinking by looking at the evidence that supports the thought or evidence against it.

Re-focus on What Matters Now

It was not helpful to hold onto my pre-injury expectations for exercise. It made me feel like I was falling behind, and I had my focus on waiting until this is over. I found it helpful to shift my focus from attending boot camp and swimming to the deeper purpose behind those activities. This helped me see what else was possible for me now in my new circumstances. It gave me a sense of choice and made me feel less powerless. Subsequently, I’ve chosen to do some exercises at home that I can do (even with the injury) to maintain some strength and fitness. It’s not my first choice, but it helps me to feel less stressed and anxious and also puts me on a path to continuing my fitness and strength goals even in this challenging situation.

How Can You Apply This?

1. Do a reality check. What is part of your present that you are trying hard to ignore, deny or resist? What is “the way it is”? Consciously let go of trying to fight reality – especially the parts you have no control over. Practice acceptance.
2. Examine your thoughts. Be an observer of your thoughts. What are you thinking? Is it helpful? What evidence do you have for this thought? What is another way you could look at it? (The truth is it can be challenging to find another way to see it on your own.)
3. Refocus your attention. What is important about this? What can you do (now) that will move you towards what matters? (Think behavior, not changing a feeling).

I hope you find this helpful. Let me know if you have any questions. Here’s one thing a client said about using mental health techniques.

Sue Das, CPCC, CPQC, BSS (SW)

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