Reclaiming Your Life After Workplace Injury
Psychological recovery and support for people navigating the Workers Compensation system.
When work has impacted your mental health, finding a way forward can feel difficult. Psychological injury can affect more than your capacity to work; it can disrupt your confidence, sense of identity, relationships, sense of safety and connection to the future. If you feel stuck, recovery can begin by rebuilding a sense of safety, confidence and direction — one step at a time.
WHY CAN IT FEEL SO CHALLENGING TO MOVE FORWARD?
A workplace psychological injury can affect many areas of life, creating a cycle of avoidance, reduced activity and declining confidence. As your world becomes increasingly focused on managing symptoms, navigating the claim and protecting yourself from further stress, it can become harder to reconnect with the people, activities and experiences that once gave your life meaning.
Over time, this can leave you feeling stuck — not because you lack motivation, but because your world has gradually become smaller.
FROM SURVIVING → THRIVING
Feeling stuck after a psychological injury is understandable. Shame, fear and loss of confidence can make it difficult to see a way forward. Therapy can help you rebuild confidence, reconnect with who you are beyond your injury and claim, and gradually take meaningful steps towards the life you want.
RECOVERY ISN'T JUST ABOUT RETURNING TO WORK
It's about returning to life. Work may be an important part of recovery, but your life is bigger than your employment.
Recovery can involve reconnecting with:
PEOPLE
Relationships, family, friendship and community.
YOURSELF
Your identity, strengths, interests and confidence.
WHAT MATTERS
Your values, purpose and the experiences you want your life to hold.
WHAT ARE YOU MOVING TOWARDS?
When you've spent a long time focused on an injury, it can be easy for your attention to become centred on what you want to avoid. Therapy can help you gradually shift your focus from simply getting through your recovery to considering:
What am I moving towards?
What matters to me now?
You might begin by exploring:
VALUES — What matters to me?
INTERESTS — What brings me curiosity or enjoyment?
STRENGTHS — What am I good at?
CONNECTION — Who matters to me?
PURPOSE — What gives my life meaning?
You don't need to have all the answers. Recovery can begin with one small step towards something that matters.
HOW I CAN HELP
Together, we can work on:
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Understanding what has happened
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Regulating your nervous system
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Reducing fear and avoidance
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Working with shame and self-blame
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Rebuilding confidence and self-trust
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Reconnecting with your identity
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Rediscovering your values and purpose
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Gradually expanding your life again
You don't have to forget what happened. But what happened to you doesn't have to determine what happens next.
🎙️ LISTEN TO THE PODCAST
What happens when work becomes the source of psychological injury?
In this podcast, Sharon discusses psychological injury, the Workers Compensation journey and some of the factors that can make recovery difficult — including loss of routine, confidence, connection and a sense of purpose.
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST →
READY TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP?
You don't have to have everything figured out. If you're experiencing psychological injury and feel stuck, therapy can help you begin to understand what has happened, rebuild your confidence and reconnect with the life you want to move towards.
