Tis the season to be not-so-jolly
BY PURPLE CO
Grief, loss and the holiday cheerless
I have been reminded this week of the added pain that comes when someone is not engaged at work or with the workplace.
That is the pain that comes from not being invited or able to share in the end-of-year activities that a lot of workplaces engage in.
As Rehabilitation Professionals, we can get really caught up in
- Functional improvement
- RTW goals
- Upgraded medical certificates
- Increases in capacity
As these tend to be the KPIs that drive the insurer, regulators, and decision makers in our field.
However, what we, as health professionals, know is that loneliness, isolation, exclusion will cause ill health effects to people who are already experiencing worklessness, work incapacity.
Meaning they will stay away from work for even longer, making our “ work” more difficult.
Not to imagine these are usually people who are trying to navigate pain, depression, anxiety and the threat of not being able to earn an income.
All of a sudden, the Jolly holiday season is becoming anything but Jolly.
This has really hit home for me this year. As many of you reading this will know, I've been recovering from Cancer treatment, which has made my ability to participate in work somewhat different to what I had hoped, or wanted.
In these past few weeks, here are a couple of things that have contributed to a great sense of loss for me:
- My benefit taking 16 days to be assessed, to then be told there was no benefit payable for the month;
- No work Christmas do to attend;
- Not being invited to other Christmas or end of year do’s as people don't want to “overwhelm me”;
- Not being well enough to attend the end of year do’s that professional associations put on;
- Feeling disconnected from my colleague, peers, and industry.
And if I am feeling like this, with all the knowledge, skills and experience I have in my world - then how on earth are we looking after those clients in our care who:
- are fearful of not being able to make Christmas happy because they don't know if they will be paid and when.
- are feeling like a failure because they can’t do the previously enjoyed activities of pre-injury days.
- are feeling like they can’t be with their kids or their family.
- are feeling like a burden.
- are feeling like they have been forgotten because no one from work invited them to the Christmas party and they got to experience it through everyone else's social media posts!
I’ve watched as clients are becoming less and less engaged and now I think - I wonder if they are OK?
Rather than the usual, they are probably just busy. It is Christmas after all.
I've heard what clients are not talking about, and wonder - hmmm what’s it going to be like when they can’t join in with their family and friends.
Rather than assuming they know what they need and what to do.
We, as health professionals working in the Recovery, Rehabilitation and RTW sector, are always trying to serve multiple masters.
However, when push comes to shove, every single one of us
has a mandate that supersedes anyone else's agenda and that is
DO NO HARM
So this holiday season, could we all please be mindful of the people we say we are serving, and make sure we are prepared to have conversations that they may not want to have.
However, in bringing up these issues we show compassion,
And that level of compassion might just be the thing that stops someone from taking their own life.
Because none of us want to return to work in January to learn that a client we have been serving is
- More unwell
- Or worse, tried to take their one life
If you or someone you know needs some support this year please be prepared.
Here is a list of services that you can help them access.
In no particular order, here’s a list of services:
- NSW mental health access line |1800 011 511
- Lifeline |13 11 14
- Kids helpline | 1800 551 800
- Suicide call back service | 1300 659 467
- National sexual assault, domestic family violence counselling service | 1800 737 732
- 1800 RESPECT | 1800 737 732
- Parents help line | 1300 272 736
- Q life (LGBTQIA+) | 1800 184 527
- ACON | 1800 063 060
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander crisis support: 13Yarn | 13 92 76
- MensLine Australia | 1300 78 99 78
Looking forward to sharing with you in 2023.
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