It is not unusual for an injured person to develop an episode of depression from as a result of a work related musculoskeletal injury. This can have a large negative impact on the patients chances of making a successful return to work and health.
This can be due to a number of reasons; how they will survive financially, whether they will heal, how their family will react if they can not return to work, feelings of inadequacy due to their injury, fear of what will happen, anger towards their boss, stress from insurance companies etc. etc.
Even when a patient identifies they may be experiencing some of these feelings, they can often be resistant to believing or accepting they may be at risk of becoming depressed, or already are having symptoms of depression.
This can be due to a number of reasons such as the stigmas within society i.e. “depressed people are crazy or kill themselves”.
If it is recognized early enough however, addressing these concerns with a patient and seeking appropriate intervention can lead to a faster recovery and greatly improve the chances of a sustainable return to work.
Top 10 Signs to watch out for:
- Feeling constantly miserable and pessimistic
- Loss of interest in pleasurable activities
- Changes in appetite
- Sleeping problems- going to sleep or staying asleep
- Inability to concentrate
- Indecisiveness
- Apathy
- Over reliance on medications particularly painkillers
- Negative thoughts about the future i.e. why should I bother I’m not going to get better and self i.e. I’m a failure
- Social withdrawal
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