As a physiotherapist, everybody I see is in some kind of physical pain or has some kind of physical limitation. What people don't realize is that pain is a complicated psychological dimension, and there is a lot of emotional attachment to it as well. May is National Physiotherapy Month, but it's also Mental Health Awareness Month. Just to warn you: I didn't plan this post, and I have no idea where I'm going with it, so this one will be different compared to other ones that I've written. It's "behind the scenes," and it gets quite personal, so if you don't care, you don't need to keep reading :)
My physiotherapy treatments are unique in a way that I spend a lot of one-on-one quality time with my clients. During this time, I build rapport with them; I get to know them personally; and I develop trusting relationships with them. Over a span of days, weeks, months, or even years, I learn a lot about each and every single one of my patients. What I've learned during my short time practicing is that people are full of baggage. I don't mean that in a bad way because we all have our problems. My half hour sessions with clients actually allow them to vent and complain about (first and foremost, pain), but also work, relationships, weather, life, and so on. It almost becomes a form of talk therapy or stress relief for them.
Don't get me wrong, I'm no psychologist, but sometimes, people are just looking for someone that will listen to them and hear them out. I had a patient who was really stressed out about her life, and she spent the whole duration of the treatment ranting to me and said to me that she never told anyone about any of her problems. Just talking about it out loud helped. As a healthcare professional, good listening skills are one of the best assets that we possess.
We're also able to offer another opinion or point of view that patients might not have realized themselves. During my initial assessment with someone, I asked him about hobbies or activities that he likes to do in his spare time. Simple question, right? (He said that he didn't do anything anymore.) A few days later, he came back for a follow up visit with me. He had started exercising again; he had taken his boat out from storage; and he had booked an appointment with an (actual) psychologist. My one simple question had made him realize that he was falling into depression.
Sometimes, I think that patients come in just because they want to talk or because they want/need some attention. I don't blame them. I have to admit -- I have some mental health issues myself, and believe it or not, talking about it with some of my patients really seems to help me as well. As a person who is a perfectionist (and with OCD), I feel like I have chronic stress, nervousness, and anxiety when I'm not in control or when my expectations are never met. Who knows, maybe I'm striving for too much. Though I don't think I show it because one of my patients' daughter actually asked me why I'm always so positive.
You may think that my workday ends as soon as I stop seeing my last client or as soon as I step out of the clinic. However, I have a very bad tendency to worry about people. I wonder if they're feeling better; I wonder if they're sore after treatment; I wonder what would happen to them if they miss a few days' worth of treatment; I wonder if/why they don't rebook or why they cancel; I wonder if they'll survive their weekend or their vacation... it's seriously never ending. To make matters worse, I take it very personally when someone does not get better. I wonder if I'm doing something wrong or if I'm not good enough. Over the last couple of years, as I gain more experience and become more confident in my practice, I've learned not to take things personally, but sometimes, it still gets the better of me. I know that I shouldn't worry about things that I have no control over outside of my treatment room. I swear though, I care more about my patients' health than they do themselves.
I think of it this way...
To me, physiotherapy is 75-80% of my life. This includes treating patients, following up with doctors, collaborating with colleagues, doing paperwork, blogging, marketing, learning, staying up to date, and (worrying about patients???). To the average patient, physiotherapy is maybe 1-2% of their life. They have work, family, friends, hobbies, and other things that fill up the majority of their life, and physio is only a small part of it. I get it.
I find that writing these blogs do help me clear my mind and unload some burden, hence the random rants that I put up once in awhile. Anyway, I didn't mean for this post to turn into one about mental illness, but it's certainly important to raise awareness and educate people about it. Share your stories and your experiences, and make sure you take care of yourself and your needs. You'll find that just talking about it will ease your mind.
