One Thing You Didn’t Think Is Crucial in Recovery

While a fair amount of stress can be good, for patients in recovery it can impair the process. There are various ways in which it can negatively impact your journey to regaining your physical strength. As such, it’s crucial in recovery to prioritize mental well-being too.

It doesn’t need to call for major intervention. During recovery, relaxing activities, like enjoying a warm drink, or live music can make all the difference. It might sound like an insignificant activity, but it creates the perfect time to focus on positive thoughts. Aside from enjoying quiet times over a soothing hot beverage, it’s also key that patients make time for social connection. After all, laughter remains some of the best medicine, even more so when you’re facing tough times.

Fairview Rehab in Queens, NY offers therapeutic recreation activities like arts and crafts classes, games, live music and pet therapy. The whole team gets involved in offering psychological and emotional support because at Fairview, we know everyone needs someone to help carry a burden and that emotional stability is so important in recovery.

Nursing pouring coffee for an elderly. Recreation activities are crucial in recovery.

Why Is Psychological and Emotional Stability Crucial in Recovery?

Surgery can be a traumatic event. Not only will you experience pain, but normal functioning will also be impaired which will mean that you’ll need to adjust your lifestyle in more ways than you probably anticipated. As such, it’s common for patients to experience some degree of depression or anxiety afterwards.

Add to that the fact that it’s easy to become fixated on your physical health at the expense of your mental well-being and it becomes even more evident why you need a network that can offer the necessary psychological and emotional support. If the patient in recovery’s psychosocial needs are addressed, it gives him/her more time to focus on adapting to their new lifestyle and coming to sense with a loss of independence.

Stress can actually impair healing

Not only is psychological and emotional support crucial in recovery to help lessen the blow, but stress can actually worsen your physical health. Considering that the body has just taken a knock, this is the last thing that you’ll want.

On an emotional level, you can expect mood changes. This can increase anxiety levels, which are probably already heightened. The reason for this is that stress can cause our hormones to become imbalanced. This is a good example of why health should be viewed holistically.

On a more physical level, stress can weaken your immune system. Aside from not wanting to have to deal with a flu as well, it can make it more difficult for your body to control inflammation. What’s more, it will also mean that your body will have a harder time fighting toxins, increasing the chances of developing complications.

Another way that it can negatively impact recovery is that it can also reduce blood flow. If this happens, the healing process will also slow down. Good blood flow not only assists with daily functions, but it also helps to regenerate new cells and remove dead tissue. It also carries nutrients and oxygen, that become even more crucial in recovery.

This article is for educational and informational purpose only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. For any questions about your own health condition, speak to a qualified physician or healthcare provider.