Going back to work after surviving an aneurysm and/or stroke isn’t easy. Countless unknowns certainly test your confidence. Having said that, your first priority to succeed here is actually much easier than anything you’ve done up to this point in your recovery: have faith and confidence in yourself.
Before we dig into 5 tips to navigate the workplace during or following your recovery, let’s cover what you’ve already accomplished:
Getting through what you suffered along with all that followed was the hard part. Your life changed. You’ve had to learn how to start over on every level, and now you’re here getting ready to go back to work. Let’s talk about what you’ve learned about yourself thus far. Your confidence level has reached another step up along this new journey with your limitations. Therefore, trust and faith have entered your mind to control a wheelchair or figuring out once again how to put one foot in front of another. You’ve relearned a manageable level of independence to do daily chores on your own. What feels uncertain is doing something new in front of others instead of in the privacy of your own home, where if something doesn’t go so well or as planned, you’re most likely the only one who sees it. Returning to work means you’re center stage among coworkers. This is where your conviction to succeed needs to find its way into your soul. No matter what setbacks might occur throughout any day, you must rely on your confidence and keep looking forward with your chin held high and a smile on your face.
Now, here are 5 tips to consider when preparing to go back to work post-aneurysm or stroke recovery:
1. Communicate Your Needs
When you return to work, find a way up front to let everyone know what is and isn’t acceptable to you. What are you willing to strive to achieve? If your limitations stand in the way, then let that be where you’re willing to accept dependence on others. Do everything you can to set a high bar for yourself when it comes to achievement. In doing so, you set a high bar for everyone else you work with each day.
By communicating your needs, your coworkers see and learn where your limits are and when they should step in to assist you. Having others lend a hand isn’t a problem, nor should asking for help be seen as a roadblock. That said, make sure you never take advantage of your coworkers: strive for independence wherever possible!
2. Be Mindful of Your Mindset
In the beginning, the workplace is as much an assault to your senses as the first day you woke up with your disability. It’s new, it’s unknown, and it requires your patience. Your return might remind you of your first day going to school, with so many uncertainties, fears, and apprehension, but give it a chance. Go into this new chapter of your life with an open mind and enthusiasm. Focus on the mindset that you’re doing this because you want to, not because you have too.
Go into this day with a smile on your face and realize there are people out there in the world who wish they could be doing what you’re doing. However, do it being mindful of your emotions and energy levels. If it’s been a while since you last worked, your body and your mind are not accustomed to thinking beyond what’s going on inside you. Therefore, your using your brain more can cause fatigue onset sooner than expected. When physical and mental fatigue occur at the same time, it’s easy to find yourself overwhelmed. Some people may find it easier to navigate this type of setback. Others may find themselves struggling with mood swings.
So be careful when it comes to exerting yourself. Don’t be afraid to speak up and communicate as needed, and always be mindful of your own mindset.
3. Ask For Help
This is one of those tricky areas that people with disabilities can have difficulties with. Because asking for help switches between independence and dependence, it’s natural to struggle with bringing in outside assistance. Disability or not, we all find times in our lives when we need to ask for help. This doesn’t mean we’ve given up, but rather the opposite: asking for help means, under the current circumstances, we must accomplish something with external assistance.
Asking for help is far better than injuring yourself and causing a setback. This also helps you manage your energy and assists with bonding with your coworkers. It may take some doing, but the more you practice, the more organic and natural collaborating to accomplish workplace goals will feel.
Find a way to let asking for help into your life. Remember, your journey forward works more efficiently when you open yourself up to change.
4. Build Endurance Overtime
Energy management is the most important factor in your recovery and is especially important when you go back to work. Strengthening your endurance is a daily goal, and not one to rush.
There’s a lot of personal therapy to be found returning to work as well. If you’re craving the return of normalcy, the workplace is a great place to find a familiar, reliable routine. When you’re absorbed in work, you’re concentrating more on the project at hand than on your disability. You’re interacting with coworkers and talking about subjects that are not centered around you. In other words, you benefit from engaging in a regular work life!
The more you do as each day comes and goes, the more you’ll build strength and endurance. If you feel that you’re physically or mentally weak in certain areas, then here’s two suggestions I can provide that work hand in hand: Pilates for the strength training, and neuromuscular massage to calm your body. Pilates will work the small stability muscles, and the massage therapy will reduce help to reduce adhesions and restrictions in your muscles.
Remember that endurance is built overtime. This is a long-term goal, not a short-term accomplishment. Pace yourself now, thank yourself later.
5. Document Your Progress
Find time at the end of each day to sit and write about what worked and didn’t work. What made you happy? What bothered you? How do you make the next workday smoother? Journaling is very good therapy to consider because it helps you to release your concerns and helps calm your soul by venting as you write. Writing also assists you in seeing progression along this new advancing journey.
Remember this when you journal: it doesn’t have to be perfect or a few pages long. Again, just start small as in a sentence or two.
I hope these 5 tips will help you more confidently navigate the workplace. Although each journey is unique, there are common battles we each face, in one way or another. My aim is to always help where I can, even if it’s by lending an ear in the comments section. If you have a thought or question, please don’t hesitate to connect below or find me on socials.