Injury and Identity: What to do when you can’t do you

Nearly 10 years ago I had an injury to my foot that stopped me from walking for 6 months.

I had trained diligently for months for the half-marathon distance of the Melbourne Marathon. I was so proud of myself for raising $700 for Beyond Blue. I knew t about 15km into the run that I had done something pretty bad to my foot but here is me at the end with a finishers medal after hobbling to the finish line.

In the lead up I had been rock climbing regularly, trained for and completed a half marathon and regulatory went on hikes.
Suddenly not being able to walk or even ride my bike to work without pain was a huge deal.
My physio at the time told me she thought I'd never be able to run again
Everything I loved doing in life was taken away from me and I didn't know who I was any more or if I could ever be that person again.

Flash forward and I can do all those things again, including run but believe me when I say, I know how it feels to have my identity in conflict because of an injury.

Of course, I'm not the same person I was 10 years ago because that experience changed me for the better.

But when you're feeling the injury and rehab blues, it can really help to acknowledge the full experience that you're having- it's not just physical.
Once you meet that reality where it is, you can look for ways to fill that space with other things that give you a sense of self that aren't affected by your injury. You can begin healing that emotional injury while you're working on rehabbing your physical one.

• It can be helpful to look for things you enjoy doing that aren’t physical. Reading, gaming, cooking, art, music, writing… there are endless other hobbies and fulfilling things in the world to keep you occupied and engaged while you heal. For someone who loves moving their body or uses it as stress relief, more physical activities like art or cooking might be better to scratch the itch.

• Some people use sports and accomplishments from physical activities to feel like they’re making a meaningful contribution to the world. Some people use the finish time on their watch or the ability to tick a box to say they completed the workout on their training plan as a way to measure their day-to-day success. If this is you, there’s nothing inherently wrong it but it is worth acknowledging as this will be a very challenging time for you.

You have so much to offer that’s not in sports and physical accomplishments.

It can just be hard to see this when you’re injured.

Life doesn't have to pause because it doesn't look the same as it did before your injury and there's even growth and development in the pain. You'll come out different than before but often the same you with some enhancements.