Veterans Psychosocial Issues

I’m have the privilege to work with and serve the veteran population in the settings of outpatient, inpatient, surgery, home- based primary care and also community living. The psychosocial challenges to occupational engagement of the veterans are unique in this population. One of the many psychosocial challenges affecting veterans on each ward is the fear of failure and disappointment. Those veterans who acquire a debilitating dysfunction are very vulnerable to feelings of disappointment and failure if they do not “get better” in the time frame they expected to. In response to that emotion, many veterans take initiative to improve their function. Veterans who served in various eras have the mentality to be a hard worker and believe in the moto, “no pain, no

Many veterans may over work themselves; work through high levels of pain and this can put them at risk for overuse injuries and other complications in addition to the chief compliant. The veterans I have had the opportunity to treat work hard and go above and beyond to get back to their previous level of function. To address this unique psychosocial challenge I educate veterans on the occupation of rest. I explain to the veterans that rest and recovery is just as important as active rehabilitation. For example, a CVA patient gained all of their function of extremities in the first two weeks post- CVA due to dedication and motivation but still had disorientation issues. After talking with the patient and finding out that the patient’s occupation of rest was compromised, I explained to the patient how rest is important for the body to heal itself and suggested the veteran “take it easy” and focus on rest. The veteran came back to the appointment reporting no disorientation after taking the