In celebration of Occupational Therapy Month, I am spending
October defining the word “occupation”.
Why? Because, contrary to the
traditional understanding of the word, occupational therapists define this
differently. For us, the word
“occupation” does not only include “paid” work, employment, or jobs. Rather, we define it as the way people
“occupy” their time and as such it actually includes all roles involved in living
(therapy for living, who knew?). So, for
this month, I will explore the journey of “occupation” complete from morning to
night, highlighting how OT’s help when things breakdown along the continuum
that is living.
I assume the routine for most of us is the same. Morning hits, we hear the alarm clock, snooze
it a few times, and eventually swing our legs over the bed, stand, stretch and
head to the washroom. Sounds easy,
right? But what if it isn’t?
What if you have had a terrible sleep? Perhaps you live with chronic pain and cannot
get comfortable in your bed. Or, you
have an acute injury and are trying to sleep on broken ribs, while wearing a
cast or sling, or with bruises, scrapes, or swollen body parts. Maybe you live with anxiety, depression, or
have trouble controlling your thoughts when you try to drift off. You have restless legs, or are on medication
that makes you sleep too much, or causes insomnia. You are worried about something, someone, or
have a child, spouse, or family member in your home that might need you during
the night. Tomorrow is a big day and you
are excited or nervous. You have
neighbors that are too loud, or are spending the night in a shelter because you
have nowhere else to go. Really,
obtaining a restful sleep is actually difficult.
Assuming you have slept, and recognize the alarm is going
off, what if you can’t just “throw your legs over the bed, stand and
stretch”. Then what? Do you have or need support or devices to
make the transition from lying to sitting, from sitting to standing, to a
walker, cane or onto a wheelchair or commode?
Perhaps your depression or anxiety makes it extremely difficult to
transition out of bed to face the day, or to start your morning routine. Maybe you need to stay in bed for an extra
hour because the amount of sleep you got just won’t cut it for challenges that
day will bring.
Occupation is all of that and as such, these things are
addressed in occupational therapy. Why
are you not sleeping? Can we assist you
to obtain a better sleep surface? Can we
educate you on how to obtain a restful sleep position by suggesting changes to
how you are lying, or through the use of pillows or wedges? Can we help you to shut your mind off through
progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, natural sleep remedies, or by
assisting you to obtain medical assessment and intervention? Can we aid in reducing your stress such that
you are more at ease when trying to fall asleep, or so you won’t wake as much
during the night? If you are sleeping
through your alarm, or can’t motivate yourself out of bed in the morning,
perhaps we can provide you with cognitive and behavioral strategies to re-frame
that process to enhance your success. If
there are physical barriers to positioning in bed, sitting, transferring or
standing, we can prescribe equipment, aids, tools and support to ensure this
part of your morning routine is safe, to promote independence, or to assist
your caregiver.
Spoken quite simply – occupation is getting out of bed in
the morning, and if this is a challenge for you, occupational therapists treat
that.
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