Or they aggravate the original injury. Or they reach for the telephone, feel a spasm, and the process starts over. The employer, too, may sabotage the release to work date by demanding employees be 100 per cent capable before they're permitted to return. In this environment, the only thing working at full capacity is the disability payment system. Adjusting to change is a basic life skill at which some people are better than others.
Disability always requires adjustment to change.
Whereas life affords us the opportunity to grow accustomed to the idea of our mortality gradually, even leisurely, disability shoves our faces in it. Disability threatens not only our physical integrity but our mental self-concept and emotional balance. Even minor disability demands mourning of what was lost and acceptance of what's left. The disability really isn't over till employees decide to play the hand they've been dealt. The workers' compensation system contributes to this reluctance to adapt and move on with one' s life.