Finding meaning in everyday activity during lockdown (and beyond)
During the current lockdown, finding meaning and purpose every day has become an essential coping mechanism. What you may not realise is that you have just graduated as an Occupational Therapist (OT)! Well, no not really but you have just understood the overriding concept we use in our daily practice.
Our amazing profession is quite poorly understood by the general population unless you have personally been exposed to OT. And even then, few people understand that OTs work with the entire population from infants to the elderly. You see, we are the specialists in function which means we ‘treat’ our clients to become more functional in their own lives by facilitating their participation in meaningful and purposeful occupation. That is where the name of the professional actually originates, since ‘occupations’ are simply activities and activities of our daily lives e.g. work, leisure, social engagement etc. And if an activity is not meaningful or purposeful, what is the point of pursuing it?
During the lockdown everyone (who has abided by the regulations) has experienced significant activity restriction – you can’t walk your dogs, have a coffee with a friend, exercise outdoors, go to the office, go shopping for those essential non-essentials etc. And those activities you have been permitted to do, you have had to do in a very different way! What you may not realise is this limited ability to participate in your activities of daily life in the way you would prefer or choose to do, is exactly what a person with an injury, illness or disability experiences each and every day. This population forms our client load since they require our specialist skills to assist them participate in everyday activities in a slightly different manner to compensate for their limitations.
Our special interest at IDA Consulting is the activity of work, again an area of our profession most people do not know even exists! OTs working in this area are referred to as Vocational Occupational Therapists and our role is to facilitate the continued participation or resumption in meaningful, sustainable and gainful employment. We get involved once an injury or illness has stabilised clinically, which means an individual is considered medically well. Vocational OTs then step in to rehabilitate the person by facilitating the skills they require to return to work. We also work with all type of medical conditions, physical- and mental health.
What we love about what we do (and we do ADORE our jobs), is that we are constantly amazed and surprised by the resilience, creativity and ‘never give up’ attitude of our clients. They are truly inspirational, and we would encourage you to take a page from their books – continue to be creative, you’ve nailed it! Arranging that WhatsApp coffee date with a friend, running on the spot or in the driveway, sticking to a daily routine as if you were working from the office and not at home are all things you can do and this should be your focus – the possible!
And next time you have difficulties engaging in your daily activities owing to ill health or illness, don’t forget about OT – we will do our best to help!
Have you ever received Occupational Therapy? Tell us your experiences....
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