Catharsis: from injury to freedom
A loss in life must be mourned and overcome, with the hope of more to come in life. What has taken shape will disperse into nothingness and the most we can do is wallow in the long memories of things, while the sad event passes. The grievance may fade into sadness over the personal loss, while the individual can cope with these feelings with a lasting impact on his or her life. These feelings can manifest on a person, on which it is affecting him day after day.
Depending on demographics, a person’s health or change in the physical functioning of a person’s body is the rapid cause of a mood swing. From a general illness to a brief hospital stay, any illness alters our psychological state over a period of time. Whereas, in the case of severe procedures like amputation, history reads differently. Most people who undergo amputation face a mental breakdown, causing a plateau in the quality of their life, stopping the wheels of their personal progress dead in their tracks. Certain stages of grief associated with amputees is quite a confrontation, but no dead ends.
Regionally speaking, leg amputation in India is followed by a short period of rehabilitation, allowing the patient to go through a couple of trials for leg replacements. This physical rehabilitation therapy is accompanied by cognitive care, highlighting the mental state of the patient at that time in his life. Before proceeding with the surgery, the Doctor should summarize the procedure and future prospects after the amputation. Aside from the doctor, a therapist creates a detailed history report for the person who plays a much larger role in their mental recovery from trauma. Certain variables such as age, occupation, and lifestyle play a vital role in determining a person’s mental state after surgery.
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, MD in psychology, in her research has described in more detail how the stages of grief unfold after amputation. According to her research, for many patients amputation is a horrific experience tantamount to personal loss. In addition, many of these patients go through cycles of anxiety, depression, and episodes of suicidal thoughts as an emotional outburst at the personal loss that has occurred. The therapist’s job is primarily to prevent the patient’s alienation from himself and to keep him in touch with reality, without deviating from his own judgments.
The development of post-traumatic stress disorder is common among patients who undergo amputation due to accident or scandalous incidents. Symptoms include frequent flashbacks to a terrible event, slipping easily into a fight or flight response, followed by avoidance of certain situations that remind them of their fatal accident. Amputees suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder develop a self-destructive mentality towards themselves, especially due to the feeling of losing something that was part of who they were. These episodes of post-traumatic events can cause a change in the behavior of amputees, with brief episodes of anger directed towards those close to them, inherently due to self-hatred and a victim mentality.
A certain group of amputees in denial, avoid artificial limbs or artificial legs, getting into a rut reiterating past events that led to the amputation. The recurring “what if” mentality destroys any hope the therapist or doctor may need for the patient to recover. Although after frequent consultations with a therapist, the patient decides to look away from the past and eventually begins to adjust to a new way of life using the support system provided.
Patients who inherit diseases like polio from a young age appear to be on the positive side of the psychological spectrum. They easily adapt to support systems such as polio calipers after unsuccessful attempts at polio leg treatment. Most therapists note that polio patients grow with confidence after trying the prosthesis for the first time, adding to their mobility and eventually helping them in their daily lives. It’s an important lesson for new amputees to learn from polio patients, highlighting the thought that some things in life are out of our control. Unlike polio patients, many amputees continue to reflect on incidents over which they actually have control. Overcoming this wall of thought opens new doors for amputees, regardless of disability.
Amputees have purchased artificial limbs in vizag and artificial limbs in Gurgaon, from various government-run health organizations, which concentrate an organized methodology of emotional healing after surgery. Importance is placed on the active expression of emotions felt by an amputee in competition with their condition. Anger is one of the main emotions that most amputees are susceptible to during this period. Unhealthy suppression of anger for longer periods leads to depression and self-shame, while the active expression of anger at the right time helps strengthen an amputee’s emotional facets in the long term.
Engaging in physical activities or work in general at the workplace or at home will keep the mind occupied, preventing occasional negative thoughts from creeping in. Some amputees may fail to control their inner emotional selves and indulge in destructive addictions such as excessive drinking or taking over-the-counter medications to cope with these emerging thoughts. Alcohol, being a depressant, only adds fuel to the furnace and causes a mental imbalance, bringing the amputee’s progress back to zero.
Keeping the body in good shape helps before and after amputation. For people with conditions such as diabetes, this may seem like a daunting task, but it can be accomplished by contacting concerned physicians. A body with strong muscles and a healthy neurological system will quickly adapt to the new prosthesis making the rehabilitation period much smoother. Bonding with people of a similar type is a common method of catharsis among amputees. Many amputees who have just adjusted to prosthetics seem to find relief in knowing that they are not the only ones who feel differently, in the horde of many others. Sharing experiences and feelings with other amputees develops a greater bond, generating positivity in life.