What Is The Role of Workers’ Compensation In PTSD Recovery
If you have survived a series of traumatic events at your workplace, you are likely to face a long-term recovery process that can be rather costly. Before entering the healing process, you may be wondering if your workers’ compensation insurance will cover psychological stress after you have suffered a traumatic accident at work. This is one of the points where workers’ compensation laws in different US states diverge.
If you live and work in California, you may already know that you are covered. Indeed, you are considered eligible to claim benefits for psychiatric and psychological recovery after a work-related traumatic event, or long-term trauma that might result from improper work conditions or a hostile work environment. Before you get into the details, you should know what is considered a traumatic event, whether some jobs are more traumatic than others, and how you can claim benefits for recovery. Let’s dive right into it!
What is considered a work-related trauma?
Many psychologists consider stress to be a necessary ingredient in life. Stress can be both positive and negative. However, any amount of negative stress that is too much for the person to handle might be considered potentially traumatic. When the amount of stress is such that it disrupts everyday normal functioning, thinking, and motivation of the individual, it can be considered traumatic. With work-related trauma, the stress arises and is directly caused by activities related to your job, the activity of your coworkers, or the management.
Can my job be the cause of PTSD?
In the case of a particular workspace, psychological stress can be a result of an ongoing heavy workload, or sudden change in the organization, perceived threats of intimidation from the new leadership, or a set of new responsibilities for which an individual feels inadequately trained or equipped.
Keep in mind that work-related mental health issues aren’t so rare. Nine out of ten employees report that their work affects their mental health, and six out of ten reports not receiving enough support from supervisors to cope with high levels of stress.
How can I cope and recover from work-related PTSD?
There are various ways to seek help and get the necessary treatment:
- get assessed by a certified mental health professional
- enter a therapy group or start individual therapy
- get support from your family and friends
- if possible, talk with your HR and supervisors
- develop strategies to manage stress more successfully
- take breaks and focus on your breathing
- include physical exercise in your everyday functioning
- have a clear recovery plan and stick to it
- follow your doctor’s orders and abstain from the use of illicit substances
Can I count on compensation for the therapy of work-related PTSD?
While the work comp legal system in the majority of US states don’t consider work-related stress and trauma to be eligible for compensation, workers in California are fortunate enough to be covered. Nevertheless, an insurance company will gladly dig through your medical records to detect any pre-existing issue, such as a history of depression, substance abuse, bipolar disorder, or claim that you were exaggerating your symptoms to get out of work and get compensated for something that you simply don’t need.
In all such cases, you need strong legal aid from trustworthy professionals that have decades of experience in the workers’ compensation system. With their aid, and with the claim backed up by an expert report from a certified mental health professional, you will have one less thing to worry about and be ready to start your journey to fully recover from your work-related trauma.
