Work Is Medicine, But We Keep Prescribing the Wrong Dose

"There is a documented link between being out of work and poor mental health. Joblessness can create severe psychological distress (and vice versa). Modern medicine routinely fails to consider social factors when treating patients. Taking someone off work has considerable consequences. Addressing social factors must become a high medical priority-soon!"

"These are not the words of people who simply lost a paycheck. They are the words of people who lost themselves. As a spine surgeon for 33 years, I often removed myself from conversations about mental health. At that time, I had no idea that chronic mental pain and physical pain are the same entity arising from dysfunction at the cellular level. I felt that all pain was structural, and if I could not identify an anatomical source, there was nothing I could do."

"Work was either possible or it wasn't. When it wasn't, I took patients off the job, and I felt I was helping them. It was also easier than navigating the details of light duty, modified hours, or the messy intersection of a person's life and their diagnosis. What I failed to understand for far too long is that removing someone from work is never a neutral act. It can be-and often is-its own form of harm."

"What is ironic and now disturbing to me is that people with any type of disability are often labeled as "difficult", "less than," and not wanting to return to work. They may be quickly dismissed from care and often don't feel heard. I was taught that the way to solve the disability crisis was to be tougher and push people back to work. And I did."

Joblessness is linked to poor mental health, and psychological distress can also contribute to job loss. Modern medical care often overlooks social factors when treating patients, even though work status strongly affects well-being. Taking someone off work has significant consequences and is not a neutral action. Accounts from Italian workers during an economic downturn describe suicide notes centered on identity, failure, and inability to live without work. People with disabilities may be labeled as difficult or less than, dismissed from care, and not listened to. A belief that pushing people back to work solves disability problems can lead to harm when underlying social and psychological needs are ignored.

Read at Psychology Today