You may not realize how much your job affects your mental health until the stress follows you home every day. Constant exposure to violence, threats, harassment or dangerous situations at work can leave you anxious, exhausted and afraid to return to your job.
Many workers try to ignore these feelings or convince themselves that this level of stress is simply part of the job. Over time, ongoing workplace trauma can begin affecting your health, relationships and ability to work.
Workplace events that can lead to PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, does not only affect military veterans or first responders. If you work in education, health care, manufacturing, transportation or another high-stress field, experiences at work may continue affecting your mental health long after an incident ends. Examples include:
- Suffering injuries during a violent student incident
- Experiencing a serious crash while driving for work
- Witnessing a severe workplace injury
- Facing repeated threats or workplace harassment
- Working in a high-stress environment where traumatic events happen regularly
You may notice symptoms right away. In other cases, symptoms may appear weeks later. PTSD can affect your sleep, concentration and daily life. You may also avoid certain places or situations because they trigger anxiety or panic.
When PTSD may qualify for workers’ compensation
Massachusetts workers’ compensation law may cover certain psychological injuries connected to work. Medical records and other evidence usually play a major role in these cases. Insurance companies may look closely at:
- Whether a doctor diagnosed a psychological condition
- Whether workplace events contributed to the condition
- Whether medical providers recommended treatment or work restrictions
- How symptoms affect the worker’s ability to perform job duties
Insurance companies may challenge mental health claims more aggressively than physical injury claims. An employer may also argue that ordinary workplace stress caused the condition instead of workplace trauma. Because of this, records related to treatment, workplace incidents and reported symptoms can become important during the claims process.
Why many workers stay silent about PTSD symptoms
You may feel pressure to stay quiet about your condition, especially if you work in a physically demanding job or public service role. You may worry that coworkers or employers will see you differently or question your reliability.
Because of these concerns, many workers delay treatment or avoid reporting their symptoms altogether, which may make it harder later to connect the condition to a workplace event.
Your mental health deserves serious attention
PTSD and other psychological injuries can affect many parts of your life. You may assume your condition “does not count” because others cannot see it, but work-related mental health injuries can have lasting effects on your health and ability to work.
If your symptoms continue affecting your daily life or ability to return to work, learning more about how workers’ compensation law applies to psychological injuries may help you better understand your options.