Chapter 6. What an Occupational Therapist Notices Before the Person Does.

People usually come to an occupational therapist with a problem that has already acquired a name. The shoulder hurts. The hand has become weak. Walking takes too much effort. Dressing has become difficult. Work is exhausting. There is trouble concentrating, sleeping, cooking, getting through the morning without needing to lie down. The person has usually […]

Where Does Stress Live?

There is a particular kind of discomfort that is difficult to explain to another person. The neck feels hard by the end of the day, the shoulders seem to have climbed almost to the ears, there is pressure somewhere in the throat, or the lower back begins to ache after a difficult conversation even though […]

What Is Osteoarthritis and Why Does It Develop?

One phrase stays with me because I hear it almost every week. “Doctor, my joints are just wearing out because I’m getting older.” People usually say it with complete certainty, as though age explains everything. I wish it were that simple. Getting older does increase the chances of developing osteoarthritis, but age itself isn’t the […]

When Life Moves at a Different Pace: The Invisible Psychology of Living with Disability.

Disability rarely arrives as a single, clearly defined moment. More often, it resembles a shift in coordinates — barely noticeable at first, when it is still possible to pretend that nothing significant has changed. But gradually, the world begins to respond differently. Stairs become longer than they were yesterday. People speed up, as if someone […]