He Is Worried He Will Be Accused Of Faking The Whole Thing.

Question: My brother-in-law was injured in a work accident as a result of unsafe work practices. Three months later, his back is still bad and he can only do light duties, but must go back to work. He has developed an anxiety condition related to the incident, where he is in a constant state of panic - he won't answer the phone or see his friends, and he stays in the house with the blinds down for fear of private investigators spying on him.

He recently started taking Valium, just to cope with the thought of going back to work - he's worried he will be accused of faking the whole thing. This is very not the case, his injuries are real, but his anxiety is worse than real, it is even more debilitating than the actual back injury. He can not cope with the smallest problems anymore, he can not remember things... I'm wondering whether his psychiatrist can recommend he be returned to work at a different venue so he won't have to face the people who did not address the work safety issues, on the grounds that doing so will slow his mental recovery.

Answer: There is something fairly serious going on here. Your brother in law has blown this out of all proportion in his mind and has indeed become phobic about returning to work. All his fears and paranoia are an attempt to justify and explain the anxiety he feels. He needs to see someone urgently, skilled in working with PTSD, anxiety, phobias and who has a good working knowledge of the effect of repressed, unconscious material.

Answer provided by David White, Psychotherapist

Note: PTSD stands for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.