An injury at any age can flip your entire life around and cause your mood to take a severe turn for the worse. If you’ve received a life-altering injury and are going through the recovery process, the most difficult parts may be dealing with the transition and keeping your head up as you slowly begin to feel better. When you’re searching for how to keep your spirits up while you’re injured, keep this advice in mind as you learn your new limits and look toward the future.

Don’t Shame Yourself for Asking for Help

Asking for help is one of the most difficult things to learn if you’ve never had to in the past. If your injury was sudden and gets in the way of tasks you had no trouble completing before, you might try to continue doing things just like you did before. Continuing as you have may prolong your recovery, especially if you’re hurting yourself as you move. Ask the people who care about you for help and avoid guilting yourself for needing it.

Treat Yourself More Often

While you’re recovering, you’ll be facing more stress than you would normally. Be kind to yourself—treat yourself to more things that you like. The recovery process will take even longer if you feel worse and stay stressed out, so giving yourself things that de-stress you—if even for a moment—is an important way for how to keep your spirits up while you’re injured.

Find Ways To Make Your Tasks Easier

Injuries can affect your mobility, work, and school life. While there are plenty of things that you can ask for help with, you may want to do some things yourself to maintain a sense of independence. Depending on the scope of your injury, you can do the following things to make your everyday activities much easier:

Get a Temporary Accessible Parking Permit

You don’t have to suffer from distant parking spots just because your injury resulted in a temporary disability. As you recover and want to continue driving, consider making it easier for yourself by applying for a temporary accessible parking permit. Because of the sudden event of the disability, make sure to educate yourself on the disability laws of your state and take care to follow them.

Ask for Accommodations at Work or School

A workplace or school cannot discriminate against you if there is a physical injury or disability keeping you from reaching peak productivity. These places will have plans in place for you to take advantage of if you need them—all you need to do is apply for them. Talk to your boss or administrators for ways that the workplace or professors can cater to your needs.