Honestly, is honesty the best policy?

I often receive emails from various organisations overseeing my rehabilitation.  When I'm asked to comment on my progress I usually give a glass half full, positive spin on how I'm feeling and how my recovery is going.  I always get a speedy response along the lines of 'good for you!  Keep up the good work!  You're doing so well!'  Yadda, yadda, yadda.

Last Thursday I was having a bad day.  Things weren't so great.  When I received two progress emails asking after me I replied honestly.  No, things weren't so tiptop, happy-clappy today.  Truth be told, I was a bit lonely in my new flat, what with all the rain and my bitty back-to-work timetable.  I was sick of medical procedures and jumping through hoops.  Go to a physio, check.  Go to a therapist who is expecting to hear all your deepest, darkest thoughts, check.  Go to the hospital again and again and again...check.  Recovering from an injury is an exhausting, never-ending experience.

It didn't help they'd sent a couple of progress reports for me to sign off.  Someone sitting in an orderly office in Swansea had complied a nice neat report about how well I'm doing.  The report was factually accurate but I found it lacking.  The first issue is that the reports make it sound like one day I woke up 'much better.'  A mystical healing finger came down and touched me in my sleep.  There's no mention of the journey I've been on; it's completely free of the personal effort I've pumped in to getting better.  Staying positive, getting back to work, going to the gym, filling my days and generally making the most of a truly, terrible situation has been completely omitted.

The second is the 'that's all right then' attitude.  On paper: wounds are healed; stamina has improved and 'I can make a cup of tea unaided.'  (One early report actually said this.)  That's ok then!  There is little acknowledgement that I'm scarred for life.  There is no acknowledgement of my mental state.  I feel reduced to a check-box.  I know this is illogical, my inner clock rationally tells me this is a side effect of policy and procedure.  People are only trying their best.  But my inner cloud, my shifting emotional side, feels angry and sidelined.

Funnily enough, neither party has responded to my recent emails.  Next time I shall just tick the 'everything fine' box and get on with it as usual.  Anyone fancy a hot drink?  I hear I'm really good at making tea....