Q. How long is a piece of string?
A. That is exactly how long the rehabilitation process is.
Of course, this is nonsense. It depends on a number of things. There is, for example, the medical condition – or how much damage there is to the brain. Then there is the care and support someone receives. That is, in hospital and at home. Also, the type of personality someone is, and, of course, how they react in the face of adversity.
It is that personality that determines to a large extent whether or not we go out there and take part in life again. It gives us the perseverance to plan an outing that wouldn’t have required any planning before fate threw a spanner in the works, and the ability to fight off the loneliness that envelopes us when we are confined to our home.
Put simply, it gives us the confidence to make decisions again.
After a stroke, an accident, a head injury, or any other life changing event we tend to lose confidence. Depending on our outlook on life it takes more or less time to partake in society again. Influencing the length of this process is the ability to make decisions. But decisions can only be made by a confident person.
Decisions we are pleased with, are a reward we give ourselves. It’s like the old slap on the back. Hence our confidence grows. Unfortunately, we can’t do this often enough. Decisions are made for us because everyone assumes, for whatever reason, that there is something wrong with the brain.
One of the hallmarks of a brain injury is processing information, or should I say the diminished capacity of it. This means it takes a little longer to reach a conclusion. The difficulties of trying to make sense can seem quite trivial to an outsider. Even to a caregiver this can reinforce the belief that the brain injured person requires more assistance than necessary. A consequence is often impatience on part of the caregiver, and an unwanted answer for the brain injured.
The end result is that the people around us take away the breeding ground for confidence to flourish.
Please click here to go to the Stroke Mentor's page.
A. That is exactly how long the rehabilitation process is.
Of course, this is nonsense. It depends on a number of things. There is, for example, the medical condition – or how much damage there is to the brain. Then there is the care and support someone receives. That is, in hospital and at home. Also, the type of personality someone is, and, of course, how they react in the face of adversity.
It is that personality that determines to a large extent whether or not we go out there and take part in life again. It gives us the perseverance to plan an outing that wouldn’t have required any planning before fate threw a spanner in the works, and the ability to fight off the loneliness that envelopes us when we are confined to our home.
Put simply, it gives us the confidence to make decisions again.
After a stroke, an accident, a head injury, or any other life changing event we tend to lose confidence. Depending on our outlook on life it takes more or less time to partake in society again. Influencing the length of this process is the ability to make decisions. But decisions can only be made by a confident person.
Decisions we are pleased with, are a reward we give ourselves. It’s like the old slap on the back. Hence our confidence grows. Unfortunately, we can’t do this often enough. Decisions are made for us because everyone assumes, for whatever reason, that there is something wrong with the brain.
One of the hallmarks of a brain injury is processing information, or should I say the diminished capacity of it. This means it takes a little longer to reach a conclusion. The difficulties of trying to make sense can seem quite trivial to an outsider. Even to a caregiver this can reinforce the belief that the brain injured person requires more assistance than necessary. A consequence is often impatience on part of the caregiver, and an unwanted answer for the brain injured.
The end result is that the people around us take away the breeding ground for confidence to flourish.
Please click here to go to the Stroke Mentor's page.
