Many of us brain injury survivors live with some degree of anxiety following our brain injuries. This anxiety primarily centers around how we feel about ourselves and our place in the world, and of course, that anxiety can change or become worse based on events happening around us. The Coronavirus, by itself, may not have much to do with Brain Injury, except when our immune system has been compromised, but simply the thought of Coronavirus and how it is affecting the world can make it seem as ... Read On
Calming Those “Chattering Monkeys” In Our Head
. You know what I'm talking about: the crazy, never-ending noise in our heads; questioning, debating, not believing, not trusting. The bedlam in our brains. That infernal, mind blowing racket that stops us in our tracks. Now, this noise may not begin immediately, but after the initial shock and trauma of our brain injury begins to wear off ... Read On
Brain Injury Now: Interpreting My Past, Living My Present, Finding My Future
Here I am, at age sixty-four, about to enter a new phase of my life: forty-five years after my month-long coma, I've reached that age when I can retire. That idea sounds great, so I tell people I am going to retire in a year. Their usual response is, "Well, what are you retiring from?" "I am going to retire from being disabled." Do I ... Read On
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This TBI Survivor Doesn’t Care How You Talk to Me
At some point during this 43 year "trip" I've spent living with a brain injury, I got fed up: too much of my mental energy was being spent getting frustrated and angry because of things other people said to me. That was the moment I decided that I should not allow my mental health or my well being be dependent on the words of others. I saw that no matter how much I tried to teach and inform others about brain injury and me, I would never be able to control what they actually thought about me ... Read On
Let’s Honor the Courage of the TBI Survivor
Some acts are obviously courageous: a person runs into a burning building and saves a life, or a bystander dives into a lake to save a drowning person. These are dramatic examples of courage and bravery, when people make spur of the moment decisions and put their own lives at risk in order to save others. There is, however, another, harder to see type of courage, and to appreciate it you've got to pay attention because this isn't dramatic and doesn't get lot of press. I am talking about ... Read On
Finding the Will to Keep Fighting after Brain Injury
We love those uplifting, feel good stories about survivors who have battled adversity to create a life following brain injury; who have proven doctors and doubters wrong by raising themselves from the ashes. These stories are good for the human spirit and good for the soul; handing us doses of confidence and inspiration by focusing on the best of our human qualities; demonstrating, for all of us, the possibilities in life. However, there are TBI Survivors who find it difficult to relate to ... Read On
TBI & Me: If I Die Today
The story of our life starts the moment we are born into this world. Our story is full of what makes us human: joy, failure, triumph, heartbreak, perseverance, love, facing obstacles and learning what it takes to live. As stories go, each story has a beginning and has an end, and we, at some point during our lives, become aware of our mortality and learn to deal with the concept of death in our own way: Some of us pretend we are indestructible and live as though we will not ... Read On