Hope is that tense and exciting feeling we experience when desiring a positive outcome. At times, our sense of hope is backed with an expectation that whatever it is we are wanting is indeed attainable. Other times, our hope for something is more of a wish and often, undermined by a fear that the end result is unachievable.

The combined effects of traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD are creating new risks for service members as they come home and resume driving. Up to now, we’ve been focused on the risks of driving for adolescents and the elderly, but new concerns are arising for our veterans. Everyday traffic noises and sights can trigger flashbacks. Speeding, road rage and impulse control pose real dangers for the driver, passengers and pedestrians.

My name is Roger Rizzo. I have three college degrees and traveled around the world twice. I was a civil trial attorney for 13 years and successfully tried some of the largest cases in the United States.

On June 30, 2011, I was involved in a horrendous motorcycle accident in Tiburon, overlooking the San Francisco Bay. I was the passenger on the motorcycle and not wearing a helmet.

Work Comp Sucks! It sucks you dry. Work Comp sucks your energy, your finances, your physical and emotional wellbeing, your social life, your family life, and your friends. Work Comp depletes you of everything you knew or had before your injury. Work Comp sucks every ounce and every breath you think you have to fight a system that is suppose to help an injured worker, not suck you dry!

“First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others.”

~ Thomas Kempis, Catholic Monk (1380-1471)

We all understand what it means to keep the peace in our communities and in the world. It’s not only important, but it is also the law. However, keeping the peace within ourselves should be equally as important and be second nature to us.

Changes in her memory and speech after a traumatic brain injury were difficult losses for Bridgid Ruden. Formerly a busy nurse practitioner, she now found it hard to do even the simplest tasks and errands. Even caring for her children and managing the household were constant challenges and frustrations as she frequently lost items as well as words. So many losses changed her sense of self and were further compounded by seizures. Yet she has found a new purpose in life and is now a powerful advocate and speaker for the many voices of survivors.

It’s still January, still the beginning of a new year. The time of year we all get a do-over. People make promises to start over: lose weight, exercise more, get that promotion, or spend more time with family. They make these promises because they choose to. They make them because they want to.

Every family has an emotional reaction when a spouse, sibling, child, or other relative has a traumatic brain injury. Each family has learned ways of coping from previous experiences with stresses, losses and changes in their lives. Some methods of coping have been productive for families in the past and helped ease not only their levels of stress and anxiety, but helped them problem solve and prepare for the future. Other ways of coping may not have been as productive for families. Some may have learned from this and changed how they cope with stress or change, while others may be stuck repeating negative patterns.

The psychological aspect of improvement is probably the greatest influence upon the other three areas. It is assumed there is also a culminating effect of applying cognitive strategies for improvement in other dimensions as well. It is a person’s ability to psychologically know he is improving when progress is so slow that makes the difference.

The other day I was writing about confidence after we suffer a loss. It sparked me to look at all the ways in which one’s confidence can be shattered. Events such as the death of a loved one, infidelity, divorce, relationship changes, a job loss, financial disaster and compromised health all came to mind. I was also reminded of the many individuals where a lack of confidence became a problem after they suffered a brain injury.