Many survivors and family members are confused by their feeling of grief and loss as they are expected to feel grateful for having surviveed the injury. Mourning takes many forms and it not restricted to death. These blog articles help survivors, families and caregivers understand the meaning of loss, the complexity of grief, and the process of mourning.
Yes, I still am learning how to cope with Bryce’s death, yet, I also am finding that God is there with me. Now, I don’t need to put Him into a box I built, that doesn’t fit anyway. Today, I’m getting free from my own limiting box.
What can be said about the process of grief after a trauma (TBI, death, etc.)? If anyone ever thought going through grief was easy, let’s stop them in their tracks. What is known – grief is necessary following trauma for the survivor and caregivers, or if death has happened, those still alive.
Every TBI generates some degree of loss. Each injury, though unique and different, has one thing in common — loss. Whatever the loss may be, recognizing the stages of grieving will help us process the loss.
Yesterday, I heard the words that nobody wants to hear.
“Pam, you have known that you have a traumatic brain injury. We have tried therapies and medication. Your progress has been good. But, we are at a place where your recovery will not go much farther. You have to understand that the brains cells have died and they do not come back. You are closer to the old you than you were, but getting all the way back is not possible.”
Sowing into people’s lives can be as simple as a smile, being a good listener, donating something you no longer use, or want to keep, to a charity. Or, be kind to someone expecting nothing in return. What are you willing to do for the living around you?
I began by writing a few words, then a few sentences, and then, whole paragraphs. The more I wrote, the better I felt. I wanted, no — I needed to explain what it felt like inside the lonely head of a person with a brain injury and how the world looked.
Don’t fret – journaling does not have to be an onerous task. Keeping a journal is much like keeping a little diary filled with tidbits of information that happens day to day. But you can take journaling to another level by infusing your entries with thoughts, feelings, and emotions. This is where the power of writing can help a person heal their broken heart or to record the history of their life, or to visualize their greatest dreams and desires.
Katherine A. Kimes experienced the trauma of a brain injury at the age of sixteen. Her mother became the primary caretaker. This is their story in brief. Katherine gives insight into her perception and viewpoint and shows there is a need for the survivor and other family members to understand the ongoing legacy of a TBI.
C.C. LeBlanc, a mild TBI survivor, has gone through relocation stresses and suggests that before you move, carefully examine your needs for a meaningful quality of life. Almost everything you have developed in your life to be functional will be disrupted. You need to be prepared for stress, that your TBI will be aggravated, and your coping skills will be challenged. C.C. LeBlanc would like to share some guidelines based on her own experiences.
A brain injury brings with it a confusing barrage of physical, emotional and cognitive changes that affects the survivor deeply and personally. The simplest expression of this is when we say, “I don’t know who I am anymore.”
This is also known as a loss of humanity. It has profound implications, manifesting itself as confusion, doubt and depression, and making our “recovery” that much more difficult. In my own situation, the hardships I encountered left me thinking, a number of times, that my life wasn’t worth living.
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