WHY KING HENRY VIII BRAIN INJURY AND BEHAVIOUR CHANGE?

King Henry VIII Brain Injury and Behaviour Change
King Henry VIII Brain Injury and Behaviour Change

 

If you are wondering what King Henry VIII brain injury and behaviour change have in common.

A clue –

It is part of fascinating research into the life and health of King Henry.
Read on for more:

 

KING HENRY VIII AND THE JOUSTING INCIDENT

In 1536, King Henry was taking part in a jousting match, a sport where opponents on horseback joust (or fight) armed with long heavy spears, wearing a full suit of armour. During this match King Henry fell from his horse. The horse then fell on top of him. He was unconscious for a time and it was thought he would not survive. His queen at the time, Anne Boleyn, was distraught.

It was following this incident, his behaviour and personality apparently changed considerably. It is thought this resulted from frontal lobe damage.

If you are interested in more about King Henry, brain injury and behaviour change, you can read more in this article “The Jousting Accident that Turned King Henry VIII into a Tyrant”. There is also a program through the BBC called “Inside the Body of King Henry VIII” which describes this incident and more about the kings health issues. (Note – While it looks fascinating I have not seen this whole program as yet). Lucy Worsley  is a historian in the UK who presents all kinds of interesting looks into history. You can visit her website for more information.

KING HENRY VIII, BRAIN INJURY AND BEHAVIOUR CHANGE

Lucy Worsley is quoted as saying “We posit that his jousting accident of 1536 provides the explanation for his personality change from sporty, promising, generous young prince, to cruel, paranoid and vicious tyrant,” Lucy Worsley says. “From that date the turnover of the wives really speeds up, and people begin to talk about him in quite a new and negative way.”

While the behaviour changes for King Henry VIII were reported as significant. Behaviour changes after brain injury can range from mild to severe.

Changes you might see include:

· Being verbally abusive; swearing, loud aggressive talking, threatening talk, being demanding.

· Physical aggression; threatening or being physically violent, hitting, kicking or sometimes harming oneself.

· Sexually inappropriate behaviour; touching people inappropriately, making sexually suggestive comments, behaving in a sexually explicitly kind of way.

· Disinhibition; being less able to control what you do or say, blurting information.

· Impulsivity; rushing into things, acting before thinking things through.

· Irritability; appearing to lack patience, becoming frustrated more quickly.

· Egocentricity; Not able to put self in another’s shoes.

MANAGING KING HENRY VIII BRAIN INJURY AND BEHAVIOUR CHANGE

King Henry VIII would likely have benefited (and certainly his Queen’s would have benefited) from support to help manage his difficult behaviours.

Changes in behaviour can inhibit a person’s ability to live the life they choose, and at times can create a risk to themselves, family and community. It is said that the Kings beheading of his queens increased after his jousting accident.

While it might have been difficult for a Queen about to be beheaded! It is important to separate the behaviour from the person.

  • It is important to remember these are not deliberate behaviours, it is the brain injury talking.
  • It is the brain injury, most often cognitive damage not the person.
  • Try not to take it personally.

Yes I know this is repetitive but it is soooooo important to remember and soooooo easy to forget.

FIRST STEPS:

What could you do if you were assisting King Henry VIII?

You would probably use much the same strategies then, as you would put in place today.

Firstly discuss, and work with King Henry VIII, his family and supporters to find out what he wants to achieve, and why he, and those around him want to achieve this change, or outcome.

When working out a desired change or outcome:

  1. Look at the positive outcome you want to achieve, rather than the negative outcome, or want you want to avoid. “I want a long term marriage” rather than “I don’t want to keep beheading my wives”.
  2. Build on what King Henry CAN DO. Well, maybe not encouraging him to behead his wives!
  3. Define the agreed change specifically and clearly. It needs to be easily understood by everyone. “King Henry will not threaten his Queen with beheading”. Instead of “King Henry will not have temper outbursts”.
  4. Look at what might stop the desired outcome happening. What obstacles might pop up?

Next when working out what strategies might help King Henry, think about:

  • What fits with King Henry, his habits and his royal lifestyle.
  • What is achievable for King Henry.
  • How to describe strategies in a concrete, doing kind of way. Rather than “ I will not behead my wives” think of specific actions; “If I get angry with my Queen, I will go to my royal chamber immediately. I will not take any action until I am calm”.
  • Once you decide on the specific strategies, you can help King Henry and those around him to appreciate any gains, however small.

THE ‘IF…THEN’ APPROACH

‘If…Then’ is an approach I read about recently, while it was not about brain injury, it appeared useful when thinking about strategies for behaviour change. I am sorry I do not have a specific reference I just know it was termed ‘If…Then’. When I searched online I found it as a mathematical term.

For our purpose ‘If…Then’ means thinking ahead of time:

  • What are all the possible IF’s?
  • What are the possible responses:  “IF this happens THEN I will do that”.
  • It is useful to think about  “ If this happens then I will do that” for each goal and obstacle.

For King Henry:

IF my Queen annoys me while I am having a meal THEN I will ask a courtier to take me to my chambers and bring me my meal there”.

IF my Queen follows me THEN I will ask the courtier to fetch her maid to take her away from me, until I am calm”.

‘If…Then’ seems like a great way to pre-plan for situations that might crop up, and then pre-decide a response strategy.

King Henry VIII brain injury and behaviour change is used here as a historical example. Each person and situation will be different yet this approach is relevant to any situation, and relevant today.

As with many topics about brain injury King Henry VIII brain injury and behaviour change is a small part of overall behaviour changes and strategies after brain injury. More in the future.

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