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Brain Injury Outcomes / Strategies Approaches and Support

Whose Privacy is it Anyway? Privacy After Brain Injury

  Privacy after brain injury. Messy. Complex. Important. Do you think it is different to privacy for any citizen? I say Yes … sometimes. People can usually choose what remains private. A person with brain injury, or a person with a disability may find this choice - of what is private and what is not – decided for them, not considered, or disregarded. There are times when it is even more messy, more complex, and more important. That is what this article is about – what makes privacy after brain injury messy and what you can do about it.   Privacy After Brain Injury This whole privacy thinking was brought to mind through an article sent to me by FFB (Friend and Fellow Blogger ) ExcusesVsLife. The article was this one about Michael Schumacher and the lack of information made public about his brain injury. What really got me thinking (and a bit steamed up) was the flavour throughout the article that we…

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March 23, 2016
Brain Injury Outcomes

Passenger – We’ve Got Holes But We Carry On!

  Songs and music can help us communicate in many ways - I have met people who lose spoken language after brain injury, yet communicate through music and song. Songs can fill us with emotion, they can motivate us, they can resonate with our lives. And on and on I could go. Is this already sounding a bit sweety twee? It is not meant to - I will try and save myself and I will keep it short (for a change I hear you say!) This all came about when I recently stumbled upon a song that touched me. As I listened I thought I would like to hear about other peoples experiences of songs, and of this song. A week or so ago I went to my second concert by musician Passenger. You may already be a fan, or you might know him through the song “Let Her Go”. Passenger played the song that prompted this article  at the first concert…

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March 16, 2016
Read more about the article Fatigue After Brain Injury: I’m So Tired My Brain Hurts
Brain Injury / Brain Injury Outcomes / Cognitive changes / Life Changes After Brain Injury / Strategies Approaches and Support

Fatigue After Brain Injury: I’m So Tired My Brain Hurts

Fatigue after brain injury: Cognitive fatigue, Brain fog, Mental fatigue, Brain fatigue, Brain exhaustion, Mental tiredness, Foggy brain. I love the last one! All terms that can mean "I'm so tired my brain hurts". Please Remember This: To begin here is the key message I want to make – We can all get foggy brain. Most of us recover quickly and it doesn’t happen too often. After brain injury - foggy brain is not cute, and it is often not a temporary thing. After brain injury 'foggy brain', is more professionally called cognitive fatigue. It does not go away without paying it attention and it can come back over and over again. Introducing Cognitive Fatigue After Brain Injury A few years ago (I just realised  - 3 years ago almost to the day!)  I wrote a post “I’m So Tired My Brain Hurts.” This has been the source of many letters, and one of the most read articles. Recently it was suggested…

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March 8, 2016
Read more about the article A Self Care Lifebouy; The Necessary Art of Looking After Yourself
Strategies Approaches and Support

A Self Care Lifebouy; The Necessary Art of Looking After Yourself

“Self Care is important.” “Look after yourself first”.  Who listens to those words? With trauma, complex needs, brain injury - more not less self care is needed. 'Self care.' Those words will have many running from the page already. Declarations of "I don't need this." "I know how to look after myself thanks." Yet it is important - for people living with brain injury, for family, and for supporters. In my experience family members often know it is important but can’t find time to do it. People living with brain injury are too busy surviving each day. And rarely do supporters/ workers feel the need to look after themselves. Training sessions for professionals and support workers about “Self Care” were poorly attended. At sessions when asked what brought people to a self care session the response was often that the person was sent by their boss.  Or “I can look after myself” “I do exercise every day I’m fine”   “I am supporting…

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March 1, 2016
Brain Injury Outcomes

30 Years On And 25 Tips About Brain Injury

There is nothing new under the sun – just a newer version. Does this apply to strategies about brain injury? Sometimes. I found this list in my many boxes of information collected about brain injury. The list is having its 30 year anniversary (at least). As I reread it I thought – “this still has some good tips”. At first I thought to give it all a 2016 sparkle up. When I went through it again I saw that while some attitudes have shifted, and terminology has changed. While parents have a different role and approach to other supporters. Many of the strategies were still solid. Let me know what you think? How Did the List of Tips About Brain Injury Come About? Australia in the 1980’s - there was little support, or practical information available for people with brain injury and their families, as they began to re-establish their lives. A workshop was organized in Victoria, Australia by a wonderful woman,…

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February 22, 2016
Read more about the article Brain Injury Misunderstood – Up Close and It’s Very Personal
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Brain Injury Outcomes / Life Changes After Brain Injury / Strategies Approaches and Support

Brain Injury Misunderstood – Up Close and It’s Very Personal

Brain injury + misunderstood + hard to understand =  The outcomes of brain injury can easily seem very personal. Every week I receive letters, comments on the blog, messages via Facebook - talking about people’s experience, living with brain injury. This is an aspect of writing ChangedLivesNewJourneys that I really, really enjoy so please keep writing. The foundation of many letters and stories I receive are three points: [ordered_list style="decimal"] Brain injury is hard to understand. Brain injury is often misunderstood. The outcomes of brain injury are often taken personally by others.[/ordered_list]   Now I realise I am in danger of becoming a broken- record- reporter. I will accept that risk and write yet another article with the reminder “Please don’t take it personally. It’s the brain injury talking” Examples below are just some of the potential outcomes causing brain injury misunderstood. Today speaking from the brain’s point of view!  With my broken record statement - repeated - just as a reminder…

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February 16, 2016
Life Changes After Brain Injury / Starting Out / Strategies Approaches and Support

When “Can’t” is About Power

An article "When Can't Is About Power' by Cheryl Green really got me thinking.  I reckon most of us have been on one side or other of this conversation at some time. If you have visited Changed Lives or  Changed Lives New Journey's Facebook you probably know I am a big Cheryl Green and Who Am I To Stop It fan. Her energy and talent are limitless.  Today with her generous permission I am reposting this article from her blog. While I am still struggling to learn the ropes, Cheryl has mastered audio recordings and reads her posts in addition to the written word so I recommend  visiting Cheryl’s site if you would like to listen  OR you can listen HERE: I still recommend a visit to www.whoamItostopit.com as there is so much more to discover.   “When “Can’t” Is About Power by Cheryl Green I heard someone say this once:  “I can’t do that anymore since my brain injury.” And the person…

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February 9, 2016
Read more about the article Our Touchy Feely Parietal Lobes
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Brain and Function / Cognitive changes / Sensory Changes

Our Touchy Feely Parietal Lobes

    Have you noticed the Parietal lobes tend to receive less attention than their flashy neighbour the Frontal lobes  and other lobes of the brain? Maybe it’s because they tend to be more on the touchy-feely side of life. That softer sensory side we don’t like to talk about. We tend to prefer those flashy intellectual functions other parts of the brain are better known for. Or maybe it is because what they do is tricky to explain. Or maybe they just sit up there on top of our heads, doing their job, forlorn and forgotten until something goes wrong.   Today we give the Parietal Lobes their day in the sun. An attempt at a simple rundown on what they do, and what happens when they are damaged.   Quick Parietal Lobe Anatomy Lesson       A couple of basics before I launch into the detail: There are two Parietal lobes – a left and a right. They have…

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February 2, 2016
Read more about the article Changing Emotions After Brain Injury
Brain Injury Outcomes / Social and emotional changes / Strategies Approaches and Support

Changing Emotions After Brain Injury

  Emotions. Books are devoted to them. Movies rely on them. Life can depend on them. What can happen to our emotions after brain injury? Thinking about emotions after brain injury was brought to my mind after speaking with a woman who has a public speaking role. We discussed her continuing this role despite difficulty controlling her crying after brain injury. Before talking about emotions after brain injury. A moment to think about just how important our emotions are? I heard recently that an ‘emoji’ has just made it into the Oxford Dictionary as word of the year. Imagine - little digital images of faces now recognised by the Oxford Dictionary. My grandmother would be shaking her head in disbelief. Yet it says - emotions are important. The emoji adds emotion to our message written message. Yet rarely do we think about the complex system needed to ensure we have the right emotion, at the right time, and just the right amount…

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January 26, 2016
Read more about the article PEACH – Gathering Information About Brain Injury
Behaviour changes / Starting Out / Strategies Approaches and Support

PEACH – Gathering Information About Brain Injury

PEACH is a simple tool supporters can use when gathering information about a person and their brain injury. It can help to understand the bigger story. PEACH is particularly useful when behaviour is challenging.   First though – a little disclaimer – I know I am always disclaiming myself from something. I just like to be clear.   A Little Disclaimer about PEACH and Gathering Information About Brain Injury: This tool I am sharing has been used mainly by people working with people with brain injury. This tool might also be useful as a self directed thingy if you are someone living with brain injury - I have not tested this out. You could give it a go. If you are family member or friend– same, same – it might be helpful. Feel free to try it out - or you could skip today's article but please come back next week. I do hope there is something here for everyone. If it…

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January 21, 2016