Potential outcomes of brain injury including behaviour, cognitive, social, emotional.

“I’m So Tired My Brain Hurts” Cognitive Fatigue

Have you heard this or similar comments? It’s real. It is termed Cognitive Fatigue. And the good news is there are strategies to help minimize it. Before I get to the strategies, here are a couple of real life descriptions to help explain what it is like: In an article in The Guardian newspaper Tim Lusher  described his experiences following an abscess on the cerebellum, (the part of the brain that controls movement, balance and coordination).He vividly describes cognitive fatigue: [quote]Ah, the tiredness. That's another thing everyone talks about. It's not a tough-week-at-the-office tiredness that you can rally through with a couple of drinks and the prospect of a weekend lie-in. It's a leaden blanket of exhaustion that sweeps over you – utterly undeniable, non-negotiable and unshakeable.[/quote] And this description in an article entitled "Learning to Pace Yourself" from Synapse [quote]Those who haven’t had their brain banged around won’t understand the feeling – they’ll picture how they feel after a bad night’s…

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What Causes Brain Injury?

  Before reading any further think about the causes of brain injury you are aware of.  See how you go matching up with the list below. Any surprises? Any questions? Often there are many more causes than people realise. Think about the ages and stages of life, and what types of brain injury might be common to that stage? Understanding a bit about the brain can help identify what the possible causes might be. Understanding the causes can help you understand what kind of damage might result. Both will help you better work with the person you are supporting. When it comes to brain injury, a little knowledge can go a long way in helping you  support a person with brain injury. The main causes of brain injury can vary between countries. I remember discussing brain injury with a person who was working in the Pacific Islands, she reported brain injury from coconuts falling from trees was not uncommon, for me living…

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Stats without the rats: The not so boring statistics of brain injury and why you should be interested.

Why present the statistics of brain injury? Well it reminds us, we are each highly likely to have some experience of brain injury at some point in our life. This makes it worthwhile having some understanding of what it’s all about. Most of us never hear of brain injury until it happens to ourselves, a family member, or a friend, or maybe we begin working with someone who has a brain injury. When you look at the statistics worldwide, brain injury is more common than most of us realize. More Statistics: Consider the following statistics, really, I am not a statistic kind of person, and I will keep them to a minimum. I just want to share a few to remind you of why you should be interested in brain injury. “One billion people affected worldwide,” Did you say ONE BILLION??? and  “50 million suffer from epilepsy and 24 million from Alzheimer and other dementias. Neurological disorders affect people in all countries,…

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Brain Injury – the Micro Picture

  Brain injury is damage to brain cells. And we have an estimated 100 billion brain cells, that’s: 100,000,000,000 cells. How can we possibly understand anything with this many pieces? And how do we know its 100 million cells – I don’t know the answer to this, except to say it seems a pretty common estimate. It is an odd picture imagining someone counting all those cells! Remembering that there are millions of cells, helps explain why brain injury is so complex, so hard to understand, and why no two people will have exactly the same brain injury – 100,000,000,000 allows for a LOT of possibilities. It also explains why we are always learning more about the brain – all those cells responsible for different things and many, many, different combinations.   To understand a bit about the brain, can help you understand what is happening for the person you are supporting. Once you start learning you will find it’s a fascinating,…

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Brain Injury the Big Picture

“What is brain injury?” and you might add “And why do I want to know? You might want to know because brain injury is more common that most of us realise. You are very likely to know someone with a brain injury in your lifetime. You might want to know because you will understand more about supporting a person who has a brain injury. Image FreeDigitalPhotos You might want to know because the brain is a fascinating and amazing organ and you just want to understand more. So what is it? Can it be simply defined? It would seem a simple thing to explain. "It’s when the brain is injured." "It’s when an injury occurs to the brain." Simple huh!   You have probably already found out differently. How many definitions have you come across? This here is just a summary, if I miss something please add a comment at the end. You are likely to find a wide variation of definitions. As…

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