What benefits do you get from using this community... - Headway
What benefits do you get from using this community? (please tick all that apply)
Hi everyone,
We are aware that the community has been quiet recently, following the changeover to the new look. HealthUnlocked is working hard to get things back to normal, and thank you to everyone for bearing with us during this time.
Do tell us more about what the community means to you in this comments section, and feel free to make any new posts (the new name for blogs!) or questions by clicking on the menu above.
Best wishes,
Headway
Personally I find I can't visit this site on too regular a basis as I am easily overwhelmed by social media and external stimulus. So whilst the healthcare professionals involved with me view the internet as a wonderful lifeline for me (as otherwise socially & physically isolated), I don't share their view and can't make them understand why.
I have used the site to gain advice and support from others and I have always appreciated the feedback given. I often feel what I need is a crisis helpline (such as Samaritans but for head injured people), when I've rang Headway in past it feels more factual and information based, yet I need to know how to cope with the despair of being told I'm not likely to improve from this point. I can't bear the prospect of the rest of my life like this. Whenever I say this to my GP I am dismissed or told I am stronger than I give myself credit for.
Hi CuriousConnie,
Thank you for your comments. I understand what you're saying and I'd like to offer you help from Headway if we can.
While our helpline is quite different to the Samaritans as you say, we can be there as a listening ear and to offer support to you. We can certainly talk things through again and see if there's anything we can do, and if there are things we can't help with we can try and help you find people and services that can.
Can I ask you to send us a private message on here with your telephone number? Then I can pass this and your post on to my colleagues on the helpline and ask them to contact you - this will give them an idea of the type of support you need and avoid you having to explain things from scratch.
To send a private message, click on our username above this post, then you'll see the 'send a message' button below our logo on the right-hand side.
Alternatively, you can contact our helpline directly on 0808 800 2244 or helpline@headway.org.uk.
Best wishes,
Headway.
Thoughtfu,l and of much interest.
Genome manufacture - always interested to explore both within and without fiction.
Hi Connie. We may not have all the answers, but please stay around, otherwise you will be missed, and your input is probably more valuable than you realise. I'm sorry to hear about your difficulties and hope you'll find help with Headway. Love,cat xx
Dear Cat3. Thank you for your lovely message. I'm afraid I'm not a positive 'head injury survivor', I don't see any good in my situation and am very resentful of the life changing effects for myself and my husband. The hospital staff tell me I'm hindering myself by refusing to accept my injury (it's been 6 & half years), but I simply can't as it's not in my nature, so I'm constantly at war with myself and it's exhausting.
I do try to look in on site at least once a fortnight, not so much recently though due to changes and personal side effects due to medication changes.
Best wishes
Curious Connie xx
connie acceptance is the hardest thing to achieve, but if you have any goals whatsoever then it should be to achieve it (i know its easier said than done).
the way i look at it is ultimately we only have two choices
1, we let it ruin our life, and ruin the lives of those who care for us, and end up driving everyone away, which just adds more fuel to the fire
2, find a way of accepting it, and get on with living our lives
you don't need to be a positive head injury sufferer to find acceptance, it also doesn't mean you have given up either, infact quite the opposite, you will find that you are more determined not to let it beat you
and i don't mean to sound harsh, but the truth is your choices are either living a miserable life or making the best of what you do have.
there are so many different therapies available you just need to find what will work for you, you already know its not going to be easy, but if you don't find a way you will probably self destruct and hurt all those who care for you along the way 
i wish i could offer some positive way of helping you.
i really hope you find a way of dealing with it
...........I can only echo biker's comments, I share these sentiments wholeheartedly. And biker really knows how to push through life-changing stuff to achieve some quality of life.
Just one thing, Connie, you don't need to be positive and full of useful advice to benefit from this site. Headway is for everyone who has anything to say, whether it's seeking advice, offering support, looking for information, etc...etc...or just having a really good moan. I rarely post but It's being part of a community of like-minded folk which keeps me looking- in most days, and commenting here and there. I've developed a concern and affection for so many people, which is often reciprocated, and of great value to me.
And for those who are alone or housebound, it's an absolute life-line. It's the diverse needs and attitudes of people on here which make it work. If we all felt the same it would just be any old chat room.
I have a little book with brief notes to remind me who's who on Headway (as my memory's so poor) and I put an asterisk against those I feel a particular affinity with. For whatever reason, CuriousConnie has an asterisk, so you are obviously of value to me !
Love cat xx
I got stuck for a long long time. Not helped by having the medicalegal stuff going on and on either.
It's true what the doctors and nurses say but I found it impossible to actually do.
I found it impossible to look forward because that part just didn't work. I'm rubbish at planning and organising and making things happen, prior to my injury I worked in air traffic control so my life had really turned on its head.
I had to do some volunteer work for the benefit folks, they told me I needed to ask in the schools and I did. It turned into a job for me.
I didn't plan it, I don't have to plan my day, I still turn up and do what I'm told in a structured environment. I was lucky and don't expect you to do the same thing.
This is how I got past my obsession with what I had lost and trying desperately to be the old me. Not a choice I made or something I put thought into.
I hope you manage to come to a time and place where it happens for you because it is exhausting being stuck in that same cycle foe an age, good luck.
Moderation team