Hello, i suffered a tbi and was wondering if anyone else suffers from a lack of laughter now, it is fustrating that i no longer like the things i did before my accident, its like my body is refusing enjoyment.
Does anyone have any tips or medication etc that makes them feel better ?
Sorry what's a Tbi?
Traumatic Brain Injury
Oh of course! Thanks x
Savage has a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and I have an ABI (Acquired Brain Injury).
Again cheers guys
Hi and welcome to this forum. Am sure youbwill find it helpful. If you scroll down the post to 19 days ago you will find a post 'Do you Laugh' by Barney that had lots of replies discussing this very issue. You are not alone with this problem.
Hi Savage. Sorry about your injury though it would be helpful to know when it happened, as recovery is a constant work-in-progress.
I'm three years on now, but in the early days I did a lot of spontaneous crying which was unlike me, and was mostly triggered by stuff associated with the BI.
But I've always felt so thankful for my survival and the good work responsible for that, and gradually, as I've begun to accept the 'new me' my humour has returned ..............................to a point where I see the funny side of everything.
You'd see if you knew where to look that there are many folk on this forum with some really challenging daily issues who are, nevertheless, always 'up for' a joke or some type of silliness, even on a bad day.
But on really bad days, there's always someone ready & willing to offer support and affection, so cheerfulness isn't mandatory here !!
I'm guessing (wrongly maybe) that your BI is fairly recent and you're struggling with the personal changes ? Maybe you could come back very soon & talk a little more..............I hope so.
Regards, Cat x
Happyness is what makes the world go around........ And science too :).
Even if it is the most silliest thing that makes you happy. Whether it makes you smirk or have fits of laughter :).
Hi Cat, the injury happened 5 weeks ago, the last few weeks have just been a blur (feels like 5 months)
yeah i am struggling with the motivation and lack of enjoyment element of this, its so frustrating that i cannot get enjoyment from anything anymore.
Regards, Savage x
Thanks for your reply Savage. At 5 weeks you will still be recovering both physically and emotionally from your accident and your brain will have gone into overdrive trying to make sense of everything that's happened to you.
Mine was a sudden brain haemorrhage, and I remember very little as I passed out immediately and didn't grasp reality 'til about 10 weeks later. But when my family began to describe events on and after that night, I found it all very difficult to believe and it was many months before my brain could assimilate the strangeness of such a bizarre situation.
Try not to force yourself into returning to normal because most people here will tell you that they've had to accept a 'new normal'. There may be significant changes, or subtle if you're luckier, which you'll need to recognise and accept. But with more time, you will learn to respect any limitations your BI has left in its wake.
Five weeks is such a short time in terms of recovery and as any neurosurgeon will tell you, no one can predict the long-term outcome. But you have so much time in reserve for improvements, which can take up to a year or longer.
Please take plenty of rest and follow what your body tells you, whilst pushing the boundaries a little further over the next few weeks and months. Don't worry about sleeping too much for now, or lowering/heightening of emotions. Just be kind to yourself for a good while longer . . . . . . . . . . . . and keep in touch with us here as a way of gauging your progress.
All best wishes to you Savage, regards cat. X
Oh I forgot ; you mentioned medication. Various folk here, including me, take antidepressants and, although they need to be tailored to the needs of the individual, they can be very effective mood stabilisers.
I take Paroxetine, but what suits one might not suit another, so it's usually a case of trial & error. If you feel you might benefit from drug therapy, talk to your GP.
Hi Savage,
I laugh, but I do not laugh all the time. I might give out the odd smirk instead :), like that.
I have gone to my friends house, watched a movie and found it hilarious, in his company but in my own company, the film is not funny at all.
I also use Facebook and I see a lot of pictures and videos that are usually titled as 'hilarious' or something like that and they never are. They are, what I might call 'smirk-worthy'. Sometimes not even that, sometimes these said, funny content, are the most unfunniest things I have seen/heard.
People do see humour in different ways and I think that maybe you do not laugh at these things because they just aren't funny.
That's not really a tip or medication advice but that is a bit of my experience.
It would be nice if you laughed at my reply, you don't have to though :).
Take care,
MJ
My son is in a Persistent Vegetative State.
I asked a question previously about wetting the bed, this one is for the guys to answer
Talking to small child about Daddy's injury
That awful feeling when waiting for someone to prompt a conversation 
