insight and awerness

[rubyking27]

two things that have slowly come back into my life....basically a massive reality check with my new life..annd its not so positive anymore (when i didnt have awareness of my injury day to day). the idea of working again...gone. travelling againg...gone driving again...gone. can someone please give me quidance in this horrible stage?

[frassergrantt]

BI is a roller coaster so ups and downs are the norm. Just need to be as positive as you can and maybe medication might help. In my case I could not shake off symptoms of depress after 23 months so I started Sertaline and now I am much improved. I often wonder that it is all very well the good doctors save lives but what about quality of life?

[rubyking27 in reply to frassergrantt]

yes its the quality of life that i have really had to reconsider after crash. but i do not want to have to rely on a certain drug to keep me occupied, my curiousness just keeps me wanting, wanting something i maybe cant have anymore!?

[steve55]

ruby as far as you can......stay away from anti deprepessants, here why.

ive got adhd,as a part of my bi, my psychiatrist and myself had a long chat, nearly 11/2 hrs about the best medication and we came up with the one im on now.

it has several uses besides supposedly being used for adhd, its main use is as an anti depressant and it knocks me for 6, not as its supposed to do do increase my concentration.

why cant you travel? is it lack of confidence?

[randomphantoms]

hi Ruby

Not sure how long it is since your injury but I can vividly recall the aftermath. It took a year before I could accept that something was different.

I remember thinking , on a weekly basis, "I'm better now I can go back to work."

It was 8 months before I was allowed to go back doing just 6 hours a week spread over the week ie 2 hours one day then a day off to recover from the effort.

[rubyking27 in reply to randomphantoms]

yes i am in my 2 1/2 years..i volunteer weekly but thats all i can do really...2/3 hours per session. its not the work im prioritising in my head- its my social life i feel more out of...age 26 its a bloody hard age to come to terms with not playing/partying like i used to. i guess im not looking for an answer, just using this as a platform to complain hax

[davee in reply to rubyking27]

26 is a very young age to get stuck in the rut of BI. I was 31 years old working as a fireman when it happened to me. It caused severe epilepsy and deafness. Of course it changed my life entirely. Virtually everything was altered but I adapted to the new me and tried not to look back on the old me. I've had 2 more haemorrhages since and plenty of head injuries. If that isn't enough I now have heart disease. So therefore, accept and adapt to your new life. Good luck and take care. Dave.

[rubyking27 in reply to davee]

Wow ok what a story! Wishing your ok with it all!!! Yes adaptation it’s just bloody hard to not feel sad when I was living such a sweet life before and most of it has gone!

[Mufc]

I had my tbi qabout 22 years ago yes there has been improvement, not good enough for me though. I am like you and want my past life back I have only just accept that will never happen again. I have to accept and enjoy the new me. Hard work but I will get there don’t know when. Yes we can travel but it is very different now. Of all the tings you have mentioned the only one which is a definite no is the driving. Well it is for me due to my tbi but dome people with tbi can drive I believe. It depends on the type of brain injury I believe. It is important for you to realise you are not alone and we are here to help each other,

Hope you can accept the new you. Have a safe recovery

Good luck

Mufc

[rubyking27]

thank you yes i think slowly accepting the new me- but its just a horrible reality i dont want to think about-( but no! probably think about it every day at some point!) does it ever get easier?

[Hidden]

Accept the new reality of how your injury has placed your life as being where you are NOW. The future is less clear often. Life in general can can take unusual twists your injured brain can to in some ways. So by accepting things as they are now doesn't mean those rules are permanently set. Where you can think of problems as a series of mole hills not mountains. Patience is key.