AVM

[gusancheti]

My son 34 years old had 3 years back avm stroke physicaly fit however memory problem , short term memory and old memories . How to overcome

[pinkvision]

Hi I had short term memory problems, basically could not remember to do the simple normal thing on a daily structured basis. I read about journaling and tried it out and it worked for me.

Create a list of essential things that needs to be remembered on a simple daily basis first. ie having breakfast, having a wash, cleaning teeth, doing the washing up, the laundry etc. Don't worry about time constraints initially.

Set a time twice a day where your son needs to sit down and journal from his mind what needs to be done that day, then later journal what has been done and think about and journal what needs to be done the next day.

Add a free thinking thought stream to this as well, purely write out what comes to mind, it will probably be a jumble of things that are affecting him in thoughts, things in mind that need to be done and also negative things.

The idea is to set up a simple pattern of daily routine, again don't worry about timings, it's the activities that matter. Don't have too many activities to start with. Keep repeating this every day until you realise that the activities don't need to be thought about anymore. This was explained as a system, repetitive actions, to hardwire automatic functions in a routine like fashion. The writing them creates a way of having to think about it, then write it down, then carry out the action/s, then write it out again. Eventually it becomes automatic and does not need to be thought about anymore. Then you just build up a whole range of activities over time.

The random, free thought, helps to put down on paper what is going on in the mind, by writing it, it makes it real. Repetitive writing reveals through the jumble a probably narrow range of thought, maybe in 4 to 6 categories, these become clearer over time and you will see a pattern to these thoughts.

It takes 8 weeks to hard wire automatic functions so each each level of activity need to be journaled and carried out every day for 8 weeks. Also the random free thoughts will begin to unravel and start to take on a structure on the page. This is a reflexion of what is happening in the mind.

It's a question of committing to the process. Once it starts keep going for the full 8 weeks, there may be a wobble at the 5-6 week period, ride it out and keep going, this is an integration process, the activities are being connected to the wider neural system, then in the last 2 weeks there is an expansion in ability all round (everything is connected).

Try it and see for yourself. Remember though no commitment no progress. The commitment creates a strong internal will also and if he sees results will bring a feeling of achievement and develop a positive attitude and a belief that he can get out of the situation he is in.

It works believe me.

A note, if there are any visual processing issues, (light sensitivity) please get them seen to as they interfere with the process by draining and overwhelming the cognitive system, the term is sensory overload. This is essential.

Give it a go and see what happens.