Stroke Survivor Blog

Below are a few brain injury facts. Even though I’ve read these things before, it’s a good reminder of the challenges my husband faces as a result of his acquired brain injury caused by stroke and subsequent seizures. This information helps me to adjust my expectations of him to match his abilities.

The brain controls everything we do, say, feel, and think. It controls the very functions that keep us alive, including our breathing, circulation, digestion, hormones, and immune system. The brain allows us to experience emotion and express ourselves. Damage to this vital organ can have far reaching implications and significantly impact an individual’s life and the lives of those around them for the rest of their lives.

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an insult to the brain caused by an external physical force that can produce a diminished or altered state of consciousness (such as a coma). A TBI can result in physical, psychological, behavioral or emotional impairments and may be temporary or permanent. It can cause partial or total disability. A TBI does not include degenerative (brain disease) or congenital (hereditary) injuries. Causes of TBIs include motor vehicle crashes, assaults, falls, sports injuries, bicycle and pedestrian accidents, shaking babies, blasts and being close to an explosion. View Screening Tools to find out if you may have experienced a traumatic brain injury

An acquired brain injury is not caused by an external force or trauma, but results in many of the same symptoms associated with traumatic brain injury. Major causes of acquired brain injury are strokes, infectious diseases, seizure disorders, substance abuse, and incidents associated with a lack of oxygen to the brain.

A mild brain injury, or concussion, may occur even if there is no loss of consciousness or noticeable physical injury. Even mild brain injuries can cause temporary or permanent changes in the way a person thinks, feels, acts and interacts with others.

Social Implications

• The divorce rate for individuals with a traumatic brain injury is significantly higher than the rest of the population.

• Loss of employment or not being able to hold a job is significantly higher than for the non-brain-injured population.

• Social reasoning skills are diminished in individuals with brain injury. They may not be able to consider alternative approaches to a situation, are not able to plan ahead and may respond to a situation so that they may receive immediate gratification without thinking of the consequences of their actions. They may not be able to process more long-term goals.

• They may not have the ability to see things from another person’s point of view. They often only think about their own wishes and are not sensitive to another’s feelings and needs.

• Judgment can change and they make poor decisions.

• Social isolation is significant. Individuals withdraw from family, friends and others.

• Participation in social activities can be one of the greatest challenges to people with brain injury. Social understanding and judgment involves complex thinking processes. Even several years post-injury, many people with brain injury continue to experience problems with social interactions. These social implications are startling and have devastating effects on the individual with a brain injury, family members, friends and others with whom the individual comes in contact. Brain injury impacts countless people across the country every year.

Many people who sustain a brain injury experience challenges for the rest of their lives. Unlike a broken bone that heals and has an anticipated recovery time, brain injury isn’t so predictable. Damage to brain cells can be temporary or permanent. Recovery may take weeks, months, or years. Some   individuals never regain the brain functions they had before their injury. Consequences of brain injury may include, but are not limited to:

A. Cognitive Symptoms

• Short or long-term memory loss
• Slowed ability to process information
• Trouble concentrating or paying attention for periods of time
• Difficulty with conversation and other communication difficulties such as trouble finding the correct words
• Reading and writing challenges not present prior to injury
• Difficulty in judging distance and space, (called spatial disorganization)
• Organizational problems
• Impaired judgment
• Inability to do more than one thing at a time
• Unusual sensitivity to light

B. Physical Symptoms

• Seizures
• Fatigue, increased need for rest
• Sleep difficulties
• Vision impairments — double or low vision, even blindness
• Sensory loss — smell, touch, taste
• Loss of hearing or ringing in the ears
• Slow or slurred speech
• Headaches or migraines
• Lack of balance
• Difficulty speaking or understanding language
• Decreased motor skills
• Sexual dysfunction
• Increased or decreased muscle control
• Partial or total paralysis

C. Emotional and Behavioral Symptoms

• Depression, grief, or chemical changes caused by the injury
• Anxiety, restlessness, agitation
• Lower stress tolerance
• Behavior changes
• Inappropriate behaviors such as sexually acting out
• Irritability, frustration, impatience
• Mood swings such as excess laughing and crying
• Impulsiveness and a lack of judgment
• Emotional flatness and acting passive
• Anger that is uncontrolled
• Impaired self-perception, like not seeing themselves as disabled

Brain injury can alter a person’s life forever. Even falling and hitting one’s head can cause catastrophic
life change. Short-term memory loss, the inability to make decisions and initiate activities, and loss
of physical balance are but a few symptoms that may impact how a person with brain injury will be
able live the rest of their lives. The loss of the ability to follow instructions, plan and remember what
they should do next may make it impossible for them to resume an independent life. Adjustment
to such dramatic changes is difficult but can be eased with support and assistance from family, friends
and professionals.

Read more on How the Brain Works and view the diagram that illustrates the parts of the brain and their relationships to physical, emotional, cognitive and behavioral functions.

Resource: Brain Injury Resource Manual