Hi everyone, and firstly I need to start with an apology for being so quiet recently. So many times I have thought how I need to write something, but found I didn’t know what to say. Silly isn’t it, because it’s not like it’s possible to run out of material, as a brain injury never stops affecting you all together, no matter how far you are into your recovery. But that’s the point…. brain fog!
I’ve tried to describe what it feels like before in Brain Injury Brain Fog. And whilst I do cope a little better these days in some ways, I don’t in others. I am still able to go about my normal business, and hold an intelligent conversation. But recently I have found it difficult to hold on to a thought long enough to be able to write about it. My brain injury can give me writer’s block it, and that’s just what it has don’t recently….
But I have started an exciting new project….
Now, some of you who follow me closely on social media will know that there is more to this story. You might have noticed that I have started a regular column with a law firm here in the UK called CFG Law. So I do admit that I have put effort into producing some articles for them. However, they did help me with a few titles to get me going which really helped. (If you want to read those articles head over to my page by clicking here >> CFG Law guest blogger Michelle Munt.)
Perhaps I’ve struggled because it’s given me yet another project to think about. Many of you will know by now I do love to get my teeth into something new. But this blog is still very important to me and so I need to give it the attention it deserves. My intentions to write has never stopped, just I find it difficult to hold a thought long enough. Often as I’ve just got to bed I might think of something to write about but it’s gone again by the morning. Yes I can hear you all screaming “Write it down so you can remind yourself in the morning!!!” and of course you are absolutely right. It’s not that I don’t know that’s a simple way to deal with it, it’s just I can become a bit inflexible when my brain is a bit all over the place. In Stuck in rigid thinking after brain injury I previously explained how this frustrating behaviour can hold me back from getting things done.
Finding a more healthy balance in life.
I am however, trying to find a more manageable approach to my life currently. Life is too short, and even if I was a cat, I think this brain injury cost 8 of my 9 lives. That’s why my partner James and I are trying to fit in some short trips. Don’t worry, I don’t mean I’m dieing…. but life is about the experiences we have so I’m trying to create memories. (Alright, my memory isn’t great so I might not exactly remember them, but that’s what photos are for.)
This has also meant I haven’t been quite as active on social media recently. Don’t get me wrong, the community spirit from the online community is fantastic and I think it’s vital for brain injury survivors. But as I’ve found my concentration as been such an issue recently, I’ve found I needed some space. And in a way my writer’s block has made me feel like I can’t even think of what to say on social media.
Anyway, I know you all will know what I mean because we all go through periods like this. However I’m hoping that this is the start of me getting back on it. Thanks for bearing with me.
PS I am now occasionally writing for an Occupational therapist who works in the north of England. Hayley and her team at Independence Found Ltd support brain injury survivors and other patients who need some support to help continue to live independently at home. Keep an eye on the blog here.
8 replies on “How my brain injury can give me writer’s block, a bloggers nightmare”
So good to see you back Michelle. Goodness, I understand what you mean about writer’s block. I have composed some pretty great blog posts in my mind while trying to get to sleep but poof they’re gone by morning. I try to remember what I wrote but it’s like the brain removed or deleted them while sleeping. 🙄 That’s great about writing for the law firm……congratulations my friend. ☺Hugs!
Thanks Vivian. I think I made it worse the longer I left it – that thing of “well one more day isn’t going to hurt”. It’s a relief to just get myself going again, and it’s been so lovely to read the email replies from some of my newsletter subscribers saying that they understand and no apology is needed. It really touches my heart 😍
🤗 I’m so glad you’re back! How wonderful to get those cherished email replies…..Yes! We all understand. Bless you Michelle. 💖
Michelle, I’m glad you back! I’m sure your brain just got really really tired. It’s had to work so hard performing all those Executive Functions. Doing all that wonderful work for the law firm as well as everything else you were doing zapped your brain. I’m sure it was a case of complete overload and your brain just needed some space and time to rest. I hope you’re feeling better now and back in the groove as they say. You’ve been missed. You’re our leader after all. You take the initiative to get us talking and sharing, which is so very valuable. Looking forward as always to more of your thoughtful and energizing posts! 👍🏽😄
Thanks so much Sandy. You’re right, my brain just kept saying “no”. And I was having to nap so much because it constantly needed recharging. But I do feel better now and hope to get back into the stride of things.
Michelle, Thank you for this. I write a blog too, with a brain injury and about brain injury and and more. But feels like I’m drifting without putting words to paper/screen for months. Writing’s a struggle for me- finding an idea, slipping away, seeking another, turning idea into words, remembering what and why, working to salvage the wreckage, and endless rewriting rethinking re-everything until it becomes something. I love it but am blocked-even the first step. The stuff of life siphons off time, brings the fog, lifting then dropped, and in the end I’ve come up empty handed/headed. I know I’ll get back like you will. After all, turning my insides out is too important to leave undone.
Laurie thanks for your comment because it reminds me I’m not alone and the fact that we ever manage to write something as an achievement, and it’s ok to find it hard when our brain injury is making it more challenging than usual.
Laurie, you just wrote a great blog post! I’m not familiar with your blog, but would like to be. You just described perfectly what the experience is like when we try to do something consciously and it doesn’t work. We might intend to write on a certain topic, but look how our brain injuries derail us. There’s such value in that description. We can all relate to it. It’s our injured brain not being able to focus and concentrate, stick to a task. It’s hard to be a linear thinker with this injury. It’s an incredibly difficult skill to get back, requiring so many sub skills! It’s a huge amount of work for an injured brain. Tell me what your blog is. I’d love to read it.