tips Archives - Jumbledbrain

Why outbursts after a brain injury happen

Michelle #jumbledbrain — Thu, 16 Jul 2020 11:46:49 +0000

As someone who took care of her father as Alzheimer’s took away the person he was, I have always felt great empathy for family and friends of a brain injury survivor. I know it’s not easy and can even be heartbreaking. However, I have seen a lot of comments from various people asking for ideas on how to reduce the number of outbursts from the survivor in their life. This then prompts people to start talking about what drugs to try them on, which I disagree with as only their doctors who know their medical history should be commenting on this otherwise it can be dangerous. They will help identify what is causing the outbursts after a brain injury, as this could be physical pain, an infection or mental health issues like depression. My dad struggled a lot with this, getting angry with his carers, and his doctor and I had a good chat about it. As he was still mourning the death of my mum, and the upheaval in how much his life was changing, we agreed he was suffering from depression. It did help him get control of his reactions, but as all drugs have side effects it was important to talk this decision through with someone who could review all his other medications as well. Instead I thought I would try to help people understand what is happening on a very basic and relatable level which could help it feel more manageable.

“Like a Bear with a sore head.”

We’ve all heard this expression and many of us use it when referring to someone who seems angry and/or grumpy. But have you ever really thought about what you’re actually describing? An injured animal who can’t explain to you how they feel, but their pain as making them more aggressive because they are feeling more vulnerable than normal. Or how about when you take your injured pet to the vet? My cat Dexter loves people, and is the most laid back creature you’ll ever meet. But there was one time he had a cat bite on his head that got infected. It was very uncomfortable for him and the vet flushed it through with saline to clean it and injected him with antibiotics. Well he bit the vet has hard as he could and was using very colourful language at her. She was doing what had to be done to help him and yet he had this outburst at her. Does that make him ungrateful? No, it makes him scared, confused and in pain.

Don’t assume they are seeing the situation the same way you are.

It’s very easy for a brain injury survivor to become overwhelmed with what’s happening around them. Even just bright lights, too much noise or crowds of people can over stimulate them. It might seem calm enough to you, but it can feel chaotic to them. Again, think about when you are transporting your pet to the vet; you often can help calm them by covering their pet carrier in cloth to cut down the light. It’s not that they’re stupid and as long as they can’t see anything they become calm, it’s because you’re reducing the visual stimuli. The more an individual becomes overwhelmed the more defensive they become because they just want something to stop.

Now, if you’re thinking “I get that Michelle, but I expect a cat to act like that because it can’t say what it feels and I can’t explain what is happening. But I have explained to my survivor what’s happening and it’s nothing to worry about and yet they still bite my head off”, you need to accept that a brain injury can interrupt that communication process. Even if they seem to have understood you, or you think you understand what they are experiencing, be open to the fact that it’s not always as black and white as that.

Allow the situation to diffuse.

Once someone has become upset, scared, overwhelmed or paranoid, the best thing is to allow them to calm down. That could be reducing the noise, distracting them with an activity they enjoy or just leaving the room. When I’m getting wound up James makes me a cup of tea and gives me the cat. These 2 things always calm me down. I might then be very quiet whilst I reflect on what got me so uptight, but that’s a good thing. I often find that the following day I can talk about what got me into that state properly. James’ patience is key here. With his kind smiling eyes I can see he wants the best for me and he gently asks if I’m feeling any better but doesn’t go into an interrogation. By giving me the space I need I’m able to find the words in my own time to describe what happened. Plus, I reflect on my behaviour and can start to appreciate what my triggers where. This is really important as we can both learn what to do differently in the future to be able to intervene before it gets so bad. If you struggle to work out why it’s happening, together you could keep a diary so you can look for any patterns in their triggers.

If it’s a particular task that they are reacting to, consider if it has to be done right now.

There were times that my dad just didn’t want to get out of his PJ’s. I don’t blame him, we’ve all had days like that! But imagine what it’s like to have someone trying to force you to get dressed when you just don’t want to. When you’re a kid you have to accept that your parents are in charge and when they say “get dressed”, you get dressed. But when you’re an adult you’re used to making your own decisions. You don’t want to be bossed around and then it can make you defensive. So unless dad had to get dressed to go to an appointment, he was allowed to stay in his PJ’s until he wanted to get changed. That might be an hour later, or it might not be at all that day, but as it wasn’t doing him or anyone else any harm, it didn’t matter.

I know it can feel like you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place seeing as you’re only trying to help yet sometimes it can feel like you can’t get anything right. Believe me, I’ve been there…. on both sides. So that’s why I want to break it down into 5 steps for you to be able to make things more comfortable for you and the brain injury survivor going forward.

5 steps for managing outbursts.

Identify what the problem is – Is their environment comfortable? Are they reacting to someone else’s attitude? Are they in pain?
Examine the situation – Does it always occur in the same place or with particular people? Keep a diary to be able to track patterns.
How is the survivor feeling when the outburst happens? – Do they feel patronised or ignored? Is something making them anxious? Are they becoming overwhelmed and tired or are they feeling misunderstood and frustrated?
What are they reacting to? – Are the struggling to cope with a change? Are they having an unpleasant memory or is someone’s personality provoking them?
Make a strategy – Look back at your tracking notes so you can avoid situations which cause the outbursts. Remember that a method that works well one day might not be the right one next time. You need to develop a few different methods, because we are humans not robots. Make sure you are working with them, not against them.

Other articles you may like:

Are you a brain injury survivor who feels no one understands your outbursts? Or are you a family/friend who has got tips that can help others?

The post Why outbursts after a brain injury happen appeared first on Jumbledbrain.

Guest post: 7 Common Behavioral Effects of Brain Injury and How to Deal With Them

Michelle #jumbledbrain — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 19:46:30 +0000

Today’s article is written by Hazel Ann Westco.

Hazel Ann Westco is a start-up freelance writer. She is interested in writing blogs and articles related to legal cases mainly in personal injury and employment. Whenever she has free time she rides her bicycle or motorcycle for a road trip. You can follow her on Twitter using her handle @AnnWestco.

She has looked into some of the behavioral effects of brain injury and has some tips on what to do when they arise.

A brain injury can have various physical, cognitive, medical, emotional, and behavioral effects on head injury survivors. Of these changes, behavioral changes can be one of the most challenging for survivors to overcome to live happier and more independently. To help survivors with traumatic brain injury (TBI), families and caregivers should learn to understand their behavior and develop practical ways to address those challenges.

Why Does Brain Injury Affect Emotions?

Behavioral problems following TBI are often the result of damage to the frontal lobe, the area of the brain that controls “executive functions.” Executive functions refer to the set of skills a person uses to plan, create, evaluate, organize, evaluate, reason, communicate, and solve problems. These impairments have a significant impact on how a person behaves.

Common Behavioral Changes Experienced by TBI Survivors

Human behavior is complex and multi-faceted. This means it can be difficult to isolate which behavior is a result of TBI. A TBI patients behavior is, after all, influenced by many different factors, like the nature of the injury, their pre- and post-injury experience, their cognitive abilities, or the behavior of other people. But some of the most common behavior changes encountered by TBI survivors include:

1. Memory Problems

Most people diagnosed with a brain disorder may experience memory problems, but they are more common among TBI survivors as a result of an injury from the bony protrusions inside the skull. Typical situations include forgetting a person’s name, losing a train of thought, and difficulty learning new things.

2. Temper Outbursts

Family members of people with TBI often describe their loved one as someone with a quick temper. They may use bad language, throw objects, or slam doors. Drastic changes like the loss of independence and inability to follow a conversation, in particular, can make a person with TBI more prone to these temper outbursts.

3. Depression

Depression among people with TBI can arise because of the struggle to adjust to disabilities and the changes to one’s role in the family and society. Symptoms of depression include feelings of worthlessness, suicidal thoughts, changes in sleep and appetite, and withdrawal from peers.

4. Poor Concentration

TBI affects a person’s attention and concentration abilities, posing a challenge to work, study, and everyday living. Poor concentration manifests itself in difficulty multitasking, following conversations, and processing information. This happens when the lateral intraparietal cortex—the region of the brain responsible for controlling attention—suffers damage.

5. Self-Centered Attitude

It’s common for TBI survivors to show signs of egocentrism. In turn, this could hamper their ability to see things from another person’s point of view which severely impact their relationship with family members, especially if they used to be a caring person. And although it is often taken for granted, the ability to understand another’s perspective is a complex cognitive skill.

6. Aggressive Behavior

Aggressive behavior following a TBI is often impulsive. A person with TBI can easily grow agitated over trivial disagreements. Experts explain that aggression that happens directly after the TBI is the result of delirium and other post-injury medications. Aggression up to three months after TBI, on the other hand, happens as a result of depression, chronic pain, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

7. Lower Sex Drive

A decreased desire or interest in sex is more common among TBI survivors than heightened libido. Disinhibited sexual behavior can be a possible effect of poor awareness and impulsivity. Changes in sexual functioning following TBI can be due to hormonal changes, medication side effects, fatigue, and movement problems.

Coping with a Loved One with Head Injury

People with TBI showing signs of these behavior problems should be evaluated by a doctor so they can receive proper treatment. On top of medical intervention, friends and family of survivors should also actively participate in rehabilitation, recovery, and advocacy.

1. Set Realistic Expectations

Brain injury has lifelong effects. It pays to understand that a person with TBI might already be trying his or her best. Every member of the family can have different abilities, skills, comfort levels, and limitations, so set small goals and acknowledge that every day is an achievement.

2. Get Involved

Behavioral problems are often hard to deal with. But try to resist the temptation of avoiding difficult situations. People with TBI could end up feeling more confused and isolated if left alone. Instead, get involved and familiarize yourself with their day-to-day routine.

3. Encourage Independence

Learning how to comfort a loved one with TBI is a must. But tread carefully: there is a fine line between caring for people and smothering them with affection. Try to instill independence and study their behavior to know the right time to provide comfort.

4. Reinforce Positive Behavior

What used to come easy to a TBI survivor may now feel extremely difficult. Reinforce positive behavior by focusing on the patient’s strengths, rather than pointing fingers or directing behavior.

5. Rediscover Preferences

Stay alert and pay attention to the wants and needs of a person with TBI. Discover new ways they can engage in activities and establish a balance between easy and difficult tasks. And always encourage them to participate, instead of assuming that their injury makes them unable to.

6. Confide with Loved Ones

Honesty is the best policy, and confiding in friends and family members can help alleviate the burden. Enlisting others for support can provide a fresh perspective and make it easier to identify triggers and how to avoid them.

7. Bounce Back Quickly

Accept that encountering behavioral problems is a part of life. Avoid getting stuck by teaching

new skills while a person is upset. Bounce back quickly from these obstacles then revisit them again later since people aren’t receptive to learning new things when they’re upset.

Other articles you may like:

Have you or a brain injury survivor you know struggled with these behavioural issues? What advice would you give to others?

The post Guest post: 7 Common Behavioral Effects of Brain Injury and How to Deal With Them appeared first on Jumbledbrain.

Guest post: The gifts of my traumatic brain injury

Michelle #jumbledbrain — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 16:07:24 +0000

This inspiring young man has written another post for us. Here he explains how he tackled the negative thoughts he was plagued with following his traumatic brain injury. In fact, he is now able to be so positive about it that he has named some of the gifts he feels his brain injury has given him.

About the Author:

Brandon Leuangpaseuth is a writer from San Diego, CA that helps various brain injury attorneys across the country with their public relations. You can connect with him on LinkedIn @ bleuangpaseuth.C

When I was only 20-years old, I was hit by a car. My body was flung 20-feet across the freeway.

I shattered my jaw, collarbone, nose, and it left me with a serious traumatic brain injury (TBI). After a month, I was released from the hospital. I quickly realized how difficult life would be living with a TBI. I had all the symptoms of a severe traumatic brain injury. I had short-term memory loss, fatigued easily, slept more than usual, suffered dreadful migraines, etc.

After I was released from the hospital, I spiralled into a deep depression.

How was I going to find a job?
How was I going to graduate from college?
How was I going to pursue my dreams with this disability?

Imagine being so young and sustaining such a life-altering injury. It felt like my world came crashing down…and it was hard to get out of bed every day. When I did get out of bed, I found myself walking around the block countlessly worrying about my future. I sought help from a therapist to help ease the burden of these constant negative thoughts. I recall in a session, I broke down and sobbed to the therapist about how I would never be the same again after my brain injury. As I gushed out my sorrows, I remember my therapist looking down at her notepad, slowly back

up at me and then muttered: “what if this was a gift?”

Those words shook me like a tremoring earthquake. I stared at her wide-eyed for what seemed like an eternity. How could receiving a brain injury be a gift? I thought to myself.

— Fast forward 4 years later–

Now, 4 years after I received my traumatic brain injury, I can look back and see what my therapist was trying to do. The effects of my brain injury were still there, but my perception of how the effects impacted my life changed. This helped me adapt and cope with living with my brain injury better.

Of course, life is different with a brain injury, but changing my perception of the effects of my brain injury has helped me cope a lot.

Here are the gifts my TBI has given me

1. It Made Me More Organized

At first, after I received the brain injury, I tried to remember all the things that I needed to do during the day in my head as I had prior to getting hit by the car. Not surprisingly, I failed… miserably. I would mix up things up in my schedule and always forget to do certain tasks that I needed to do on some days…

I remember one day in an outpatient therapy session at my intensive rehab centre, my therapist told me something that stuck with me.

“You do not need a good memory as long as you have good reminder systems in place. Use your phone, calendar, and computer to help you build reminder systems to where it is almost impossible to forget!”

After I heard that, I made it an effort to strategically develop systems to where I did not have to rely on my memory too much. If someone told me to do something or I had to do something in the future, I would immediately set up reminders on my phone to go off and remind me. I would develop to-do lists on my phone almost every day laying out what needed to get done as well as

maintain an up to date calendar with all the events or things I had to do in my life. I outsourced that part of my brain to technology.

The result?

I am way more organized and on top of my stuff more so than I was prior to the accident! I have become so organized, it is very rare (and even bizarre!) for me to miss something. I have developed good organization systems and habits that made me on top of all my stuff. I am grateful that my TBI has helped organize my life.

2. I Prioritized My Life

One of the most impactful effects of my TBI is that I fatigued easier. Experiencing this really made me look back at my life and realize I took my energy for granted when I was younger. I used to have a ton of energy to do things all day–nonstop! That changed after the accident.

This symptom of quick fatigue is the most prevalent one in my life today and is still tough to adapt to. I only have a set amount of energy to do things in my life before I received a numbing brain fog and I exhausted…

I quickly learned how to reevaluate and prioritize my life. This meant I had to rank in my life what was important for me to get done and decide where I had to allocate my little energy too. In other words, I only did what was important to me.

I cut out a lot of meaningless activities in my life such as watching television or aimlessly browsing the internet to hone in on the truly vital activities like exercising or hanging out with friends. I had to say “no” to activities in my life that would not be a good use of my resources. This has led me to really consider my values and what is important to me in my life!

3. I Accidentally Stopped Taking Things Too Personally

The majority of the time, having bad memory can be onerous to deal with. Always forgetting things can make life more difficult. However, I think there is one positive trait of having my abysmal memory. I accidentally stopped taking things too personally.

What I mean by this is that I would just forget about certain negative interactions and move on. Before the accident, I used to get so caught up on little things like a someone not texting me back, insults or someone making me mad. These interactions would often ruin my day and stay on my mind for weeks upon weeks. I would think about them as I went about my life way past

after they occurred. These things would stay on my mind way longer than I would care to admit. Now, I just naturally forget about the interactions.

I would often forget if I had texted someone in the first place and they didn’t respond or if an interaction went sour. I would just forget and move on. My poor memory was a blessing in disguise in regards to this aspect of my life.

4. Got Me In The Habit Of Taking Care Of Myself

Brain injuries are tricky injuries. If you break a bone, you can get an x-ray and see if the injury healed or the bones mended back together. For the brain, it is tougher to measure or see. I remember sitting in my neurologist’s office and her telling me that the best thing I can do to heal my brain would be to take care of myself. She mentioned to me that I should eat right, exercise, get a lot of sleep and avoid alcohol.

I took her words to heart. Since I could not see the healing of my brain in an x-ray or anything like that, I promised myself to take care of myself, do my best to give my brain the best chance to heal and just hope for the best.

I started to eat a really clean diet, I consistently attended the gym, avoided alcohol for a year, and was often in bed really early. This habit of taking care of myself did wonders for my brain injuries’ healing as well as in all other aspects of my life. I noticed substantial progress in my ability to remember things, I felt better all of the time and I got in great shape! Receiving a brain injury has made me adapt to a healthier lifestyle.

Change Your Perspective! In the last 4 years, with some help, I barely managed to graduate from college and was still able find an amazing career. I credit a lot my mental health progress to my paradigm shift on how I viewed my brain injury.

If there is one message I want to pass along to other brain injury survivors or other people, in general, is that sometimes you cannot change things that happen to you but you are responsible for how you perceive or react to them.

If you suffer from a TBI, try to reframe your perception of the effects of it. Living with a TBI can be burdensome. How I see it, is that I cannot really change the effects of the TBI, however, I could change my perception of how they impact my life to a more positive one. Try it out! Try to perceive your brain injury or supposedly negative events in your life in a more

positive light. I am sure it will help you cope and be happier

Other articles you may like:

Has your brain injury resulted in any positive changes that you now see as gifts?

The post Guest post: The gifts of my traumatic brain injury appeared first on Jumbledbrain.

Online support for brain injury survivors and caregivers

Michelle #jumbledbrain — Mon, 19 Nov 2018 10:49:28 +0000

Hospitals do a great job at saving lives, and they are under constant pressure to support the public with a variety of health issues. When a patient gets rushed in with a brain injury, they launch into action, working tirelessly to stabilise them. Sometimes this takes hours, sometimes it takes months, but I think it’s fair to say we are all thankful for the work they do.

But what many brain injury survivors, such as myself, too often find is that once they are sent home it’s difficult to get the right support. My partner James had to fight for someone to visit me at home to help me build up enough strength to have some independence. (Whilst I wasn’t shy about him having to help me shower, it wasn’t how I wanted to be left in my early 30’s.) And after talking to my GP I managed to be referred to a speech therapist . Bear in mind that at this stage my GP had no idea what had happened to me. Yes the hospital in London had updated my notes, but GP’s don’t review them unless you are sat in front of them. So why the hospital hadn’t made the effort to make this referral as they kicked me out, I don’t know.

But even after I had accessed this help (and believe me the speech therapist was AMAZING) there was still a disconnect. My world had been turned upside down and I somehow needed to process that. The trouble was, at that stage I didn’t have the insight to be able to work that out for myself.It took months to get support with my failing mental health, and there were times that I wasn’t sure I’d make it.

But thank goodness I did! And now I want to help plug that Grand Cannon sized gap. I’m not a therapist, so if you are being swallowed up by serious depression, bipolar or any other painful mental health disorder there are others out there, such as Betterhelp who can help you. But what I can offer you is the insight that all too often brain injury survivors don’t have.

I’ve been there, walked that terrible confusing road, and found the hidden path home. So now I coach others on how to navigate that journey too. There’s a lot of potholes you have to side step, and hanging branches that you have to duck, so guidance can make all the difference. And I do this online, so we don’t even need to live near each other. I have an incredible Facebook group full with people who are keen to share ideas. But also I use the internet to speak to people via Messenger or Skype, to talk to them privately about what is going on for them and develop a plan to help get them to a more comfortable position.

So my message is this: even if you live in an area where there aren’t many services, you don’t have to fight this on your own. You do have options! For more ideas on online communities I’ve created that you might want to become a part of, visit Brain injury community.

Does online support work?

Here in the UK we have access to health services available via the NHS, which we pay for via our taxes. But it is under continuing pressure to deliver more with less funding. In the UK, mental health conditions make up around 28 per cent of the total burden of disease, but they receive just 13 per cent of the total NHS budget. Meanwhile, the budget for adult social care, which provides ongoing mental health support, has been cut in real terms by 13.5 per cent in England over the last eight years. This makes it even harder to get on the waiting list for talking therapies, and when you do you could be on there for an extraordinarily long time before you see anyone. And for those countries that usually pay via medical insurance, you often are given limited choices about who you can work with. So what if the person you need to open up to, trust and connect with just doesn’t make you comfortable enough to do that?

With online support you can be in your comfortable space at home where you feel safe. There’s no issues with having to work out how you are going to get to your appointment; organising transport, negotiating traffic and the panic of worry that you might be late and then you’ve gone through all that stress for nothing.

I went to a life coach who lives in Canada. I can’t remember how I found her, and she was specialising in helping people run an online business. But I connected with her and felt like she really GOT ME. So even though the time difference meant we both had to do some jiggery pokery with our schedules in order to be able to chat because of the time difference, believe me, it’s worth it! The amount of times I would find myself crying because she had hit the nail on the head about something that I didn’t even know was a problem because I’d buried it so deep. That would lead to me being able to address things that I might not have even know were relevant to why I was holding myself back from achieving my goals. Honestly it’s such a journey of discovery when you connect with the right person. Yes online support does work because it enables you to have so many more options about finding the right person to help you develop yourself. It opens up a whole new world to you.

This post is sponsored by Betterhelp. More online therapists can be found here. All reviews and opinions expressed in this post are based on my personal view.

Other articles you may like:

Have you tried online support for your experience of brain injury? Did it work for you?

The post Online support for brain injury survivors and caregivers appeared first on Jumbledbrain.

Guest post: 5 Tips From the Legal Perspective on Brain Injury U.S. Law

Michelle #jumbledbrain — Thu, 19 Jul 2018 15:43:45 +0000

Today I have for you a guest blog by an attorney who specialises in representing those who have suffered a traumatic brain injury in a range of different circumstances. I chose to publish this as a starting point for those who feel they have a case, but don’t know where to start. Most of us have seen those annoying adverts about personal injury claims. And you may have even had unsolicited calls too. They leave you feeling bamboozled and wondering if they are just taking advantage of you. So I will let James Lambka explain what are the main things to consider when raising your case in terms of U.S law.

I’m James Lambka, one of the attorneys of Wiener and Lambka P.S. Law Firm. We are experienced, professional, compassionate attorneys helping people who have been injured through the negligence of another person, corporation or government. With a long track record of success and excellent client reviews, and we are always here to help if you need it.

Every year in the US, almost 1.4 million people suffer brain injuries. These injuries range from concussion to severe brain damage. They can be caused by everything from motor vehicle accidents and sports mishaps to business negligence and assault. To make matters worse, brain injuries often result in cognitive impairment. Many sufferers are simply at a loss concerning how to initiate and pursue a claim to recover damages. So here are 5 tips from a legal perspective on brain injury to give you a starting point.

1. Be Aware of the Complexity of Brain Injury Law

Brain injury law is highly complex and comprises several legal practice areas. These include personal injury negligence, tort law, and administrative law like worker’s compensation, social security, and disability. So success in a claim or lawsuit requires an attorney with specialized knowledge and experience.

2. Recognize the Legal Basis of Your Case

It’s a good idea to know something about the legal basis of your brain injury case. That way you know what you have to prove to win it. It will also help you in assembling the critical information and evidence for a successful claim.

Most brain injury claims and lawsuits are based on the legal theory of negligence. This theory calls for the person pursuing the claim/lawsuit to prove that the other party was responsible, or at-fault, for the accident that resulted in the injury. Here’s what you have to demonstrate to legally prove that the other party (the defendant) was in fact at fault:

That the law required the defendant to be reasonably careful (that is, had a “duty of care”.)
The defendant did not act with reasonable care toward the plaintiff (you.)
The defendant’s action/inaction caused your injuries.
That your losses/damages are actually measurable under the law.

That sounds simple enough. The difficulty lies in the fact that brain injuries are more complicated and often more difficult to detect than other kinds of injuries.

3. Understand an Example of Negligence and Liability

To make this a little clearer (hopefully) here’s a hypothetical example of when fault/negligence comes into play . . .

Mary is driving, and her car is hit head on by Jim, who has been drinking. Mary is propelled, despite the car’s safety devices, into the windshield of her car. She sustains severe head injuries. The effects of these injuries include impaired cognitive function and recurring, debilitating headaches.

Jim’s blood alcohol content (BAC) was determined at the time to be well over the legal limit. Therefore he was indeed negligent and at fault. This means that Mary would be able to file a successful personal injury claim/lawsuit against Jim and his insurer because his negligent driving caused the accident. Mary would then be able to receive compensation for damages to cover medical bills, lost wages, and ongoing treatment, among other things.

4. Gather All the Evidence/Information You Can

In preparing you brain injury claim or lawsuit, your attorney will need loads of information. So you need to gather and assemble all the pertinent information you can.

Your attorney will need to have answers to many questions, for example:

How did your brain injury happen?
Tell me what you remember about the accident?
What were you doing at the time?
What immediate medical attention did you receive?

While you may be suffering some memory loss and be unable to fully answer the questions, just be as honest as you can. And if you’ve enlisted the aid of a family member or friend to assemble information beforehand, your attorney can draw on that to fill in the blanks. Your attorney will also consult witnesses, accident reports, newspaper articles, and medical records, much of which you can assist with access to.

5. Find an Attorney Skilled in Brain Injury Law

Just as you wouldn’t want a general practitioner to treat your brain injury, you also want a specialist attorney to handle your case. Returning to normal, everyday life after suffering a brain injury can be a long process. Often this requires special accommodations for a successful transition. For example, if you’re trying to return to work, you may need more breaks, shorter work hours, and more time to complete certain tasks. But getting these needed concessions can sometimes take special skill on your attorney’s part as a component of your personal injury case.

It’s critical, then, that you find an attorney who specializes in representing people who are unable to do so themselves owing to traumatic brain injuries.

Other articles you may like:

Have you been through the legal process of claiming after your brain injury? What do you wish you had known before?

The post Guest post: 5 Tips From the Legal Perspective on Brain Injury U.S. Law appeared first on Jumbledbrain.

6 steps to improve your gut following a brain injury

Michelle #jumbledbrain — Fri, 22 Jun 2018 13:43:57 +0000

Many people live with an undiagnosed brain injury for years, or even a lifetime. For me it was a year before I was given a formal diagnosis of a diffuse axonal brain injury. (Even though my initial scans showed a bleed at the base of my brain, the doctors still didn’t say I had a brain injury. They just gave the impression that because the bleeding stopped without surgery it was nothing to worry about.) Whilst my progress has been good, my gut is beginning to complain about it all.

The brain and our gut are actually very closely linked. For example, all you have to do it think about what yummy food you’re going to have for dinner to make your stomach release it’s juices in eager anticipation. Also this is why we say “listen to your gut” when we are referring to intuition. Feeling nauseous about something or experiencing butterflies in your stomach, are all because of what your brain is thinking.

But recently I have found something even more weird is going on. Usually they said it takes around 2 hours for your stomach to digest your food. But I can find that around this time I get bloated and a few more hours later the clamps start. Finally, around 10 -12 hours after eating a meal, I vomit it back up and (apologises if this is this too graphic) you don’t need to be a scientist to know what food I had eaten earlier. Basically my stomach hadn’t even tried to do anything with it. (I’d fire that lazy good for nothing if I could!)

Whilst I am having this investigated and nothing has been confirmed yet, I can’t help but suspect my brain injury is playing a part in this. Where I had the bleed on my brain, it irritated my spinal cord. This meant for months I had to try to retain my internal organs how to work because they sort of forgot. So now I think my gut has taken a backwards step.

Anxiety, depression and stress all can have a detrimental effect on your gut’s behaviour. However, I am better on all these fronts than I have been for years. My car accident which caused my brain injury, happened 3.5 years ago. In that time I lost my career, many friends, my mum died in a tragic accident, my dad struggled with Alzheimer’s and bowel cancer, finally passing away last October. So right now I’m feeling much more stable after surviving all of that.

However chronic stress can cause inflammation, leading to autoimmune disorders. I’m wondering if this has now happened to me. So I have been looking into what I can do to make things a little easier on my gut whilst I wait for a formal diagnosis.

6 steps to help stressed guts

Probiotics – These are the good bacteria that help break down your food into energy. They are found naturally in yogurt and other fermented products. Or you can top up with pills.
Sesame seeds – They are rich in an amino acid call tyrosine, which is great for the hormones in your brain. It has a balancing effect on most of them, but give your “feel good” hormone, dopamine, a real boost.
Vitamin B6 – This vitamin helps reduce stress hormones and can treat mood disorders like depression. A great source for this is Shiitake mushrooms.
Reduce the amount of processed food you eat – Unfortunately they often contain a lot of artificial sweeteners which our bodies struggle to cope with. I have always been guilty of having too much of these and so I will have to change that now.
Move away from gluten – If you have irritable bowel syndrome, gluten is a no go area. This is because it can cause bloating and constipation. But even if you don’t, it can affect the area of the brain that deals with your balance and coordination. So either way try to limit it if you can.
Healthy fats – Over the years we have got used to being told to stay away from fats. But that’s not the whole story. It turns out that saturated fats can be good for us, so go for olive oil, avocados, and nuts. They can help memory function as well as being an anti-inflammatory.

A brain injury can affect a person in so many different ways, and it can be a changing situation as we develop. I know I need to do more to look after myself now, but I know I can do this.

If you want to know more about the connection the gut and the brain, you can read an interesting article by Psychology Today here.

Other articles you may like:

Have you found your gut behaves differently following your brain injury? What steps have you taken to help your digestion?

The post 6 steps to improve your gut following a brain injury appeared first on Jumbledbrain.

I am listening… just my brain injury keeps phasing out.

Michelle #jumbledbrain — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 15:56:39 +0000

I promise I do listen. But if you happen to leave the room for a moment and we are watching TV, don’t expect me to be able to fill you in on what you missed. The moment you ask me to explain, I will realise that I’m not sure because I’ve been phasing out so not taking it all in. Lots of people have this when they are distracted (mobile phones are a guilty party for this) but this happens so much more after my brain injury.

Please don’t be offended when I don’t follow what you just said.

Particularly if the conversation has become a little one way; eg you are recounting an event with intricate detail, I am going to struggle. Often we associate this with boredom and the subject isn’t interesting enough to stop our minds from wandering. But when you have a brain injury that isn’t the only reason for phasing out. I might just become aware of something, like “oh my double vision is slightly worse today,” or “wow, suddenly fatigue is coming back.” That can be the moment that you have just got to the crucial element but I’ve missed it. I don’t even particularly realise I’ve missed it until you ask me a question. Actually I often can’t even be sure why I phased out and couldn’t tell you what I had been thinking about.

But why does this happen?

I’m not a scientist or a doctor so forgive me if I over simplify this explanation, but here goes. Active listening is a skill which is assisted by cognitive control. Different areas of the brain work together during cognitive control. Problem solving for example is an adaptive temporal scale, where as concentration is a stable temporal scale. I spent quite a long time reading and rereading a study about this. It probably isn’t easy for the average person to read as it is, but for a brain injury survivor I can tell you it’s bloody hard!

But I managed to take this away from it:

The stable control system (concentration) is more dependant on the length of time you spend on a task. Therefore cognitive fatigue is more likely to be a problem for this system. So often brain injury survivors will try to compensate for this by using the adaptive control system (problem solving). This system is much more reliant on how much oxygen there is in the blood and is less affected by the amount of time the task takes.

So this means if you want a brain injury survivor to stop phasing out on you, don’t just talk at them. Help them engage other parts of their brain to spread the workload. Asking open questions is a way you can do this as they have to think about the answer, not just recall it. By this I mean you could ask their opinion throughout the conversation rather than at the end of your speech. Plus give them opportunities to ask questions as they come to mind as this is an example of their adaptive control system kicking in and offering support.

Not all survivors will have this problem, and those who do will have different levels of recovery within in. I have got a lot better, but I still can struggle at times. Like now I need a rest from trying to read and understand that study, so I’m off to put the kettle on.

Do you find yourself phasing out and struggling to concentrate? Have you got any methods to reduce the chances of your mind wandering off?

The post I am listening… just my brain injury keeps phasing out. appeared first on Jumbledbrain.

Is my brain injury making me a bad friend?

Michelle #jumbledbrain — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 15:18:13 +0000

Most people need descent sleep to be able to function well in their day to day lives. But for brain injury survivors it’s their life line. Sleep allows the brain time to recover from the day, and when you have a brain injury your poor little noggin runs close to melt down a lot. I have tried to explain this to friends and family, but I’m not sure everyone quite understands. It could be that because I don’t work they think I can just catch up on sleep some other time. And this is true, but that doesn’t mean it fits in with my schedule. So does it make me a bad friend for not wanting to take their calls when I’m trying to sleep?

How much is too much?

I have always tried to be the friend I wish I had, so if someone has an emergency I will try to help. That has included times when people have had a night on the town, and suddenly realised they haven’t got any money for a taxi home. So I have dragged myself out of bed to go rescue them. It’s the right thing to do, and I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to them just because I was too lazy to help them in their hour of need.

There have been times that people just need a chat because they are feeling really low. Again, I understand the need to feel there is someone out there who will listen when you are facing hard times. So I have taken many of these calls in the middle of the night and tried to be helpful. But when this starts to become a pattern I feel like I don’t want to keep doing it. My partner James tells me to ignore it as I can’t physically continue, but that makes me a bad friend. It’s not that I don’t care, I do empathise with them. I would happily take their call during the day, or evening, because that’s better for my schedule. They would get more from me then as my brain would be in a better condition to respond.

I’m not using my brain injury as an excuse.

They say you can count your real friends on the fingers of one hand. (I’m not sure if that means you can include your thumb or not.) But thinking like that can make you more sceptical about people and give up on them too early if all the fingers on that hand have already been booked. But I do find it difficult to reconcile how when someone knows about my brain injury, why they would continue to push my boundaries. Perhaps they think I use it as an excuse seeing as I have recovered a lot (but will never fully.) I’m not saying they are being a bad friend when this happens, but I do need a little more understanding from them.

If you find the brain injury survivor in your life doesn’t always respond how you need them to, maybe a change in your approach might help.

Consider time – are they going to be well enough or will they be battling with brain fog?
Think about location – try to minimise distractions. You might think it’s great to meet for coffee, but the ambient noise might be overwhelming for them.
Are they better face to face or on the phone? – when you can’t see a persons face to get the social cues from their expressions, it can put extra pressure on word finding and understanding. This can be even more draining.
Judging when they are flagging – it’s nothing personal when we run out of energy. An intense conversation sucks our reserves like how the battery on your phone depletes when you use it non stop. Please remember to consider how they are coping even when your crisis hasn’t found a resolution or closure.

A brain injury doesn’t turn you into a bad friend, I just like to think of myself as a “very limited edition.” (Pun intended.) I can’t solve everything, or get involved as much. You can still get great things from me, but they are precious so it’s only while stocks last.

Other articles you may like:

Do you question if your brain injury has made you a bad friend? Is it reasonable to put a limit on what friendship means?

The post Is my brain injury making me a bad friend? appeared first on Jumbledbrain.

Listen to what your body needs after a brain injury

Michelle #jumbledbrain — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 17:19:27 +0000

I have written various articles with advice on coping with a brain injury. And I wholeheartedly believe in that advice otherwise I wouldn’t write it. But there are times that I lose my focus, and stop listening to what my body needs now. I mean, I’m no angel, I’m only human.

As I have hypothyroidism, as many brain injury survivors do, my metabolism has walked out on me. Even though I take Levothyroxine , it doesn’t solve everything. So in the last 3 years since my accident, I have put on 2 dress sizes. Whilst I don’t worry that much about what I look like, it does make me uncomfortable. So I am going to start putting my brain and body needs first.

My new schedule:

Take pills when James (my partner) leaves for work at 5.30 am. – I ask him to always say goodbye as he goes. Having the medication then gives it a chance to try to prompt my metabolism to do something before breakfast.
Once up, I have warm lemon water. It’s full of vitamin C and is thought to also give your metabolism a kick up the backside. – Always drink with a straw and wait 90 minutes before brushing your teeth. The acid can damage your tooth enamel so the straw helps minimise its contact with your teeth. Saliva is brilliant at breaking things down in your mouth so this gives it time to go through this process which is very important.
Always have breakfast (although this might be hours later if I fall back to sleep.) Usually I have cereal loaded with fruit and seeds to give a balanced diet. If I’m going to the gym that day I have scrambled eggs for protein. – This is because when I’m working out it will give my body the energy it needs, rather than it breaking down muscle. (I’m trying to build muscle, not destroy the tiny bit I have.) As muscles drive your metabolism even when you are resting, the more you have, the more calories you burn.
Go to the gym mid morning. Two reasons for this: a) it’s usually a bit quieter at that time b) after your workout your body will continue to burn calories for hours afterwards. This means you have the energy in the day when you need it. If you workout in the evening you might find it harder to sleep.
Eat some Brazil nuts after the gym. – As they are a great source of gluten free protein, again it ensures that your muscles are building not depleting. And they are loaded with selenium and vitamin E. Selenium is important for those with a under-active thyroid as it counteracts the negative effects fluoride has on your thyroid. Fluoride is added to the water supply in the UK to benefit the nations teeth. I think this is fine, but I need to also consider my thyroid. To see the full list of benefits of the little gifts from nature that are Brazil nuts click here.
If you think you’re hungry, first drink some water. Often our system can’t tell the difference between thirst and hunger, so this will keep you hydrated first.
If still hungry between meals, snack on carrots, oranges, apples, bananas or other nutritious items of fruits and vegetables. Gives a little boost. Don’t cut back on food too much otherwise the body goes into starvation mode and stores more fat.
Make sure lunch and dinner has more protein than carbs, but don’t worry too much. They really aren’t as bad as the world makes them out to be. Focus on green vegetables too.

I’m already feeling my energy levels rise. None of this is stuff I didn’t already know, I guess I had just lost motivation. But I owe this to myself, not just for my recovery from a brain injury, but for life.

Other articles you may like:

Are you listening to what your body needs? What simple things help you manage your symptoms?

The post Listen to what your body needs after a brain injury appeared first on Jumbledbrain.

10 tips to avoid more accidents as a consequence of brain injury

Michelle #jumbledbrain — Mon, 02 Oct 2017 14:22:41 +0000

As if facing a life time with a brain injury isn’t enough, you become more likely to have other accidents. Everyone will have accidents, that’s just being human. But brain injury survivors are at higher risk of injuring themselves. Yesterday I did another one, that was easily preventable.

The proof is in the pudding, or in this case the soup.

My partner James had popped out, and I decided to heat up some soup for my lunch. What happened next was a series of poorly thought through decisions.

I went to pour it into a bowl, even though I saw it was bubbling and therefore boiling. My terrible coordination meant I made a bad job of it, and it splashed back up over my hand. I went to flick to off my hand with a sharp shake, which was only partially successful. As I’d shouted when it happened, my cat Dexter woke up and decided it was time for his lunch too. I have basic first aid training, so I know speed at cooling a burn is important. However I chose to feed Dexter first. How ridiculous is that? And as some had spilt on the worktop and floor, I cleaned that up too before running cold water on my burning hand.

Was my brain injury to blame for yet another of my voidable accidents?

Not necessarily, but in all likelihood it probably played a role in it. We can all be careless at times, but my response at every stage was inappropriate. So now I am paying the price with my hand crisping up nicely. The back of my hand is red and delicate, but the worst is my inner wrist. It now sports some go faster stripes, complete with blisters for 3D effect.

So here’s a few tips on avoiding the most common accidents at home. They might sound obvious, but train yourself into good habits. If you have good habits, you’re more likely to respond in a safe way to things. Rather than try to fall back on your problem solving and decision making skills like I did.

Tips to avoid accidents at home, with or without a brain injury:

Be mindful of hot liquids. Don’t place hot drinks for example on table runners which hang over the edge. They can easily be pulled accidentally, causing spillage.
Turn in handles of pots and pans when cooking. A handle sticking out over the edge of the hob can easily be knocked and the hot contents to cause an injury.
Any spills should be cleaned up quickly. This is to prevent them causing anyone to slip and fall. However, make sure that if the spill happened due to you causing an injury to yourself, deal with your injury first and ask for help.
Install grab rails. Bathrooms are a must for grab rails as the slippery surfaces make falls all too likely. But make sure other areas of the house has been thought about too. Often I slip in the kitchen, but it’s tiny so I can grab the work surfaces. If yours is more generous, think of what would help you if you lost your balance.
Keep electronics and water at a safe distance. Things can be dropped or pushed accidentally into water. This can make them short out and as water is a good conductor it can result in electrocution.
Secure rugs. You might remember me talking about rug grippers before in 5 steps to end time consuming indecision of brain injury. These simple, inexpensive items could be the difference between a nasty fall or not.
Best practice for your stairs. Make sure carpets are properly installed making them secure. The hand rail should run the entire length of the stairs, and you should be in the habit of always using it. Avoid placing rugs at the top or bottom of the stairs, as they increase the risk of a fall. (Even with grippers.)
Don’t overload sockets. You must never be tempted to plug an extension cable into another extension cable. This could cause a fire.
Never leave a naked flame unattended. Candles must be kept away from flammable objects. Curtains are a common household item that can quickly catch fire.
Have a plan for if there’s a fire. Install a smoke detector and regularly check the batteries. Make sure you know how to exit the building, bearing in mind the obvious ones might be obstructed by the fire. Have keys for the doors where anyone staying in your home can access them so they can easily unlock the door to exit quickly.

The list could easily go on. If you want to look at a very comprehensive list Preventing Accidents in the Home by Rospa is pretty much on the money.

Have you had avoidable accidents which you think your brain injury had a hand in? What tips do you want others to know?

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