Tag Archives: neuro-psychology

LIVING WITH HEAD INJURY: What It Feels Like to Have A Head Injury?

Posted on February 1, 2014 by craig lock

LIVING WITH HEAD INJURY: WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO HAVE A HEAD INJURY?

THE EFFECTS OF HEAD INJURY
There are many misconceptions and a great lack of understanding about this condition, so here is some general information that I hope may be able to help others.
Extreme fatigue. This is my area of greatest difficulty and has shaped my entire adult life (from age 15). I wake up every morning feeling very tired and washed-out. Heavy -headed…and have felt like this all my life. So I do my most demanding “work” involving thinking early in the morning and structure my day around this. I am typing this at 5.45 am. (my “best time of the day”)
Apparently neurosurgeons say that the effects of fatigue can prevent many highly-intelligent head-injured people from functioning fully in the formal work force. Doctors don’t even understand… so how can employers be expected to? Many people assume head injured people to be simply lazy, whereas they are just conserving energy (well how else could they avoid making judgments, when people with head injuries look so normal). That’s why it’s often referred to as “the hidden handicap”.
I get very easily muddled- so break little tasks down. Often wonder what to do with two pieces of paper in my hand. Even putting one piece of paper away, then doing the next.

I always wondered why I never spoke much in class after my accident. I had great difficulty in telling a story (even a short one) geting muddled and confused, so I kept quiet. This is called “mild dypsphasia”. I find that I communicate way better through writing… so that’s what I do.
The only way I can tell a joke or do a short presentation in my working life is by rote and repetition… and this is the method I’ve used all my life. I found it difficult telling long stories and Marie always helped me, so I was very to the point.

I had a closed head injury of what is called the ‘acceleration’ or ‘decelleration’ type. This results in my poor balance, coordination and weakness in my left side. Now let us look at the most significant physical effects of head injury.
I had great difficulty in dealing with shapes and sizes, as evidenced by the tests in Perth measuring visual-spatial ability. But I’m nothing like as bad as Michael Crawford in the British comedy series ‘”Some Mothers do ‘ave ’em”, when he tried fitting things into various holes.

PPS
“Just because a brain has been damaged, does NOT necessarily have to affect the human mind…and so the quality and height of our thoughts!”

“Let’s not what we can’t do stop us from doing what we CAN do…best!”
“There are no perceived limits, just endless possibilities…horizons far and wide”
– craig Continue reading →

Posted in brain injury, effects of head injury, head injury, living with head injury | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Hidden Handicap – the Silent Epidemic

Posted on January 22, 2014 by craig lock

THE HIDDEN HANDICAP* – THE SILENT EPIDEMIC*

CLIMBING THE EVEREST WITHIN

Subnitter’s Note
The following piece is from information that I’ve researched and collected over the past twenty-five years. Some of the writings are words from my own experiences and much material from sources unknown (some of which has been re-written and re-phrased by me). I am sharing this information in the spirit of promoting greater awareness of head (or brain) injury, as well as helping and hopefully encouraging “victims of the hidden ‘handicap’” to realise their full potentials and be all that they are capable of achieving, being and becoming.
Craig Lock
October 2005
*

Some introductory comments re the title of this article

* because it can’t be seen and brain /head damaged people look perfectly “normal” (what’s that!).

NB: NO, I don’t necessarily see it, this label as a ‘handicap’, but rather as an opportunity for personal growth.

Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed* of an equal or greater benefit.”
– Napoleon Hill (in his great book ‘Think and Grow Rich’)

* this should perhaps read “rather the POTENTIAL seed” in cases of head (brain) damage

“Just because a brain has been damaged, does NOT necessarily have to affect the human mind…and so the quality and height of our thoughts!”
Continue reading →

Posted in brain injury, chronic fatigue, effects of head injury, Head (brain injury), head injury | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Living with Long-Term Brain (Head) Injury

Posted on January 1, 2014 by craig lock

INTRODUCTION

Here is some “info”, that I summarised from a radio interview with a UK film-maker by the name of William Fairbank (http://www.williamfairbank.com) talking about the “hidden handicap, the silent epidemic”. (“It could have been me speaking” . . . but not nearly as eloquently* as William!)

*big word, eh!

Head injury has become a common problem throughout the world. Many of the more severe injuries are related to road traffic and horse riding accidents. As an example, in Great Britain about 15 patients every hour are admitted to hospital for observation, because of head injury and every 2 hours one of these will die. Head injury is implicated in 1 of all deaths and 50% OF ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT DEATHS. Head injury is particularly prevalent in the age group between 10 and 25. CONCUSSION has occurred, whenever patients cannot remember the actual blow that made them unconscious.

*

WILLIAM FAIRBANKS Interview with Kathryn Ryan on National Radio (4th Feb 2010)

LONG-TERM BRAIN INJURY

“There is excellent medical care immediately post-trauma. However, there is little follow-up after the initial trauma. Every day I have to come to terms with my brain injury, to learn. I don’t handle interruptions. It’s like being in a movie. Each person with a brain injury is different…and is affected in different ways. I do one thing at a time – break into little tasks. I really live in the present. No-one ever explained to me how to cope, how to deal with everyday living. I had to learn strategies for myself.

Difficulties in ‘making connections’: Continue reading →

Posted in Head (brain injury), head injury, living with head injury, survivors, traumatic brain injury | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Head Injury: A Practical Guide: You are an Expert Already…

Posted on December 31, 2013 by craig lock

HEAD INJURY: YOU ARE AN EXPERT ALREADY…

Part of the text is reproduced by kind permission of Trevor Powell from his book Head Injury: A Practical Guide.

The cognitive effects of a brain injury affect the way a person thinks, learns and remembers. Different mental abilities are located in different parts of the brain, so a head injury can damage some, but not necessarily all, skills such as speed of thought, memory, understanding, concentration, solving problems and using language.

The cognitive system can be divided up into six separate areas:

Memory

Memory is not one thing or one skill on its own. It is easily damaged by brain injury because there are several structures within the brain which are involved in processing information, storing it and retrieving it. Damage to those parts of the brain on which these abilities depend can lead to poor memory. Problems with memory is a complex subject and is covered in more depth in a separate section.

Headway has produced a publication Memory Problems After Brain Injury that provides further information.

Attention and Concentration

A reduced concentration span is very common after head injury, as is a reduced ability to pay attention to more than one task at the same time. These problems are usually caused by damage to the frontal lobe. Attentional problems tend to get worse when the person is tired, stressed or worried. When there are problems with concentration, other skill areas can be affected. It is difficult to follow instructions, plan ahead, be organised and so on, when there is a problem concentrating. Working in a place with as few distractions as possible can help and, as concentration improves, distractions can be increased. In this way, someone can slowly learn to concentrate better in a world which is crowded with distracting sights and sounds.

Speed of Information Processing Continue reading →

Posted in brain injury, Headway, living with head injury, medical, medical information | Tagged , , , | 987 Comments

‘RUNNING ON EMPTY’: Living with Head Injury: What It Feels Like to Have A Head Injury?

Posted on October 7, 2013 by craig lock

THE EFFECTS OF HEAD INJURY
There are many misconceptions and a great lack of understanding about this condition, so here is some general information that I hope may be able to help others.
Extreme fatigue. This is my area of greatest difficulty and has shaped my entire adult life (from age 15). I wake up every morning feeling very tired and washed-out. Heavy -headed…and have felt like this all my life. So I do my most demanding “work” involving thinking early in the morning and structure my day around this. I am typing this at 5.45 am. (my “best time of the day”)
Apparently neurosurgeons say that the effects of fatigue can prevent many highly-intelligent head-injured people from functioning fully in the formal work force. Doctors don’t even understand… so how can employers be expected to? Many people assume head injured people to be simply lazy, whereas they are just conserving energy (well how else could they avoid making judgments, when people with head injuries look so normal). That’s why it’s often referred to as “the hidden handicap”.
I get very easily muddled- so break little tasks down. Often wonder what to do with two pieces of paper in my hand. Even putting one piece of paper away, then doing the next. Continue reading →

Posted in autobiography, Head (brain injury), living with head injury | Tagged , , , , , , | 13 Comments

“The Hidden Handicap – the Silent Epidemic”

Posted on October 3, 2013 by craig lock

Subnitter’s Note

The following piece is from information that I’ve researched and collected over the past twenty-five years. Some of the writings are words from my own experiences and much material from sources unknown (some of which has been re-written and re-phrased by me). I am sharing this information in the spirit of promoting greater awareness of head (or brain) injury, as well as helping and hopefully encouraging “victims of the hidden ‘handicap’” to realise their full potentials and be all that they are capable of achieving, being and becoming.
Craig Lock
October 2005
*

Some introductory comments re the title of this article

* because it can’t be seen and brain /head damaged people look perfectly “normal” (what’s that!).

NB: NO, I don’t necessarily see it, this label as a ‘handicap’, but rather as an opportunity for personal growth.

Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed* of an equal or greater benefit.” Continue reading →

Posted in brain injury, effects of head injury, Head (brain injury), head injury | Tagged , , , | 497 Comments

Running on Empty: Living with Long-Term Brain (Head) Injury

Posted on October 2, 2013 by craig lock

Head injury has become a common problem throughout the world. Many of the more severe injuries are related to road traffic and horse riding accidents. As an example, in Great Britain about 15 patients every hour are admitted to hospital for observation, because of head injury and every 2 hours one of these will die. Head injury is implicated in 1 of all deaths and 50% OF ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT DEATHS. Head injury is particularly prevalent in the age group between 10 and 25. CONCUSSION has occurred, whenever patients cannot remember the actual blow that made them unconscious.

*

WILLIAM FAIRBANKS Interview with Kathryn Ryan on National Radio (4th Feb 2010)

LONG-TERM BRAIN INJURY

“There is excellent medical care immediately post-trauma. However, there is little follow-up after the initial trauma. Every day I have to come to terms with my brain injury, to learn. I don’t handle interruptions. It’s like being in a movie. Each person with a brain injury is different…and is affected in different ways. I do one thing at a time – break into little tasks. I really live in the present. No-one ever explained to me how to cope, how to deal with everyday living. I had to learn strategies for myself.

Difficulties in ‘making connections’:

I can only handle “one-on-one” situations. I can’t hold two thoughts in my mind at the same time. A ringing phone will interrupt my thought and sequence. I easily lose the ‘flow’ of the task I was engaged in. Then I have difficulty wondering what to do next! I have to clear clutter to simplify my life. Get easily ‘thrown’ Head injured people are often self absorbed. (Probably helps them cope with life through focussing??)

NB Everyone with a head injury is affected differently.

No-one can understand my problems, because I appear to be a lucid, intelligent man. I’m fine here now doing ONE thing. Continue reading →

Posted in living with head injury | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

What Does it Feel Like to be Brain Damaged?

Posted on September 18, 2013 by craig lock

It is generally accepted that people working with individuals who have any type of handicap, should have a certain amount of empathy with their clients and should strive to understand how their clients feel and think. People working with those who are brain damaged have a particularly hard time doing so. One can have some understanding of what it means to be blind by simply closing one?s eyes; yet how can a normal person understand what it feels like to be brain damaged?

I am in the unusual position of being a trained clinical psychologist who suffered brain damage and who has slowly recovered most of my facilities. In other words, I have been on the outside looking in, and also, on the inside looking out at the world of the brain damaged person. At this point in my recovery, I have a foot in both worlds, for I can remember what it felt like to be completely normal intellectually, and also what it felt like when loss of function was at its worst.

Perhaps this informal and very subjective narrative may be of some help in assisting normal people to empathize a little better with the brain damaged individual. For, unfortunately, most brain damaged people are unable to explain precisely how they feel; those who have been brain damaged since birth, of course, have never had the experience of functioning normally and thus have no standard of comparison of their present state with that of others. Continue reading →

Posted in brain injury survivors, effects of head injury, Head (brain injury), inspirational quotes, living with head injury, medical information | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Living with Long-Term Brain (Head) Injury

Posted on July 31, 2013 by craig lock

Article Title: Living with Long-Term Brain (Head) Injury Submitted by: Craig Lock Category (key words): Head injury, brain injury, William Fairbank, effects of brain/head injury, neuro-psychology, brain, cognitive difficulties, medical information, medical resources (enough there now, craig) Web sites: http://www.williamfairbank.com  … Continue reading →

Posted in brain injury, closed head injury, living with head injury | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 329 Comments

Living with Head Injury: (from ‘My Story’)

Posted on July 23, 2013 by craig lock

Living with Head Injury: (from ‘My Story’) [Paperback] LIVING WITH HEAD (BRAIN) INJURY (from ‘MY STORY’) * A look into head injury, sometimes known as the “hidden handicap” and the effects on the person (casualty). In this “work” I’ll share … Continue reading →

Posted in autobiography, books on brain/head injury, brain, brain injury, closed head injury, effects of head injury, Medical resources (information), My Story, TBI, writers and brain injury, writing and head injury | Tagged , , , , , , , | 72 Comments