Download or read book Thriving After a Severe Traumatic Brain Injury written by Donavan Michael Vliet, Mr. and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-03-16 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is about my traumatic brain injury recovery since 1969. I have with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) for almost fifty years. I believe God saved me for a reason. I am a child of God! This book documents my struggle to survive and how God has helped me through the good days as well as the bad days. Writing this book encourages me to move forward in spite of the brain change. The messages conveyed in this book has inspired me to pick up the TBI mantle and expand my vision of what is possible after the injury. This book encourages me to overcome any obstacle and achieve my dream. As I constantly stretch forward and live my life to the fullest, I know that the next adventure is going to be better, greater. At times it seems like I am in a "brain fog" as a result of the injury. It may not be fair that I suffered a traumatic brain injury; however, I believe I am able to deal with the brain change than someone else. So why not me suffering a TBI? The situation of brain-impairment may not change in my lifetime, but I will honor God nonetheless. I have seeds of greatness in the garden of my mind, however weeds (negative thoughts) will choke them, unless I am constantly vigilant about keeping the weeds out. Negative thoughts are bound to appear, but I have the right to not let them take rest in my life. I must pay attention to what plays in my mind. I only give thoughts of hope, thoughts of faith and thoughts of victory space to run in my mind, not thoughts of despair or disappointment. This book is testimony that I have been refreshed mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically by my recovery in the past and today. Better things tomorrow are just around the corner. Things that go wrong can shape me or scar me. God sometimes allows me to find myself in a place where I want something (mainly complete recovery from my brain change) so bad that I can't see past it. Sometimes, I can't even see God because of the fog. TBI is a hard and lonely experience to go through, filled with disappointments and uphill battles, but sometimes in life, the most painful lessons are best remembered. TBI is like navigating the maze with a blindfold. My hope is that these words help you in some way, and that you believe you can and that you will have a fulfilling life. With TBI the chaos of life is often too much for my sensitive brain to handle. Doctor visits and hospital stays are their own trials with a brain injury. It doesn't have to be a battle. I just have to learn and adjust to the brain change. In 1969, as a brain injury survivor I was misunderstood. I was either dead or visibly disabled (speech or motion defects), or I was just fine. I fell into the "just fine" group. No instruction to see a neurologist or mental health professional, or counselor was given. No emphasis to medicate problems was given; of course, there was probably no medicine to prescribe that would help. The brain is the stuff in my skull. But the mind is a lot like the Internet, a map of information collected from all my experiences and interaction with other people. I have a lot more power to decide what and when I do life than I think. Most my experiences were formed after the accident as I was still developing experiences when the injury occurred because I was a young teenager. I was still learning who I was and how I fit into life. I make mistakes, yet God is big enough and loves me enough to say He forgives me. I should actually believe Him. I shouldn't feel bad about all the times I have messed up because that is ignoring who God is and what He said. If I don't trust His forgiveness, it is like saying I don't really believe He's that good or that I don't deserve His forgiveness. When I accepted Jesus it is like I had been thrown a life preserver after my life was in a terrific collision. I looked like I had been hit by Jesus. I love it! I am safely bound to Him by a bright red rope of grace.
Download or read book Riding on the Sun written by Beverly Klug and published by Page Publishing Inc. This book was released on 2020-11-06 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The tangled world of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and their effects on those who suffer them is not readily understood by those in a person's sphere of influence on the 'outside,' family, friends and others. This book chronicles the author's personal journey of over 23 years during which she had to learn not only how to survive but to thrive following a TBI. The author was a professor in education at a large university when she was involved in a traffic accident. Thro
Download or read book Thriving After a Severe Traumatic Brain Injury written by Donavan Vliet and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2018-10-26 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is about my traumatic brain injury recovery since 1969. I have with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) for almost fifty years. The accident happened when I was 11. This book documents my struggle to survive through the good days as well as the bad days. Writing this book encourages me to move forward in spite of the brain change. The messages conveyed in this book has inspired me to pick up the TBI mantle and expand my vision of what is possible after the injury. This book encourages me to overcome any obstacle and achieve my dream. As I constantly stretch forward and live my life to the fullest, I know that the next adventure is going to be better, greater. At times it seems like I am in a "brain fog" as a result of the injury. Dealing with a brain injury is not easy. The situation of brain-impairment may not change in my lifetime. Sure I have overcome obstacles, however like most brain injury survivors I have to be vigilant otherwise negative thoughts will overcome me. Negative thoughts are bound to appear, but I have the right to not let them take rest in my life. I must pay attention to what plays in my mind. I only give thoughts of hope, thoughts of faith and thoughts of victory space to run in my mind, not thoughts of despair or disappointment. This book is testimony that I have been refreshed mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically by my recovery in the past and today. Better things tomorrow are just around the corner. Things that go wrong can shape me or scar me. However, I choose to live happy. My attitude has been affected by the traumatic brain injury I suffered, but still I have gratitude that I am alive. I could have been killed in the accident. TBI is a hard and lonely experience to go through, filled with disappointments and uphill battles, but sometimes in life, the most painful lessons are best remembered. TBI is like navigating the maze with a blindfold. My hope is that these words help you in some way, and that you believe you can and that you will have a fulfilling life. With TBI the chaos of life is often too much for my sensitive brain to handle. Doctor visits and hospital stays are their own trials with a brain injury. It doesn't have to be a battle. I just have to learn and adjust to the brain change. In 1969, as a brain injury survivor I was misunderstood. I was either dead or visibly disabled (speech or motion defects), or I was just fine. I fell into the "just fine" group. No instruction to see a neurologist or mental health professional, or counselor was given. No emphasis to medicate problems was given; of course, there was probably no medicine to prescribe that would help. The brain is the stuff in my skull. But the mind is a lot like the Internet, a map of information collected from all my experiences and interaction with other people. I have a lot more power to decide what and when I do life than I think. Most my experiences were formed after the accident as I was still developing experiences when the injury occurred because I was a young teenager. I was still learning who I was and how I fit into life. I make mistakes, however I thrive in my recovery by staying connected in my relationships and seeking solutions to the injury I suffered, working around the obstacles and setbacks I encounter. Through the process of looking in the rearview mirror of my life for the past 49+ years--looking at the triumphs, the hardships, the joys, the fears--I can see that life transcends traumatic brain injury. I have had many successes, many failures, made many mistakes, yet I keep moving forward.Brain injury is a hard and lonely experience to go through, filled with disappoointments and uphill battles, but sometimes in life, the most painful lessons are best remembered. Overcoming challenges is the fuel that keeps me going to reach the next level. Attempting to smooth out the potholes and rough spots makes life easier.
Download or read book Half a Head written by Gemma Bromley and published by That Guy's House. This book was released on 2020-09-14 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Half a Head is about finding the courage to live the life you know you deserve; it is about empowering everyone to challenge the views of disability in today's society; it is about looking beyond external identity and reaching within to find true beauty and contentment. At the age of seventeen, Gemma Bromley was involved in a car accident which left her with Traumatic Brain Injury, and half of her skull removed. Brain injury is a type of 'invisible disability', as it often can leave no outward sign after the wounds have healed. Gemma completely lost her identity, and tried very hard to appear 'normal' while learning how to navigate an entirely new way of life at such a young age. In her debut book, Half a Head, Gemma bravely shares her entire experience, from the accident to recovery, offering practical advice and invaluable resources for others who are rebuilding their lives after trauma. I hope this book gives you courage and strength to restart life again after trauma. I hope it helps you to believe in life's magic when all hope fades away from you.
Download or read book Riding on the Sun written by Dr Beverly Klug and published by . This book was released on 2017-05-02 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The tangled world of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and their effects on those who suffer them is not readily understood by those in a person's sphere of influence on the 'outside, ' family, friends and others. This book chronicles the author's personal journey of over 23 years during which she had to learn not only how to survive but to thrive following a TBI. The author was a professor in education at a large university when she was involved in a traffic accident. Throughout her recovery and the years following, she learned a great deal about human brains, and the impacts of brain injuries on all areas of cognition. She learned how to adjust her workload and teaching to accommodate her disabilities. She had to be honest and open with her students about what had happened to her, and re-teach herself in areas affected by her injuries. As with all TBIs, the author's home life was negatively impacted as she could not continue to take on the same load as before. While 'functioning normally' on the outside, she was experiencing the terrible impacts of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on the inside. Operating in a world that seemed as alien as another planet was an everyday challenge for several years. Friends, families, and professionals will benefit from this book as it provides a view of what it feels like on a daily basis to be part of and yet not part of a familiar landscape. The good news is that TBI survivors can develop resiliency, while needing to readjust their ways of thinking, learning and doing. While they may not appear to be the same to those who knew them best prior to their TBIs, they can again learn how to thrive in their new lives with all of their uncertainties.
Download or read book Thriving After Trauma written by Shari Botwin and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2019-11-04 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thriving After Trauma addresses readers who have experience trauma or loss due to a variety of experience – whether accident, abuse, or injury. Shari Botwin shows readers, through personal stories, how many who have experienced the worst kinds of trauma have managed to move on and thrive beyond their experiences. Often, those who live through trauma come away with feelings of shame, guilt, anger, and despair. These are common, even normal, responses in the immediate aftermath. Left unaddressed, though, those feelings may develop into substance abuse problems, eating disorders, depression, or anxiety. Learning how to move on, to pick up and live life again, takes effort and guidance. Botwin guides readers through the stories of others who have gone on to live fulfilling, happy lives, and provides tips and tools for healing and moving on. Letting go of the shame, guilt, anger and fear associated with tragic events is crucial to reclaiming a full life. Strategies such as, journaling, mindfulness, cognitive-behavioral restructuring, and healthy relationships to aid in recovery are explored and explained, so readers can adopt those strategies that work best for them. It is not the trauma itself that results in so many people developing self-destructive tendencies and life threatening illnesses. It is the lack of having a way to digest and make sense of the trauma-related feelings that can lead one to mental illness, disconnection, and in some cases, even death. Readers will learn how to live with the trauma versus how to get over the trauma, so they can move forward healthfully and mindfully.
Download or read book Head of Hope written by Jennifer Soames and published by Legacyone Authors, LLC. This book was released on 2018-08 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Have you experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and don't know what to do, where to turn, or what can help in your recovery and life? Do you feel hopeless, frustrated, lost and lonely? You are not alone. Many TBI survivors struggle with invisible scars like depression, post-concussive syndrome, PTSD, anxiety, insomnia, memory and cognitive challenges and more that most of the world doesn't understand. Navigating the road to recovery, healing, and adapting can be lonely and frustrating and without a lot of clear direction, until now.
Download or read book The Traumatized Brain written by Vani Rao and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2015-11-15 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Useful information and real hope for patients and families whose lives have been altered by traumatic brain injury. A traumatic brain injury is a life-changing event, affecting an individual’s lifestyle, ability to work, relationships—even personality. Whatever caused it—car crash, work accident, sports injury, domestic violence, combat—a severe blow to the head results in acute and, often, lasting symptoms. People with brain injury benefit from understanding, patience, and assistance in recovering their bearings and functioning to their full abilities. In The Traumatized Brain, neuropsychiatrists Drs. Vani Rao and Sandeep Vaishnavi—experts in helping people heal after head trauma—explain how traumatic brain injury, whether mild, moderate, or severe, affects the brain. They advise readers on how emotional symptoms such as depression, anxiety, mania, and apathy can be treated; how behavioral symptoms such as psychosis, aggression, impulsivity, and sleep disturbances can be addressed; and how cognitive functions like attention, memory, executive functioning, and language can be improved. They also discuss headaches, seizures, vision problems, and other neurological symptoms of traumatic brain injury. By stressing that symptoms are real and are directly related to the trauma, Rao and Vaishnavi hope to restore dignity to people with traumatic brain injury and encourage them to ask for help. Each chapter incorporates case studies and suggestions for appropriate medications, counseling, and other treatments and ends with targeted tips for coping. The book also includes a useful glossary, a list of resources, and suggestions for further reading.
Download or read book Psychotherapy after Brain Injury written by Pamela S. Klonoff and published by Guilford Press. This book was released on 2010-06-09 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents hands-on tools for addressing the multiple ways that brain injury can affect psychological functioning and well-being. The author is a leader in the field who translates her extensive clinical experience into clear-cut yet flexible guidelines that therapists can adapt for different challenges and settings. With a focus on facilitating awareness, coping, competence, adjustment, and community reintegration, the book features helpful case examples and reproducible handouts and forms. It shows how to weave together individual psychotherapy, cognitive retraining, group and family work, psychoeducation, and life skills training, and how to build and maintain a collaborative therapeutic relationship.
Download or read book Widen the Window written by Elizabeth A. Stanley, PhD and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2019-09-24 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "I don't think I've ever read a book that paints such a complex and accurate landscape of what it is like to live with the legacy of trauma as this book does, while offering a comprehensive approach to healing." --from the foreword by Bessel van der Kolk A pioneering researcher gives us a new understanding of stress and trauma, as well as the tools to heal and thrive Stress is our internal response to an experience that our brain perceives as threatening or challenging. Trauma is our response to an experience in which we feel powerless or lacking agency. Until now, researchers have treated these conditions as different, but they actually lie along a continuum. Dr. Elizabeth Stanley explains the significance of this continuum, how it affects our resilience in the face of challenge, and why an event that's stressful for one person can be traumatizing for another. This groundbreaking book examines the cultural norms that impede resilience in America, especially our collective tendency to disconnect stress from its potentially extreme consequences and override our need to recover. It explains the science of how to direct our attention to perform under stress and recover from trauma. With training, we can access agency, even in extreme-stress environments. In fact, any maladaptive behavior or response conditioned through stress or trauma can, with intentionality and understanding, be reconditioned and healed. The key is to use strategies that access not just the thinking brain but also the survival brain. By directing our attention in particular ways, we can widen the window within which our thinking brain and survival brain work together cooperatively. When we use awareness to regulate our biology this way, we can access our best, uniquely human qualities: our compassion, courage, curiosity, creativity, and connection with others. By building our resilience, we can train ourselves to make wise decisions and access choice--even during times of incredible stress, uncertainty, and change. With stories from men and women Dr. Stanley has trained in settings as varied as military bases, healthcare facilities, and Capitol Hill, as well as her own striking experiences with stress and trauma, she gives readers hands-on strategies they can use themselves, whether they want to perform under pressure or heal from traumatic experience, while at the same time pointing our understanding in a new direction.
Download or read book Adjusting to Brain Injury written by Katherine Dawson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-12-21 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This important book in the After Brain Injury: Survivor Stories Series tells the story of four people who suffered acquired brain injuries: Karl Hargreaves and Ashraf Sheikh as a result of road traffic accidents, Lisa Summerill because of a stroke and Meg Archer as a result of meningitis. Each person tells their story in their own words, describing what happened to them, how they dealt with it and how they experienced the recovery process. The cases represent very different types of people and severity of injury but are alike in providing raw accounts of the challenges faced whilst also highlighting their resilience and determination to carve out new lives. Alongside these inspirational stories are contributions by friends and family, as well as several members of the interdisciplinary rehabilitation team to give a broader view of the whole process of recovery. By combining expert commentary with real life experiences, this book points towards sources of support, normalises the experience and provides a context for understanding the challenges and successes in each case. This book provides support, understanding and hope for patients who have suffered a brain injury. It is valuable reading for any professional involved in neurorehabilitation and students of clinical neuropsychology.
Download or read book Thriving in the Wake of Trauma written by Thema Bryant-Davis and published by Rowman Altamira. This book was released on 2008 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thema Bryant-Davis examines the cultural issues that health-care professionals need to consider in caring for trauma survivors.
Download or read book Head Cases written by Michael Paul Mason and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2008-04-01 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Head Cases takes us into the dark side of the brain in an astonishing sequence of stories, at once true and strange, from the world of brain damage. Michael Paul Mason is one of an elite group of experts who coordinate care in the complicated aftermath of tragic injuries that can last a lifetime. On the road with Mason, we encounter survivors of brain injuries as they struggle to map and make sense of the new worlds they inhabit. Underlying each of these survivors' stories is an exploration of the brain and its mysteries. When injured, the brain must figure out how to heal itself, reorganizing its physiology in order to do the job. Mason gives us a series of vivid glimpses into brain science, the last frontier of medicine, and we come away in awe of the miracles of the brain's workings and astonished at the fragility of the brain and the sense of self, life, and order that resides there. Head Cases "[achieves] through sympathy and curiosity insight like that which pulses through genuine literature" (The New York Sun); it is at once illuminating and deeply affecting.
Download or read book Getting Your Brain and Body Back Everything You Need to Know after Spinal Cord Injury Stroke or Traumatic Brain Injury written by Bradford C. Berk and published by The Experiment, LLC. This book was released on 2021-07-13 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Make the fullest possible recovery after neurological injury with this definitive guide—by a doctor and spinal cord injury survivor who’s been there After an accident that left him permanently paralyzed over ten years ago, Dr. Bradford Berk made it his mission to help others recover from acute neurological injury (ANI). As the founder and director of the University of Rochester Neurorestoration Institute, he brings his abundant experience in working with patients and making his own ongoing recovery to Getting Your Brain and Body Back, the most up-to-date guide for survivors of spinal cord injury (SCI), stroke, and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Each of these acute neurological injuries can result in similar physical and psychological challenges and require similar treatments, medications, and assistive devices. Getting Your Brain and Body Back offers comprehensive, reassuring guidance for your every concern: How to deal with grief and trauma in the aftermath of accident or injury—and build resilience as you find your way forward What adaptive devices—for bathing, dining, mobility, and more—will help you enjoy life to the utmost How to prevent and treat secondary health problems of every kind, such as heart, skin, and bladder troubles—sexual health included! Therapeutic approaches from both Western and Eastern medicine to consider for maximum healing and pain relief Dr. Berk’s candid advice on medical treatment and daily living—plus insights from the brightest minds in the field—will help get you or your loved one back to life.
Download or read book The Body Keeps the Score written by Bessel A. Van der Kolk and published by Penguin Books. This book was released on 2015-09-08 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published by Viking Penguin, 2014.
Download or read book A Quest for Tears written by Sean Dwyer and published by . This book was released on 2019-09 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sean Dwyer's small car was demolished in a rear-end collision. At the same time, Sean's brain was severely injured. This is the story of loss, despair, hope, and ultimate recovery.
Download or read book Posttraumatic Growth written by Richard G. Tedeschi and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-06-12 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Posttraumatic Growth reworks and overhauls the seminal 2006 Handbook of Posttraumatic Growth. It provides a wide range of answers to questions concerning knowledge of posttraumatic growth (PTG) theory, its synthesis and contrast with other theories and models, and its applications in diverse settings. The book starts with an overview of the history, components, and outcomes of PTG. Next, chapters review quantitative, qualitative, and cross-cultural research on PTG, including in relation to cognitive function, identity formation, cross-national and gender differences, and similarities and differences between adults and children. The final section shows readers how to facilitate optimal outcomes with PTG at the level of the individual, the group, the community, and society.
