Re: emotions after stroke

Hi Gemma

I didn't cry after my stroke or have inappropriate laughing - although I hear it's not all that uncommon. I did have heightened emotions though - I laughed a lot more at funny things and felt extremely sad when listening to sad music. So much so that I turned sad music off as I was sure I would end up with out of control crying. Later when I went to funerals I found that I did cry - something I had never done before. Of course, that was appropriate rather than inappropriate behaviour so people liked to see it!

There are lots of things that happen in our heads as a result of the brain damage caused by a stroke or brain injury. By no means all of them end up being things that others can see.

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* * The things people can more easily see the effects of are generally -

Paralysis, inability to move part of your body, reduced mobility

Poor muscular coordination, tremors

Sensory loss - loss of sensation and feeling

Hearing impairment effects

Visual difficulties - diplopia, double or blurred vision

Loss of sense of smell and taste

Balance problems, dizziness

Headaches

Fatigue, reduced stamina, tiring more easily, needing more sleep

Epilepsy

Sexual arousal (or lack of it)

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* * Then there are the things that are less obvious to others -

Loss of planning skills, poor planning, organising, initiation, poor problem solving and multi-tasking

Memory affects, poor short-term memory, problems with new learning

Reduced ability to use information, decision-making slowed down

Problems with attention, keeping it or dividing attention

Problems with understanding what is seen

Problems with understanding or expressing speech

Lack of insight and awareness of changes

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* * Then there are all the things which affect emotion and behaviour -

Reduced ability to handle frustration leading to temper outbursts and anger

Rapid swings of mood

Emotional lability - crying or laughing more easily

Reduced emotional sensitivity overall, i.e., emotional flattening

Reduced self-motivation, drive and initiative

Disinhibition, impulsiveness, just saying whatever comes to mind, poor social judgement

Anxiety, depressed mood, obsession and inflexibility

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No one ever has all those things but I certainly can recognise a number in my own abilities and behaviour - more than you might expect if you were meet me. Luckily for me most of them are fairly mild, but I did not have them before my stroke.

These are things dealt with by a neuro-psychologist or a cognitive behaviour therapist. So I think a general counsellor may rightly say you need to cry to get past something that is blocking your ability to get on with your life, but unless that counsellor has some understanding of the range of effects of a stroke or brain injury s/he is not able to understand all the reasons why you cannot cry.

We all mostly can improve certain aspects by exercising the particularly troublesome ones and/or learning adaptions to reduce the effect they have. That's the way rehabilitation works. So generally these things can or will improve over time for most of us.

I'm sorry if this seems overly complex but that's because I think it is - I've tried to use easily understood terms and avoid most of the jargon. And, of course I'm no expert nor do I have medical qualifications.

I'm sorry that few have responded so far to your posted message, Gemma, but I do hope that some of the above may be helpful.

As always, take care.