If You Don't Believe in God, This Video Isn't Your Jam

Just because you had a stroke doesn't mean that you wronged God, or vice versa. Maybe, just maybe, He has another plan for you.

Clem Suder, the man who showed me faith again--he a Christian, I a Jew 

It's the "Why" of Post-Stroke Fatigue That I Wanted Answers To!

Hippocrates, the father of medicine, said long ago in ancient times, "Suddenly a healthy person is seized with head pain, immediately the voice fails, he snores, and the mouth is open (gapes), and if someone calls or moves, he only groans, nothing with meaning." He was describing apoplexy, which came to be as stroke around the 1700s. 

Though doctors now understand the causes and effects of a stroke, the condition hasn’t always been well understood. Even now. Apoplexy, or stroke, is a disorder in which a person falls with no warning yet retaining pulse and respiration. 

In all that time, doctors still don't everything? Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death and the first in disability around the world. Well, it's time to bring stroke forward to the front burner!

One of the things about which the doctors are puzzled is fatigue. Take me, for example. I need to nap sometimes, less often because I'm taking Vitamin B12, the energy booster. But if I feel that a nap is about to happen, I don't want to take a nap because it means later bedtime. Rather, I need to take a nap. 

I asked the pharmacist if any of my medicines could add to the fatigue which is becoming more prevalent recently.

"I see here on the screen that you didn't change medications for a few years. So why are you tired recently?"

He was no help. And no, it's not COVID. I was tested--twice recently. 

The American Heart Association claims, "Fatigue is frequent and often severe, even late after stroke. It is associated with profound deterioration of several aspects of everyday life and with higher case fatality, but it usually receives little attention by healthcare professionals. Intervention studies are needed."

And so it goes, study after study, that healthcare professionals admit more studies on Post-Stroke Fatigue (PSF) are needed, but few, if any, are being done.

From the National Institutes of Health (NIH): "There are some data that point to right hemispheric strokes being the cause of PSF. Damage to the brainstem has also been linked to fatigue. However, fatigue is so prevalent in the general population of stroke victims, the two types of stroke...do not completely explain the cause."

The NIH also goes on to say, "Fatigue may improve with time, but it can also be persistent and some patients may never be completely free of it. Tasks that may have come easily before the stroke may be harder and therefore require more energy than they previously would." 

I've done a formula and the result is this: compared to what I used to do, before the stroke, it now takes 3 times as long than the prior. 

So I guess we have to wait longer for the "why" role fatigue plays in most stroke survivors' lives. I don't know how much longer, but it won't be tomorrow, or even next year.

Emotional Intelligence: Most Brain-Injured People Have It

Do you know what Emotional Intelligence is? Let's pause for a moment and define it. 

Emotional Intelligence is not one or a few but ALL of your brain's mindset. They include the following:

• Social Skills
• Motivation
• Empathy
• Self Awareness
• Self Regulation

SOCIAL SKILLS

It's foremost to know where you are and where you're going. Otherwise, it's like trying to make a long trek without a map.  First, you won't know how to start. Second, you won't know if you are drawing close or just walking around your destination. That is, you understand what your current social strengths and limitations are. 

Brain-injured people, after awhile, should know their strengths and limitations. 

MOTIVATION

There are many theories that point to why people do the things they do. But my favorite is the Drive Theory in which people are motivated to an action to reduce the tension that is caused by unmet needs. You might be motivated to eat in order to reduce the state of hunger.

The drive theory is based on homeostasis, the idea that the body is working to maintain a certain state of balance.

Brain-injured people ultimately know what to do to avoid scary behavior that cause their equilibrium to go haywire, not at first but after repetitive falls, for example.

EMPATHY

Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes to communicate that understanding back in return. It's the ability understand people's situation and feelings from their point of view.

Many brain-injured people say, "You can only know how this [stroke or other brain injury] feels if you were to see it for yourself."

SELF AWARENESS

From understood.org, people with self awareness can: 

• Recognize their strengths and challenges
• Understand and talk about their needs and feelings
• Recognize other people's needs and feelings
• See how their behavior affects others
• Develop a growth mindset and learn from their mistakes

Brain-injured should be able to accomplish all on the list, with practice and lots of it.

SELF REGULATION

Dr. Steven Stosny says in Psychology Today, "Consistent self-regulation requires focus on your deepest values rather than feelings. It's also the best way to feel better. Violation of values invariably produces bad feelings, while fidelity to them eventually makes you feel more authentic and empowered." 

In other words, taking feelings out of the picture, what is the right thing to do?

Most brain-injured people, at least the hundreds--maybe more--that I met online (and after awhile) are more patient and inwardly compassionate, looking at what is right--the core values--than focusing on feelings which makes you angrier, frustrated, hateful. 

To all of the brain-injured people out there, wouldn't you agree that I'm talking, with lots of repetitions, acquiring emotional intelligence is already almost there for you? If necessary, think about it and read this post again to understand my point of view. 

We got this, right?