i changed unlike most of you on here i still have a sense of humour, if you could call it that i find everthing funny.people being seriously hury i laugh,children,old people i ant help it i laugh.. i cant relate to others feelings.. this includes my own children..i cant spell to save myself..i forget my own name most days.dont recognise my children..my family say there is nothing wrong with me that i doing it for attention..
i just want to b me again..normal..

Hello mates,

Guess my writing in my last posts was not very inspired. What I asked you to bear in mind is that all this hell we have been through, this too shall pass. Believe it, because it shall.

Lots of love and blessings for all of you,

Pema Deva

My husband feels like everyone close to him is the same way, that they are all out to get him. He feels especially that way toward me at times. I try to see it from that perspective, but most of the time when he acts "normal", it makes it difficult to remember that he has had a brain injury at all, until it hits. Then I am taken aback a pace or two and have to regroup,rethink, and remember. He's not ok at that moment.

yes. My pseronality changed, as did my likes, desires, etc. It all changes, and sometimes you DO have to re-invent who you are. Or take the time to let yourself be comfortable with who you are NOW and grow from there. Take time. Dont get frustrated. Go Slowly.

I didn't lose my interest in many things and I am still able to enjoy my life. I like to cook, listen to music, dance, read, attend movies, theatre etc. After being released from the hospital I couldn't read. I had been able to read prior to my accident but when I tried reading again I could read the words but I couldn't comprehend the sentence so I watched movies and I slept alot. I did not give up on reading and as time progressed so did my comprehension. I didn't understand my new self and it has been a never ending learning process. In my first year of recovering from tbi, I went to school. This is where I learned I had incredible difficulty learning. This was a huge change because before tbi I learned quickly and this is no longer how I learn. I had worked with The Office of Vocational Rehabilitation in hopes of learning how to type and I couldn't learn how. They told me I ought to be able to learn and I couldn't. I had some improvement but I am slow and certainly unable to type to earn money. There will be more public awareness of tbi because of the wars and maybe moreunderstanding.

most definately. I was deep in that same reality, but am much better now.

I am working to retrieve creativity. My sense of humour is even coming back. Of course, my local 'support system' has at times been pretty suppressive and that too can dim your sense of humour. I read somewhere, I think Scientific American Mind that BI patients often have changes of sense of humour. They said that they were more likely to laugh at slap-stick comedy. Who knew?

Sometimes when I go to think a thought, perhaps in response to something someone said, it seems to take 3-5 seconds for the thought to move to where I can use it!!! Not always, but sometimes i can almost feel that delay. Overall, I have beaten most of my symptoms with time and NCR treatments. Several months ago I could 'see' my old self, but not reach it, like a name on the tip of your tongue. I'm much further along now.

I don't know how to explain, but I hope my story gives you some hope.

Yes my personality change I suffer depression, I have to lean on people to tell me what to do. I dont know what makes me happy.

Hi Jane,
I had closed head injury too! My personality totally changed too. My sense of humor is totally gone. When people tell me jokes, if I even get it, I don't find them funny. Of course, out of politeness I fake a laugh. I'm extremely moody. My mood can change at the drop of a hat. And over the slightest thing! My tbi was 18 years ago so I guess I've gotten used to it but I sure wish the "old me" would come back!! But, really, the new us is better!! We all now have an added strength that only comes from surviving such an ordeal! So, hats off to the new us!!
Good Luck.
Kelly

I'm still funny and enjoy sarcasm, I think, after my TBI like 2 and 1/2 years. Also, for the better, I used to hang out and drink in a bar every night, but after my TBI, no more cravings.

Hi. Since you don't go to bars and drink a lot anymore maybe it was a blessing in disguise! you do have to work on the brain; its like any other organ, it has to be exercised; and like anyother muscle, the more you exercise it the stronger it gets.
Kelly

you sound exactly like me since my ruptured brain aneurysm two years ago. i'm still nowhere near the person i used to be and am finally realizing i never will be again; at least that's how i feel right now. depression, constant head and neck pain, no persoanlity or emotion.

My husband's attention span is even shorter than it was before his accident and he has NO sense of humor whatsoever. He gets to concentrating on one thing and if anyone or anything interrupts him he is instant rage. I wish I had something positive to say about his behavior, but I got threatened with divorce papers today because I hadn't gotten around to vacuuming up the cat litter around the cat box. I tried to tell him that his behavior sometimes scares me and he threatened to sue me for slander. I don't think I have much to work with anymore. Maybe the lesson here is that it COULD be worse. It is very hard to be a support for someone like this. Count your blessings if you have someone sticking by you in spite of your changes.

Hey Jane:
Yes, most of us have experienced changes in our personality, likes and dislikes. A lot of us report to being colorless and dull. As a writer, it was many many months before I could write anything that resembled my old self. Because those pathways in your brain have been damaged, it affects those areas they used to connect. As you heal, some will connect in different paths, making "the old Jane" a little different. Keep on trying to get those pathways to connect! Try everything. Listen to new music. Sing!! Learn new things, new skills. Try learning a new language or a musical instrument. Research has indicated that physical condition affects Alzheimer's so start walking or lifting weights or some kind of physical exercise. People reported that I was "in a fog" for the better part of a year but the fog has lifted. The color has returned. Keep at it!!!! Good luck to you!!!

have you told your speech therapist about it? all of the areas you mentioned can be worked on in speech. humor and mental flexibility (for humor and art) are cognitive skills... chances are those skills are still in your brain... there just might be a bit of a roadblock in getting to them... a speech therapist should help you clear the road block or find a good detour, so to speak ;)

humor and creativity also come from emotion... so depending on where you are emotionally, that might be something else that is keeping those skills from showing themselves... you may want to talk about it with a counselor and see what perspective they have to offer?

After my TBI, I had a personality change. My mom told me. I have no memory of my life
before the accident. I was 9 years old.
I'm very forgetful. I have been trying to
develop the new me also. I know it's hard.
I wish you alot of luck.