One of the biggest major steps on the road to recovery was to publish our story. It was emotional and extremely hard to recount the hurt and pain that brain injury had caused in our relationship but, writing became cathartic and helped us to piece things together. Here's an insight into our story.
If you would like to read the full story, check out our book, What The Hell Just Happened?
For Mark, having a brain injury felt like…
A friend described brain injury like ‘thinking through treacle’ and that sums up my brain at times.
I sometimes compare it to using an old, out of date mobile phone but trying to run the latest software on it, it will begin to slow down and start buffering. My brain definitely buffers a lot.
After spending years not understanding why things weren’t improving, I’d had enough and couldn’t go on with a fog of confusion. This fog made it difficult to balance my mood and I’d go from being on top of the world to feeling lower than the floor of the deepest ocean.
Finally, I managed to seek out much-needed support and began a long and winding journey to get my life back on track and be able to enjoy our happy lifestyle again.
This journey requires a lot of soul-searching and being honest with yourself and your feelings. Most of all, you need a lot of patience, acceptance, and determination. Let’s face it, nothing in life is really that easy, is it?
My journey has been eye-opening, draining and hard to take at times but it’s also been worth every step. By understanding how to become a master of my brain injury and respect it, it has helped me to live life on my own terms, with Jules.
Let us help you take your rollercoaster journey. We’re all in this together.
For Jules, living with Mark’s brain injury felt like…
Losing your life-long partner. Watching him change in front of your own eyes and not knowing why was extremely difficult and emotional, especially because he couldn’t accept that he was a different person now. He was in complete denial of his low moods and anxiety which made it so hard to try and have any form of conversation on the subject. It was like he put up a shield around him and wouldn’t let anyone in. I even questioned my own mental state and thought I was going mad and imagining all this. I felt so alone.
It wasn’t until one night it all came to an almighty head and I broke, I couldn’t carry on. I’d lost my husband, and desperately wanted him back but he’d said otherwise. The next morning, he had no recollection of that conversation and realised that we needed urgent help. Thankfully, this time after seeing his specialist, he referred us to a BI specialist hospital and we started to get the understanding and knowledge of how to cope with this hidden disability and how we could get our life back together again.
As a mindset coach and carer, I wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the brain. So, between 2020 and 2022, I completed three courses: Master NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming), CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) Mindfulness Diploma, and Behavioural Psychology. These have helped me in both my work and personal life and now I would like to share my knowledge with you!
What's your story?
We'd love to hear your story in our Facebook community!
In this group, we encourage you to share your story, the journey you have been on and express your feelings – however, if you don't feel comfortable doing this, you can simply join to gain advice and be among like-minded individuals who truly understand.
Our community thrives on positive support, and we're here to help you understand how to live with the life changing effects of traumatic injuries but still live life to the fullest!