Mokey, that is so true!

Like you, I am chronically over-educated. lol

I suffered a very serious TBI in 2007. In the aftermath of my injury, I couldn't count backwards or even circle all the triangles on a page. My neurologist told my husband it was hopeless and to just take me home.

As we have a young family, we couldn't accept that prognosis. We spent a fortune of our own money to access cognitive therapies, etc... that we couldn't get through the public system.

It's been a hard road, but I've reached the stage where I can, at least, type this error-filled post.

Why did I, perhaps, have a better outcome than less well-educated patients? My wonderful neuro-psychologist (who was shocked I was even alive, let alone speaking, etc...) thought there were many reasons.

For starters, my family had the financial resources to access extra help, and the confidence to advocate for care. Less educated people often lack money and are cowed by authority figures. In Canada, a brain injury patient who doesn't fight tooth and nail for attention, will be NEGLECTED. Classism is alive and well in medicine.

My education had taught me how to study and learn, and I was able to bring those skills to my therapy.

There is also the issue of HOLD SKILLS. Essentially, we tend to hold onto the things that were well drilled into our brains by formal training and practice.

In my case, as a professional writer, I retained (although reduced significantly) an ability to communicate - despite extensive damage to the areas of the brain thought to control language. As I seldom used it, I did, however, lose my french almost completely.

Well-educated people can also be better at covering up their deficits. I suffer from both apraxia and aphasia. However, I know tons of synonyms for everything. This makes it less obvious that I am fighting for words than a patient who didn't have my education and professional experience.

Still, I am not convinced that this ability to mask symptoms is always a blessing for patients who were high functioning premorbidly. While I'm grateful for the recovery I've managed, I am nowhere near back to MY normal. However, as I still test out higher on IQ tests, etc..., than the vast majority of the population, people assume I'm fine - and I find myself burdened with unrealistic expectations for my performance and behaviour.

Brain injury isn't just about intelligence; it's about being able to access and use that intelligence. As a brain injury patient, so many things get in the way of my ability to function: fatigue, tinnitus, memory issues, lack of impulse control, depression, seizures, slower processing, organizational problems, coordination issues, indecisiveness, filtering difficulties, etc..., etc...

My neuro-psychologist told me that while high-functioning individuals do tend to make the most progress, they also seem to feel more pain over what they have lost. We have the most "spare" capacity, but we also have the farthest to fall. That's the way I feel.

Sure I can write this post, but I will never be able to write and publish anymore fiction. Is that okay because most people couldn't write publishable fiction, in the first place? No, it's not - no matter what some dumb *** neurologist might think.

I once asked a neurologist if it would be okay if, in the aftermath of a TBI, he found himself unable to continue to function in his speciality, but could manage as a nursing home caregiver. All I got back was a blank look.