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Junior Member
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Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: New York
Posts: 53
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: New York
Posts: 53
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From my experience I would say it's difficult (almost too difficult to be worth one's attention), but still possible. I find that people my age— not just in a romantic context, but even in the context of friendships— have some sort of an inertia or aversion to those struggling with their health, for reasons not hard to surmise. Also there are the issues of our brains, and I have noticed that the technological/social habits of the society are most often counter to what someone with brain injury can work with.
For instance, even some of my oldest friends don't want to come around because it would mean, for them, having to sit with me in the quiet, no TV, no exciting music, maybe not even conversation for lengths of time. I have found that this is very hard for a lot of people my age— and many older people also— to do, at least in the current social climate.
That said, I did meet a girl some months after my injury who had an auto-immune disease, and so she was very sensitive and accommodative to my situation, and we had a very nice time together. But similar to what herminator said, I found myself feeling quite emotionally detached (not to mention bedridden a lot of the time), and she just the opposite— so it ultimately petered out before developing into anything long-lasting. Despite this, the experience gave me hope that there are people who are especially sensitive and receptive to those of us healing from injury or illness, they just might not be the ones out on the town socializing, and so they would be a rare sort to run into…
I imagine the people I'd get along with best at this point leave their houses about as often as I do.
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-First TBI in 2011. Iron cellar door closed on my head. Undiagnosed PCS, and was unaware of anything regarding TBI at the time.
-2nd TBI in August, 2014. Fell skateboarding and hit head on pavement.
-3rd TBI in November, 2014. Hit in the head at work with a dish rack with full strength by a large employee. CT scan normal. Diagnosed mTBI, PCS, PTSD, migraine with aura, and chronic depression. Symptoms have included: quite severe visual disorders, hearing loss in left ear, lethargy, brain fog, dizziness, disordered sleep, hallucinations and "exploding head syndrome", neck and shoulder pain, migraines, headaches, loss of emotions, all forms of cognitive deficiency, loss of reading/verbal ability, sound/light sensitivity, anxiety, panic attacks. Most notably are a general loss of identity and the disillusionment with the world accompanying trauma. But on the other hand, a new and heightened awareness of the nature of self, others, and of suffering itself.
-As of December, 2015, am still experiencing visual disturbances, memory and speech problems, balance, sensitivity and overstimulation issues, along with the trickier to pinpoint cognitive changes, but feel that I am no longer clawing my way through a waking hell, so feel much better about being alive. Hallucinations and panic attacks are gone (thank God!), getting much better at reading and writing, and remembering/planning my daily tasks. Hopeful for further recovery, but thankful to be at least at 50%.
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