From my observation of my family, who is Christian, people with spiritual belief cope better with anything. Also, if they attend churches or religious gatherings, they become part of a community who are more accepting than the norm and willing to help.

Will, by "family," do you mean extended family? Your mother, as you've said, is having a great deal of difficulty accepting your TBI.

Hockey,

My faith and ability to seek comfort from God through prayer makes a HUGE difference to my ability to cope.

Good topic, thanks for the thoughtful replies. I do come from a religious family but that doesn't help my bad days at all. I'm happy for those who do find comfort there.

What I do that helps - me - first, I call a suicide hot line. I'm not coherent or physically able to be actually suicidal. But I find many of the hot line volunteers understand intense pain, hopelessness and disability.

The other thing that helps is when I talk to my malpractice lawyer. If there is one person that understands my anger with doctors who cause injury and don't care - it's my legal folks.

that happened to you too I got screwed bad by the doctor at the Medical Board found him guilty of no wrongdoing. What happened to you. I hope you're hanging in there

Yes, although the printed word is a tone deaf medium, I think that still comes through your posts. Your acceptance of your injury seems not to be the product of despairing resignation, but rather a certain, if you will, state of grace.

You are, in an importance sense, a very fortunate man.

I'm not sure I have much of a perspective to offer here as I'm still having trouble coping with dark days, but I can say that when I've been at my worst calling loved ones and talking with them has helped tremendously. I've also found regular meditation practice has allowed me to recognize anxious thought patterns (such as anxiety over a minor head jolt or something) and try to recognize it as unproductive and stop it. Being a month in on lexapro might also have something to do with that, but I got better at recognizing anxious thought patterns before that, so I think meditation did help!

I feel I'm less able to control depressive thought patterns, and find myself more depressed than anxious nowadays. My rational side knows that most people with PCS eventually get better (minus susceptibility to stress, further concussions, etc.), but I just can't seem to truly believe that I'm going to get better. I think being profoundly optimistic would probably help my recovery greatly, but I just can't seem to jump wholeheartedly on that bandwagon.

I feel like if I had a greater capacity for faith that this would be much easier, but I just don't. I've defined myself for a while by my lack of faith, but have kind of wished that I had some, as it might make this easier. But, I'm just not built that way (no offense intended to religious/spiritual folks, people can have good reasons for believing, they're just not reasons that I share).

Anyone have any insight on how to foster the belief that things will get better, that we will regain what we've lost (even if in reality we might not)? I imagine I'm not the only person who has struggled with this.

Wow, i feel like i could have written these words myself, which gives me a small amount of comfort to know i'm not alone even though i feel lost. hang in there...when/what was your injury?

I'm a 25 yr old grad student, slipped on ice Feb 2014, initial symptoms weren't too bad, mostly headaches and just not feeling like myself. A minor head bump 5 days after sent me on a downward spiral of anxiety and depression, plus insomnia. Over the next few months I started to do more, but the headaches and minor difficulty concentrating didn't get better. Then I went on a backpacking trip OK'd by my doc, which went fine, but I started feeling worse when I got back.

Throw in another headbump, stressful breakup and a minor car accident during June/July and the headaches got much worse, as well as difficulty reading and looking at screens, dizziness, and anxiety and depression. The worst is just not feeling like myself - I used to be very active physically and mentally, and find joy in just about everything I did, and now the cloud of this concussion darkens everything. I still do find joy in things, but it's not the same. I just want to feel like myself again, I've accepted that I won't for a while, but I wish I just believed that eventually I will again.

Hockey, I PMed you.

Since the injury, I have wished few times that I could be a Christian like the rest of my family. I am just not built that way, either.

I believe that we never stay the same. We get a completely new body every 7 years(through cells dying off and getting new cells). Our perspectives, belief systems change through new experiences. In this sense, we will never be the same.

For something gained, there is always something lost. By the same token, there is no pure loss, as we would surely have gained something: resilience, gratitude, acceptance to name a few.

What gets me through is thinking about my legacy to humanity (for folks who don't have children). I think about people who have inspired and continue to give me strength. I think about Helen Keller who never gave up. I think about others in worse shape than I do, who keep fighting with a smile on their face. I cannot let these people or myself down. This keeps me going.

That being said, I am scared. I want to feel like "myself"...