Will, i cant remember when/what was your accident?

A couple ideas: is acupuncture an option for you? For me its just the right amount of conversation, concern (you get to share physical and emotional crap with so little judgement. Some gentle touch and, after the needles are in, relaxation.

Second, i've put out the bat signal to some older friends spread around the country so i dont wear any one friend out too much wth my woes.

Third, i'm gonna overgeneralize here but women are better at knowing how to handle train wrecks like me. So if you have some old girlfriends you can call up try that

Fourth, back before my boyfriend tired of this situation and when i could handle very little convo, he'd tell me quietly about his day kayaking or whatevs and stroke my head like he was trying to heal it. I wonder if we could hire people to do that? (;

I see you're a newbie. Welcome to NT!

Whenever possible, I avoid flying since my TBI. Among other things, I'm always worried that I might have a meltdown during the invasive security. I can be slow answering questions, and I can see the cop wannabes getting anxious.

Does your provincial chapter on the Brain Injury Association issue TBI patient identity cards for your wallet?

I doubt I could whip mine out, before they taser me. I'm thinking of having "out of order" tattooed across my forehead.

planes? vacations? im so shell shocked I can barely make it to the doctor lol. by the time my night terrors and tremors are done, I wake up like a dog that's been beaten too much lol. but it gets better as the day goes on and I am goin to talk to doctor about it

Thanks Hockey! I never even thought of asking about TBI patient cards. I did get frisked at security by a very stern little woman. I also have alot of trouble speaking to people when I am stressed so yeah, the tattoo on the forehead seems like a good idea.

In my anxiety about writing my First Post, I totally forgot to tell the OP that the way I dealt with the isolation during the first 6 months post accident (I am 2.5 years in now) was to respond to my friends comments on facebook, some days thats all I could do, and I messaged my friends and coworkers to ask them to please leave a message about their day if they phoned and I did not answer. I told them that some days I was so fatigued that conversations were beyond me but I sure enjoyed hearing their voices.

I am also feeling the pain of social isolation. In my spare time I was a martial arts instructor and attended my dojo 2-3 times a week. I went from being in the greatest shape of my life to becoming what feels like jello. My close friends disappeared, family didn't call and I got depressed. Then a funny thing happened, close friends that I hadn't talked to in years, acquaintances or my dojo mates contacted me. I felt like I didn't deserve anything good anymore so just said thanks for the concern and left it at that. It took a leap of faith (inspired by my psychologist) to actually reach out, take a chance and see if they wanted to have a short visit. Well, it worked and I now have some new (old?) friends in my life that get it. It was hard to pick up that phone or agree to a visit when asked; but I did it and am sure glad I did.

Musician's earplugs help me be out in loud/crowded/noisy areas and I use a cane to steady myself. I go with someone if the place is spacious as I get easily overwhelmed (vision and noise).

My appointments are also a social outing (sad to say) but insurance has been declining all of my treatment plans as of late. I am getting that sorted out.

I am actually scared to death of my son (12 yrs) going back to school. He has been a constant companion and in a few weeks I will be alone again.

you are lucky with the friend thing..mine are gone for good. couldn't spare a half hour a week. oh well. I spend my days on the CNN chat boards lol and here and wait like a dog for my girlfriend to get home from work.

her love knows no bounds and I don't know if I could have done what she did. I always said women were more loyal an dependable. I also have my cat..9 yeas ago I thought I would take over the world...now I'm just glad for company...oh well...thank God I have my girlfriend

that's a great idea asking friends to leave long messages...i'll try it

yes, take care of that girlfriend of yours! glad she's stuck around. yes, it's a good thing we never know what life has in store for us. maybe our next round of surprises is gonna be awesome.

after seven years i just hope things stay the same lol. but you never know what treatment is around the corner. i owe it to the good people of this board to be positive.

I have my 2 dogs as well. They help a lot on lonely days.