I will eventually get to the possible solutions

I’ve been focusing on understanding the trauma in traumatic brain injury, writing about the ways it intersects with PTSD. There’s a lot of territory to cover, and I’m really just scratching the surface. Beneath it all, there are massive changes that take place in the brain, the cells, the central/autonomic nervous system, which I can barely speak to.

I can, however, speak to the everyday experience, so that’s where I’ll focus.

And when I’ve gotten to the end of the laundry list of discussion items (list courtesy of Invisible Heroes by Belleruth Naparstek):

The Nature of the Traumatic Event

• proximity (follow this link to see more discussion)
• duration (follow this link to see more discussion)
• extent of brutality (follow this link to see more discussion
• betrayal
• threat of dying
• perpetrating violence
• societal context
• unpredictability
• injury
• loss
• being trapped

Survivor Traits

• gender
• age
• psychological history
• education
• ethnicity
• social support

Reactions Around the Trauma

• panic and acute stress
• dissociation
• biochemical anomalies
• drinking and intoxication
• sense of control during the event
• self-blame and negative beliefs
• subsequent health problems

… then I’ll start talking about what we can do about all this.

But for now, I’ll be focusing on laying the groundwork for the intimate connection between TBI and PTSD… in hopes that others will pick up on this, as well, and maybe run with some pieces of it, themselves. There is a ton of work to be done in this area, and in many respects, we’re just getting started.

Onward.