Carolyn Dolen - Brain Injury Rewiring for Survivors: A Lifeline to New Connections

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Copyright 2010, Carolyn E. Dolen. All rightsreserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in aretrieval system, or transcribed, in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher.

To the best of our knowledge, the information andrecommendations of this book reflect currently accepted practice.Nevertheless, they cannot be considered absolute and universal.Recommendations for a particular person must be considered in lightof the persons needs and condition. The author and publisherdisclaim responsibility for any adverse effects resulting directlyor indirectly from the suggested therapy practices, from anyundetected errors, or from the readers misunderstanding of thetext.

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This ebook is licensed for your personal use only.This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If youwould like to share this book with another person, please purchasean additional copy for each person you share it with. If you arereading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchasedfor your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com andpurchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work ofthis author and publisher.

e-ISBN 9781611580044

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-PublicationData

Dolen, Carolyn E., 1946

Brain injury rewiring for survivors : a lifeline tonew connections / Carolyn E. Dolen ; foreword by Christine A.Baser.

p. cm.

"An Idyll Arbor Personal Health Book."

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-882883-59-2 (alk. paper)

1. Brain damage--Patients--Rehabilitation. I.Title.

RC387.5.D65 2010

617.4'810443--dc22

2009021783

ISBN 9781882883592

To all survivors

That we may be all we can be.

That our climbs be shared,

That our packs be light,

That our eyes be clear,

And that the vistas be near.

To those who say You cant,

Show them you can.

To those who say You wont,

Show them you will.

And to those who ask you how

Just show them.

That you see the sun

Spiritual Rewiring
Healing Our Hearts with Prayer and the Arts

Cognitive Rewiring
Healing Our Minds with Activities and Games

Emotional Rewiring
Healing Our Feelings and Spirits

Body-Mind Rewiring
Healing with Conventional Medicine.

Mind, Body, Spirit Rewiring
Healing with Complementary Therapy

Nutritional Rewiring
Healing with Healthy Eating and Lifestyle

Physical Rewiring
Healing Our Bodies, Ourselves

Social Rewiring
Healing Our Spirits with People Connections

Vocational Rewiring
Healing with Productive Activity

The brain is amysterious and wondrous thing: three pounds of jelly-like matterthat determines who we are, what we think, how we feel, and how welive in the world. Writing about the brain in an intelligent,cogent, and helpful way is even more wondrous, and that is whatCarolyn Dolen has done.

Providing us with two volumes, Brain InjuryRewiring for Survivors and Brain Injury Rewiring for LovedOnes, is an accomplishment that speaks not only to Carolynspassion for teaching and sharing, but also her compassion foranyone who has faced life on terms they didnt expect, ask for, orwant. During my career as a neuropsychologist I have often wishedfor a book like Brain Injury Rewiring to provide my patientsthe answers they seek and the inspiration to continue their ownjourneys.

I remember when Carolyn began the project ofBrain Injury Rewiring, and while I was amazed at herdedication, I did doubt that she could be so persistent as tocompose, rewrite, and edit this volume again and again until it wasdone. I shouldnt have doubted her determination for this labor oflove! Persist Carolyn did, and she has now provided us not onlywith terrific information and resources, but insight andunderstanding about the trials and triumphs of traumatic braininjury recovery.

It is fitting that Brain Injury Rewiringplaces Spiritual Rewiring at the front end. If you are readingthis, you are likely a seeker, someone trying to find and connectwith whatever lies beyond what you already know. Starting from aspiritual place or heart center recognizes that being braininjured is not who a person is; it is their soul that comes closestto revealing their true self. Harmony, new horizons, and heart canbe found by any who seek it.

As a neuropsychologist, I relate well to theCognitive Rewiring chapter. There are many activities that can helpretrain cognitive functioning, at any recovery stage. I have foundthat young survivors tend to embrace technological aids with ease,are still familiar with the learning process, and accept the roleof student to the therapists teacher. They are not as firmlyestablished in their habits and roles, and therefore approachcognitive rehab with less trepidation. Older survivors, moreestablished in a role or life routine, may resist doing thingsdifferently than they did before their injury, struggling to acceptthat a new approach doesnt diminish them. However, older survivorsoften have the benefit of life experience and prior learning thatfacilitate cognitive rehab. As Carolyn points out, each person willhave a different blueprint of recovery. While cognitiverehabilitation may employ similar learning principles withdifferent survivors, the specific functions focused upon and theamount of compensation versus retraining will vary from person toperson.

Emotional rewiring may be the least understood ofall. We know the prevalence of typical psychiatric disorders thatfollow a brain injury and we know that emotional distress is apredictable secondary consequence of trauma and loss. However, weare only beginning to clearly understand how various emotionsinfluence our thoughts and our thoughts affect our emotions. Add tothat a brain that sometimes processes information accurately andsometimes does not, and it makes for unpredictable behavior. Manysurvivors feel emotions more deeply and are easily overwhelmed byemotion, particularly in the early stages after injury. They mustrelearn how to regulate emotions and control behavior so they arenot subject to the strong pull of feelings like a runaway train. Inmost cases, initial heightened emotional sensitivity smoothes outover time, and residual sentimentality can be channeled into agreater appreciation for life. As you read the Emotional Rewiringchapter, be kind to yourself, non-judgmental, for any of theemotional traumas that still exist.

With her tell-it-like-it-is style, Carolynoutlines all the major traditional therapies, and some increasinglypopular alternative therapies, in the Body-Mind Rewiring andMind-Body-Spirit Rewiring chapters. Since there is no one healthcare specialty that can provide all things to all people, Carolynwisely emphasizes how to find and keep a good health care team. Asthe practice of health care evolves, it departs more and more fromthe days of Marcus Welby, MD or long visits with the familiarfamily doctor. Each survivor must learn the tools of self-advocacyin order to receive the best care. Carolyn not only provideswonderful descriptions of therapies, but also offers many tips onhow to communicate your needs to health care professionals.