Hello and welcome back to Second Chance to Live. I am happy to see you decided to stop by to visit with me. As a person living with a brain injury and an invisible disability I some times feel like a weed. I am speaking about those plants that grow up and exist amidst other flowers. Let me explain.
By definition, a weed is any undesirable or troublesome plant, esp. one that grows profusely where it is not wanted. Weeds are subsequently targeted for removal, because they are considered a threat to the health and “beauty” of other plants and flowers. Weeds are considered to be useless and of no value.
And yet in reality, “A weed is but an unloved flower.” Ella Wheeler Wilcox
As weeds are considered to be undesirable, troublesome and growing where they are not wanted, so are brain injury survivors to those individuals who can not see our beauty, worth and value — beyond their agendas. Consequently, brain injury survivors may buy into the notion that they are no longer of use or value.
These feelings of being undesirable, troublesome and unwanted – over time and with repeated conditioning through minimization and marginalization – can leave you and I as brain injury survivors feeling dependent upon the very individuals who consider us to be troublesome, undesirable and unwanted.
Such dependence can drain our ambition and leave us feeling powerless and helpless. Such a dynamic can promote insecurity, self-defeat and lead to self-sabotage. Insecurity, self-defeat and self-sabotage in turn foster a sense of alienation and isolation – from both ourselves and from other people.
Please read the conclusion in Part 2. Thank you.
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