In today’s article and video presentation I will introduce the 3rd installment in a series of articles that I wrote and published on Second Chance to Live surrounding Brain Injury Awareness. In wrote this series of articles because I believe that brain injury awareness, in and of itself can leave individuals living with brain injuries feeling helpless and hopeless. As with any recovery process, awareness is the first step in being able to make strides to find a new and empowering way of living. In Enough with Brain Injury Awareness Video Presentation, I spoke about the need to face and overcome our denial so as to not be stuck by resentment and bitterness. In Will Brain Injury Recovery Make you Bitter or Better? Video Presentation, I spoke about how being aware can either lead the individual to staying bitter in life or how they can use the acceptance of their awareness to creating a good life for themselves. I used the movie, Groundhog Day to illustrate this decision as presented by Bill Murray’s character.
Below is a brief excerpt from the article, Why I Needed to Challenge My Brain Injury Awareness:
“Several days ago I wrote and published, Enough with Brain Injury Awareness and yesterday I published Will Brain Injury Awareness Leave you Bitter or Better?. While speaking with some one whom I respect earlier today, he helped me to see some thing that I believe needs to be clarified. In Enough with Brain Injury Awareness and Will Brain Injury Awareness Leave you Bitter or Better? I spoke about the issue of denial. In this article I would like to make a distinction. I am making this distinction to further clarify that I am not referring to denial in terms of a personality disorder, as describe by Wikipedia “wrecked by success”; experiences “victory through defeat”; gratified by personal misfortunes, failures, humiliations, and ordeals; eschews best interests; chooses to be victimized, ruined, disgraced.”
Although there are individuals, who find themselves stuck or encouraged to remain in denial, I am not referring to this type or designation of denial in either Enough with Brain Injury Awareness or Will Brain Injury Awareness Leave you Bitter or Better?. In both of my above articles surrounding brain injury awareness, my focus in sharing what I did in those articles was from a recovery approach that encourages holistic healing — mind, body and spirit — in the individual. To encourage those individuals who may be having a difficult time, as I did; moving from beyond being aware, to being able to accept and move forward to create a good life for themselves. In my experience, I remained in denial to the significance of the impact of my traumatic brain injury because I did not know that I could do anything otherwise. In my experience, I remained in denial because I had no idea how to “connect the dots” concerning the impact of my traumatic brain injury, how to accept my deficits and limitations and how to take a different course of action to enhance my life as an individual living with the impact of a traumatic brain injury. Awareness, in and of itself; left me out in the cold with little hope.
“Brain injury awareness only made me AWARE, but did little to show me how I could move forward with my life as an individual living with the impact of a traumatic brain injury.” Craig J. Phillips MRC, BA”
To watch and listen to the video presentation of today’s installment, you may click on this link: Why I Needed to Challenge My Brain Injury Awareness Video Presentation
To read the article from which this video presentation is made, you may click on this link, Why I Needed to Challenge My Brain Injury Awareness
You have my permission to share my articles and or video presentations with anyone you believe could benefit, however please attribute me as being the author of the article (s) video presentation (s), and provide a link back to the article (s) on Second Chance to Live. In the event that you have questions, please send those questions to me. All questions are good questions. Thank you. I look forward to hearing from you. Copyright 2007-2015.
Leave a Reply