Yesterday I received a question from a reader and a friend of Second Chance to Live that helped me to realize that I needed to write this article. Her question helped me to realize that I needed to further explain what I consider to be essential in the recovery process for an individual living with a brain injury. I believe that to recover from the impact of a brain injury, the individual needs to examine how various factors impacted their lives prior to sustaining their brain injury. Through examining how these factors impacted the individual prior to sustaining their brain injuries, further insight can be gained as to how these contributing factors may be impacting the individuals recovery process following a brain injury.
In my experience, I discovered that needed to examine how these contributing factors were impacting my ability to be at peace with myself. Prior to addressing and examining these contributing factors my recovery process was like the game of “Whack a Mole” at the country fair. In my attempt to recover I found myself being distracted by one mole after another mole. I would work on getting one factor under control, while another mole would indiscriminately pop up. In my attempts to manage one mole, I was distracted and frustrated by yet another mole. In my experience, I continued to be frustrated by these various moles until I realized that I needed to address and examine each one of these moles, as they impacted my life and my brain injury recovery process. Through examining each of these moles or factors, I discovered that each factor impacted my brain injury recovery process.
What I discovered was that as I began to address and examine each one of these moles, as they pertained to my own experience; my brain injury recovery process gained time and took on new a life. What I discovered was that as I began to address and examine each one of the moles, I was able to understand how each of these moles affected and impacted my life and recovery process. Further and ongoing awareness, acceptance and action of these contributing factors helped me to break free from denial systems. Through growing in awareness, acceptance and the ability to take action, I was able to stop beating up on myself for what was out of my control. And, as I was able to stop beating up on myself for what I could not control; I discovered what I could change in order to enhance my life, which in turn; gave me a new freedom to discover how I could make my life work for me.
Some thing to Consider about Contributing Factors
In addition to your brain injury, in the event that you grew up in a dysfunctional home, before or after you sustained your brain injury; these are moles that need to be addressed and examined. In the event that you grew up with either one or both of your parents or grand parents being addicted to drugs or alcohol, you have moles that need to be addressed and examined. In the event that you struggled with mental illness or your own addiction to self-medicate through drugs or alcohol, prior to your brain injury, you have moles that need to be addressed and examined. In the event that you struggled with codependency prior to your brain injury, you have moles that need to be addressed and examined. The above moles do not make you or I bad, wrong or defective individuals. They are just moles that need to be taken in account, as we pursue the process of our brain injury recovery.
In my experience and through my recovery process; I came to realize that apart from examining and addressing each of these moles, as they pertained to my experience; my time and energy would have continued to be diverted away from what I could change through my continued and ongoing brain injury process. As you take the time to address and examine contributing factors, as they pertain to your experience; you too may find that time and energy, once stolen from you; is restored to empower you to focus on what you can change to enhance your ongoing brain injury recovery process. In the process of time and energy being restored, you too may find that your continued and ongoing brain injury recovery will take on a new life. What was once considered to be unattainable, you will attain through restored time and energy in your continued and ongoing brain injury recovery process.
Through my own process of addressing and examining moles I have written articles that you may find to be helpful in addressing and examining contributing factors or “moles” that may be diverting your time and energy away from creating a good life for yourself. To discover what I has helped me to address contributing factors and “moles”, please click on this link to read from my articles: Second Chance to Live articles on Recovery.
For individuals whose language is not English, I have created a tool to that will translate Second Chance to Live into a variety of languages, as represented below. Once you click on the language that you would like to translate Second Chance to Live, click on this link Site Map of Articles in my tabs. By then hovering over Site Map of Articles, another window will open showing Libraries and Categories. Click on the Categories tab and that will open another window with a list of the represented categories. Scroll down to the Recovery Category and click on that tab, which will open a list of my articles on Recovery. Once the list of my articles on Recovery has opened, scroll down to and click on the desired article title. That will open the article for you.
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