Today I received a call for help from isolation from one of the members of the Building Your Life After Traumatic Brain Injury Community. A call for help to find freedom from isolation.
Call for Help
Call for help from the Building Your Life After Traumatic Brain Injury Community on Facebook
“I have had my Tbi since december of 01′ I STILL isolate! When and how do I get past this? HELP!”
My Response to the Call for Help — See Links below My Response
Thank you for reaching out and asking for help. In my experience, when I ask for help this opens the door to hope as I ask to learn from other people’s experience, strength and hope. Asking for help also signifies that I am willing to try something different to get different results. Asking for help also gives me the ability to take what I like and leave the rest. In my experience, I have found that some people can not give me what they do not themselves possess. With this awareness, I need to recognize (which usually happens over time for me) that some people do not have to give to me what I would like to receive from them.
I have heard trying to get from people who do not have to give, is like going to a hardware store seeking to buy a loaf of bread.
People Can’t Give Me
Hardware stores do not stock bread, so seeking to find bread in a hardware store only results in my becoming frustrated. I have also come to realize several things. For people to accept my reality (that my life is impacted by a traumatic brain injury and I have an invisible disability) means that they would have to feel feelings that they may not know how to or want to feel. Secondly, for people to accept my reality would mean that they would have to make changes. Changes that they may not know how to make or want to make. In my experience and for many years I tried to convince family members of my reality. I thought if I said “it” in another way that they would get “it” and accept my reality.
The results of my efforts to try and convince them of my reality only left me frustrated and left them angry.
In my experience, when I was able to let go of my need for family members and friends to “get it” I found peace in my life. I also came to realize and need to remember is that I am really the only one that needs to “get it”. For me to “get it” to be able to accept myself. To be able to get on with my life and discover what worked and works for me.
What works for me to pursue my passion in life through my gifts, talents and abilities.
In my experience, I have also come to realize that by accepting what I can not change helps me to have more serenity and contentment in my life. When I do not accept what I can not change, I am irritable, restless and discontent.
With my awareness I realize that I have a choice in the matter. I can either accept what I can not change and have peace in my life or fight what I can not change and not have peace.
Associating with the Right People
What I have also found is that when I seek to associate myself with people who accept me for my reality and live in the solution I find courage. I believe that there is tremendous power in identification. As I identify with other people’s experience, strength and hope I am given the courage to come out of the shadows of isolation.
As I come out of the shadows of isolation I grow in awareness. As I grow in awareness I grow in my ability to accept my situation and myself. Awareness helps me to realize that I have choices. The choice to do something different to get different results. As I take the action (through these choices) I find that I am able to break from from feelings of alienation.
In the process, I am able to get comfortable in my “own skin”. As I am able to get comfortable in my “own skin” I find that I am able to enjoy my solitude. In the process of getting more comfortable in my “own skin,” I feel less isolated in spending time with myself.
Freedom from Isolation — Ongoing Brain Injury Peer Support
Many brain injury support groups only meet one time each month. The result is that often support for brain injury survivors can be limited.
On February 6, 2007, I created Second Chance to Live to offer ongoing brain injury peer support throughout the month. To offer ongoing brain injury peer support I created resources. Articles, video presentations, video presentation series, slideshow presentations, and eBooks.
Click on the below links to find freedom from isolation and get comfortable in your own skin.
Articles
Video Presentation Playlist
Video Presentation Series Playlist
Slideshow Presentations
eBooks
You have my permission to share my articles and or video presentations with anyone you believe could benefit, however, I maintain ownership of the intellectual property AND my articles, video presentations and eBooks are not to be considered OPEN SOURCE. Please also provide a link back to Second Chance to Live. In the event that you have questions, please send those questions to me. All questions are good questions. I look forward to hearing from you. More Information: Copyright 2007 -2019.
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