Of the 145 stroke patients studied, 32% described an inability to
The reason is simple. Stroke impacts the brain, and the brain controls our behavior and emotions. You or your loved one may experience feelings of irritability, forgetfulness, carelessness or confusion. Feelings of anger, anxiety or depression are also common.
No two strokes are the same. Some people may feel more like themselves within just a few days, without any lasting physical or cognitive issues. But for others, it may take several months to heal or adjust to any long-term effects.
Give it time
Emotionalism does get better over time. Many people find that it improves or disappears altogether within the first six months. Even if your problems last longer than this, there are treatments and techniques that can help, so make sure you speak to your GP about it.
Just like in life, personality after stroke will continue to change over time. Immediate changes in personality are not always permanent and there are things that can help. Cognitive behavioural therapy. Helps you identify and change unhelpful thought patterns, creating a more positive and problem-solving approach.
After six months, improvements are possible but will be much slower. Most stroke patients reach a relatively steady state at this point. For some, this means a full recovery. Others will have ongoing impairments, also called chronic stroke disease.
The most rapid recovery usually occurs during the first three to four months after a stroke, but some survivors continue to recover well into the first and second year after their stroke. Some signs point to physical therapy.
An international study has shown, for the first time, that the capacity of the human brain to recover and rewire itself peaks around two weeks after a stroke and diminishes over time.
Post-stroke aggression and anger proneness
This overt aggression is observed usually during the acute stage in patients. However, simple anger-proneness or inability to control anger and aggression is a much more commonly observed symptom. Patients become more irritable, impulsive, hostile, and less tolerable.
Personality changes can be common after a stroke. Some changes may be due to damage in the brain. Others may be caused by the stress of dealing with life changes and physical limitations from the stroke. Some personality changes may get better on their own while others require medication or therapy.
If you see others recovering faster from stroke than you, remember that everyone's road to recovery is different. Action creates results. As long as you keep taking action, there will be positive changes. Your brain is working throughout your entire life to adapt and change to make functions more efficient.
According to the study authors, anger or emotional upset was linked to an approximately 30% higher risk of having a stroke within one hour of experiencing those emotions. Another potential stroke trigger revealed by the study was heavy physical exertion, although the evidence was less convincing.
Relationship problems
Other things can affect intimacy, like communication difficulties and low mood or anxiety. Having a stroke can affect your confidence and self-image. You may both find it difficult to talk about how you feel, because you think you should 'stay strong' for your partner.
After surviving a stroke, a stroke survivor may become less empathetic towards others. Empathy is the ability to see things from another person's perspective. Empathy is especially important when it comes to understanding how another person is feeling.
Even after surviving a stroke, you're not out of the woods, since having one makes it a lot more likely that you'll have another. In fact, of the 795,000 Americans who will have a first stroke this year, 23 percent will suffer a second stroke.
Most cognitive functions will return with time and rehabilitation, but you may find they do not return to the way they were before. The damage a stroke causes to your brain also increases the risk of developing vascular dementia. This may happen immediately after a stroke or it may develop some time later.
When communicating with a stroke survivor who has communication problems (aphasia), it is helpful to: Be patient. Eliminate distractions. Turn off the TV, limit extraneous noise.
Call 911 Immediately
Once you recognize that you or someone you witness is having a stroke, the next step is calling 911 quickly, Dr. Humbert stresses. Time is critical if someone is having a stroke. The longer a stroke goes untreated, the more damage can be done — possibly permanently — to the brain.
The initial recovery following stroke is most likely due to decreased swelling of brain tissue, removal of toxins from the brain, and improvement in the circulation of blood in the brain. Cells damaged, but not beyond repair, will begin to heal and function more normally.
Walking outside or on a treadmill, stationary cycling, recumbent cross training and many other forms of exercise that get your heart pumping are extremely beneficial for stroke recovery.
You can't drive for a minimum of one year after the stroke or TIA. Whether you can drive again will depend on the type of stroke you had, and how the stroke has affected you.
Another personality change that occurs after stroke is impulsiveness. This is characterized as the inability to think ahead or understand consequences. Impulsiveness is more commonly seen in people with right-side or a frontal lobe stroke.