January 2025 - The Tales of A Stroke Survivor

Education

Everybody Poops, So Please, Can We Have an Honest Discussion about Constipation and Brain Injury?

Joyce HoffmanJanuary 31, 2025

In one lecture I gave at the Hershey Medical Center in Pennsylvania, I met a man who pushed so hard to make the poop come out, he got a hemorrhagic...

General

Does a Raucous and Anxious Childhood Lead to Problems Later On When You Encounter Brain Injury? Yep.

Joyce HoffmanJanuary 29, 2025January 30, 2025

The picture above was nothing like the experience I had, but it should have been. The nearest park was 2 miles away. Some people have those memories, but I surely...

Frustration

Aphasia Among Us

Joyce HoffmanJanuary 27, 2025January 27, 2025

I knew a man with aphasia before I had my stroke. He told me so. "Huh. What is aphasia?" I queried. "I'm not able to speak (interrupted by his long,...

Acceptance

Does accepting one’s brain injury eventually come to everyone?

Joyce HoffmanJanuary 24, 2025January 24, 2025

I was at the top of my profession--a Sr. Technical Trainer at hospitals and then a law firm. And I was a runner, the most fit among my friends. So...

Anger

Anger Leads to “I’m Sorry” Later On Among the Brain-Injured: But WTF Happened to Cause Anger in the First Place?

Joyce HoffmanJanuary 23, 2025January 24, 2025

Beginning with the stroke 15 years ago, I've encountered anger, less now, but it's still there. Let's take an example first. Recently and for the first time, my Zoom meeting,...

Hope

How Do We Know If We Need Psychological Help for Depression?

Joyce HoffmanJanuary 18, 2025January 20, 2025

I've had more than a few "down" days. Everybody does. But brain injury survivors like me have more. It's not a competition, but the brain controls everything--like sleep problems, emotions,...