Traumatic Brain Injury: Come introduce yourself

HI @lolabelle1, I'm grateful that you're in the community to help support members who find themselves in the early stage of living with TBI. What tips and tricks have you put in place to help keep your memory issues "undercover?"

Thank you for responding. I am very motivated to continue to improve.
Mike G.

My name is McKenzie i am 23 live in pillager mn i acquired my tbi a little over a year ago & then vs now is amazing i wasn't able to use my left arm at all and now im working on making it stronger which is amazing. It isnt ever easy however ive learned that your attitude& mindset plays a huge role in your recovery. Right now my biggest issue is making good choices & remembering things which i write everything down to help that. As for making better choices still working on it

Welcome McKenzie @msa1396
Congratulations on being able to move your left arm again and moving forward with making it stronger. Does that mean that you can type with 2 hands now?
What types of challenges do you have with making better choices? What choices are the hardest?

Thank you. On a desktop could prob type but on my phone not with both hands as my fine motor skills arent the greatest yet. Before my tbi i had an addiction problem & now after it seems even harder to say no. Not sure why because obviously my brain in no shape to be messing with chemicals. It frustrates me because i want to make the most of my recovery & really dislike fighting demons i thought i had left in my past for the most part.

Welcome McKenzie. You are so right about positive attitude and mindset. Wanting to do things again or trying to do better at what you can. If you never try, that is failure. If you try, even if it doesn't go as well as you'd like, It's still progress!
Memory issues are a common theme in this group. Writing things down has always been a key to remembering things better, I think because we involve more areas of our brain, plus, seeing it written helps. I still have to put all appointments on my phone calendar and everything else on a to do list. But even people without TBI have to do that.
Glad to hear you have made great progress and continue to improve. You have one good thing going for you...You live very close to a Fleet Farm. I am jealous. Anxious to hear more of your story.

Sorry to hear that. Chemical dependency issues are such a challenge and you never get "cured". So important to surround yourself with friends who will encourage you to stay clean and continue to make progress. For sure I'm here to help and from what I've seen, all of us will be as positive and helpful as we can.

Yeah its s life long thing along with tbi i know this but i was doing really good with coping with the struggles i had with cd n learned do much on how to fight it i was confident i wouldn't go back now its challenging again

I hear you. almost everything has become more challenging with TBI. Recovery becomes the focal point of our lives, then as we slowly are able to return to things we used to be able to do, our life's scope becomes broader again. But recovery still requires effort, and will for quite some time. As you said "My brain is in no shape to be messing with chemicals" Now you have all the more reason to avoid them at all costs.
I've never had an addiction problem, but my wife went through Hazelden a few years ago. I went through the family session. A few things I remember. Finding at least one really good support person is one of them. Avoiding the influences that trigger or encourage you to fall back. Try to see the whole picture...Are a few hours of pleasure/fun/relief worth the long term effect it will have on your recovery? Are friends who encourage you to do harmful things, really friends.
You have come a long way, you can do this. Keep the positive attitude. Look to the long term future, recovery, but set short term goals to focus on. Rejoice with every victory no matter how small it is. Accept any help and encouragement you can get. "We're all in this together"

Welcome Mike G, McKenzie and Lolabelle. Just the fact that you (and all of us) are a willing participants in the Mayo Study, Minnesota Brain Injury Alliance and this peer group is a recognition by all of us we can not and should do this alone. There are so many great resources available to us...especially for coping strategies related to our TBIs. It is good to hear from each of you those that work for you and why.