Mixed Emotions

My stroke was in Aug. 2022. I’ve noticed that when I see something like a TV show that has the least amount of sentiment I’ll cry. If someone is nice to me, I’ll cry, Nature walks do the same. On the other hand if something is the least bit funny or my dog jumps up to greet me I burst out laughing. If a sports figure does a fabulous feat of skill…laughter and giddiness.
Common to anyone?

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Very common indeed. Don’t be tempted to try to hide the reaction out of embarassment. It can be very enjoyable and cathartic. When your family and friends realise you are okay they will accept it.
This goes for women and men too. It is no bad thing to discover you have emotions. Let it all hang out.

Having a stroke sometimes incurs getting a sense of humour by-pass. I recommend keeping that particular organ if you are able. It can be very useful at times.

Keep on keepin’ on
:smile: :+1:

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It’s all both common and natural and all part of the rewiring that’s going on inside your head. And I dare say it’s some of the relearning that we have to go through…just like a baby…relearning control over our emotions perhaps :wink:
Bit of an emotional rollercoaster ride, but will settle down with time.

Just like this little one in the clip below.

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@Outlander all sounds very normal post stroke. My emotions are all over the place. I cry loads but am better than i was. I just go with it now.

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I’m better than I was at first but still definitely still experience what seems mainly an inability to control my emotions. I get the giggles at the silliest things or can cry at anything emotional. I finished a book recently - it was quite a poignant ending but really not THAT emotional - but I sat in a public place blubbing ridiculously

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To my kindred spirits: Thanks so much for your supportive replies. It really is a good feeling when the tears come and of course, the laughter. It is my anger at my body and brain that ruins some of my days.
Self-forgiveness is hard but necessary.

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I was already a really emotional person before the stroke but now even more.
When I was in stroke rehab last year, my wife bought me a personal cd player and some of my favourite Level 42 CDs. When I started to listening to them I started crying my eyes out cos it made feel normal and I was visualizing myself driving in my car listening to them
More recently I got really upset when I heard that Paul O’Grady had died
I know I’m going to be an emotional wreck when I eventually return back to work and see all my work mates again :wink: :smile::+1:

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Stokie: Hope you are back with your mates very soon.

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@stokiejoey i’ve had plenty of tears in front of my colleagues. I warned them that my stroke has upset my emotions & if I start blubbing I say that it’s my stroke brain having a moment. They’re used to it now :grin: xx

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They already know how I am.
Couple of years ago, we were in the smoking bench ( I don’t smoke anymore :wink:) and I played a song, that was played at my mums funeral and i just started blubbing my eyes out. One of my best mates just took my phone off me and switched it off :smile:

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Aye, @Outlander, I am to believe it is fairly common after stroke, it is sometimes referred to as the pseudobulbar affect or emotional lability. I haven’t read much on the matter as I had the opposite, and was left with a blunted emotional response.

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Blunted emotional response? Example please Rups?

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image

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Think Buster Keaton, I am feeling the emotions inside but can’t express them in the way other people want me to.

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Rups: hope you have a speedy recovery.

@Outlander, after fifteen years the effect has much diminished but I feel the same sometimes, but briefly as a rule. Emotions are a human characteristic. Perhaps we are the more ‘normal’.

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Geoffrey: You are on to something there. :blush:

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i had my stroke in December 22 , and also cry at the slightest thing .
it is called emotional Liability and i have been told that is goes in time , althogh at the moment do find it embarrassing when i start blubbing in front of people for no apparent reason.
there are drugs to take that help , but letting people that you care about know what might happen is probably the best idea

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Hi everyone I had a stroke 2 years ago at end of July . I’ve been left with quite a few new physical and mental changes my body and my mind have teamed up to do me down.
Body
Useless left hand and arm. I still exercise daily and several times a day. I’m determined to keep it up until I know I’m back to my old strength and fitness. ( if only…)
Left foot has still dragging slightly or sticking to floor almost launching myself several times daily.
I’m still not able to get myself into and out of the bath. It’s a very big old cast iron bath and would be difficult for me to get into and out of it if I were fully fit and well so I’m not too worried about it. I

The mental changes that I have been seeing are not all bad either.
Hitting myself in the chin when I yawn. It catches me out occasionally but has been hilarious at times.
Dropping out of a sentence halfway through because I have no idea what I’m talking about! I genuinely try to not get into conversations with people when I’m tired because it’s too embarrassing ( because it’s always happening and I don’t want people to know I’m avoiding them because of it.
Forgetting things immediately sometimes. It can be a film a book or anything else I’m talking about I may well have forgotten this line in a moment, it just doesn’t work when I’m tired of giddy. But the new me post stroke is quite happy to tell people that I may shut down and it has happened a few times m. We have a pub and the regulars have all taken to taking the p**s when i do it and I’m over the moon with it.
Blank spots
When someone asks you if you know a persons surname or first name and you just see a black spot where the name should be. I honestly have been unable to get my husbands name. He is the reason why I’m still here and I adore him but I’ve been unable to remember his name. And no I haven’t called him by the wrong name when we’re discussing how many names our lord “gods” have.
I’ll make a note of that actually and if it changes I’ll let you know.

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Yes I’m hyper sensitive sometimes and i can burst into tears or hysterical laughter for no reason at all. And my husband recently scared me so bad when he got up close to me before I realised he was there. I was terrified, screamed jumped up and down and threw my pan lid across the room. It’s happening quite a lot and I’m not even vaguely amused anymore.
And I’m still not able to get to sleep…

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