New blog - emotionalism

We’ve got a new blog out today all about Emotionalism.

https://www.mystrokeguide.com/blog/2022-02-17/understanding-and-managing-emotionalism-after-your-stroke

Do you have any tips on managing emotionalism?

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I would certainly be the 1st person to put my hand up in understanding & right now suffering from these mood swings . My Gp/psychiatrist calls it Clinical depression . I find myself getting very angry which only exasperates my tremor/mobile agility & tires me out quickly … yes I’ve read been told of the steps I need to take in order for myself to obtain more self awareness of what’s triggering these sometimes awful mood swings … I’m on a course of Sertraline & zopiclone . .
Maybe I’m to critical about myself which doesn’t help in managing or even coming to terms with this depression a lot I am told is to do with the stroke/loss … . Granted it was a TIA stroke I had but still I feel robbed leaving me with a lot less because of it … I’m aware how offensive I can be verbally toward friends & right now seem always on the defence about all & everything … . Explained to me as a defence mechanism & understandable why I may be like that right now … I even feel just typing this txt that so many people on this site will understand fully what I’m conveying here … can a leopard change its spots.:flushed: this is the dilemma I find myself in since having this stroke . Yes there are ways to combat these mood swings & I’m very well aware of what needs to change regarding my attitude/acceptance. That’s if I’m honest is a very difficult obstacle to jump over right now . It’s like trying to convert an agnostic into becoming a Christian . We all have different make up that makes us who we are as an individual some able to tolerate/change other’s needing a helping hand I’m certainly in the later category …

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Thank you so much for sharing this @Jordan. I think describing these strong emotions as a defense mechanism is really interesting. A great way for friends and family to start to understand why a stroke survivor may be responding in an unexpected way.

Thank you again for sharing.

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@Jordan @AshleyTH and @Loshy I understand how you all feel about emotionalism.

When it happened to me after the stroke it came to me in the form of tears. Lots and lots of them. My father didn’t understand why I kept crying and compared my ischemic stroke to a knee injury :pensive:

The consultant neurologist who he asked had no response for him, nor but the neurologist tell my father about other behavioural changes that would occur as a result of the stroke.

I had to find out myself through the Stroke Association resources last year. That’s when I had a :bulb:moment and thought, what’s why sometimes when I’m arguing with my partner who is my carer I alternate between crying and laughing.

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i am now 8 months on from my stroke . i can walk -slowly , talk , and am able to work a couple of days a week , without getting too fatigued . but the one thing i cannot get rid of is this Emotionalism .
anything sad , esecially when someone genuinely asks about my stroke , has me in floods of tears .
i have tried anti depressants , moving position , trying to change the subject , etc .
does anyone have any suggestions

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When you cry about this stuff are you genuinely upset about what set you off or is it this an uncontrollable urge to cry. There is a difference and that needs to be figured out first before it can be treated.

If it’s due to being genuinely upset about the things people are talking about, while your stroke brain may still be overdramatising it, it would still help to go down the line of therapy.

If its a random urge to cry even if your not upset about the topic, that would be triggered by the brain, a reflex as a result of the stroke.
A bit of systematic desensitisation might help with that; basically training the stroke brain out of this urge to cry at certain things.
To do that, you could list all the things that are likely to trigger your tears.
If possible, take yourself off to somewhere you can cry alone comfortably without fear of worrying or upsetting anyone; explain to them if need be, what you are doing.
Expose yourself to one of the triggers from your list and cry it out. Do this often enough until you find it doesn’t make you cry. Then move on up to the next item and the next. Hopefully over time, you’ll become desensitised to those things and won’t cry when someone asks about your stroke. Start off the with small/simple/easiest of your triggers and work up to the biggest triggers.

Good Luck and happy crying :grin: :wink:

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Hi I’m the opposite I cannot cry at all now I use to
Be a weepy willow but now only suffer anger I wish I could cry the neurosurgeon said it hopefully will come back

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