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Identifying the Trauma Footprint of Acquired Brain Injury,
Dr. Christine Durham.
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"If I have lost confidence in myself, I have the universe against me".
This talk gives an explanation about how the consequences
of brain injury can have a devastating effect
on the person with brain injury.
So they feel unsure, uncertain, unloved,
unlovable, and not understood.
Additionally, they may have great difficulty understanding
explanations about brain injury.
Note that traumatic brain injury, TBI,
is a form of acquired brain injury, ABI.
For this presentation, I'll use the term ABI, which includes TBI.
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Trauma footprint of acquired brain injury, or traumatic brain injury,
can seem overwhelming. I felt as if I was walking in a maze.
I was none willingly lost in a giant puzzle.
I didn't know where I was going, or how to escape
the maze that the world had suddenly become.
I'd lost touch with the outside world.
Somewhere in my head, I knew things used to make sense.
But now, the world seemed strange.
I'd lost myself.
I no longer knew who I was, my name, my likes, and things I didn't like.
Everything was a puzzle, as I couldn't understand words, concepts, or what to do.
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Now in retrospect, I see that ABI can be viewed as a labyrinth.
A labyrinth is a single path for personal and psychological transformation.
The lives of more than 2 in every 100 people are affected by ABI.
These people find themselves in the labyrinth of ABI.
The world and other people can seem dark, frightening, and menacing.
Greater understanding about the trauma footprint of ABI can light their path.
A new understanding is needed to tackle their new life.
Professionals can help them understand by addressing
more than the physical difficulties, by showing insight
into the trauma that they are experiencing.
