I have spoken with many different brain injury survivors who have difficulty with short-term and long-term memory loss due to their brain injuries. Some of them had a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and others had an acquired brain injury (ABI). Regardless of a TBI or ABI, memory loss seems like it can be extremely frustrating to a brain injury survivor and sometimes leaves them feeling judged by others.
Although I have several deficiencies due to my acquired brain injury, memory loss is not one of them but, if I did have memory loss here are a few tips, I would give you.
Google new memory loss treatments and memory loss research projects
The internet is full of information and like brain injury research there’s so much research being conducted by scientists, professors, and doctors trying to create a miracle drug or treatment to solve the problem of memory loss. You never know what is being done so do a little research from time to time and you never know what you might stumble upon. Also, research projects often need participants so if you’re willing you could raise your hand and participate in a research study.
Write everything down
I suggest keeping a small notebook in your pocket and writing things down as you need to and using that as a resource for capturing memories or things you want to remember. If you’re able to and prefer it, I suggest using the notepad on your phone because that would be easier and we always have our phones on us. You could also use a voice recorder but writing it down might be a better way of doing it.
Journaling
If you have memory challenges and you’re looking to improve that I think you need to at least try and strengthen that memory muscle. I’m not a doctor and I don’t know if this will improve your memory but I don’t think it could hurt. So I would suggest journaling every night about the things you did during the day and maybe over time, you’ll discover that you’re able to remember more over time.
Download Memory Apps
There is an app for everything and there are several different apps to help people who have challenges with their memory. I would suggest trying all the different apps you can to figure out what may work for you and if one sticks, awesome.
Tell people you have memory loss from a brain injury
Some of the brain injury survivors I have spoken with who have memory loss say their memory challenges can annoy other people and they sometimes feel judged. While you cannot change how someone feels, if you tell new people you meet that you had a brain injury and have difficulty with memory because of that, people will be more understanding if you need to ask a certain question multiple times. They may even speak in a certain way to help make the conversation easier for you.
If you have memory difficulty from a brain injury I hope you found this helpful. I think it’s always encouraging to try new and different things to improve your life. It could also be encouraging for your spirit to actively work towards bettering yourself. Your mental health is one of the most important things to strengthen as a brain injury survivor and the better your mental health is the better your attitude and spirit will be. I know this to be true because I’ve studied and practiced several different areas of mental health during my brain injury survival Journey.
It’s okay to be discouraged from time to time but if you are able to pick yourself up and work towards bettering yourself you will live a more prosperous life. This, I can promise you!