Traumatic Brain Injury and Memory

11270 brain construction image
11270 brain construction image

brain constructionToday was the day! I was invited to address a group at Headway: the Brain Injury Association here in Auckland.

The group is facilitated by psychologist Nic Beets who has been alongside this group of fabulous people for 14 years. The morning turned out to be a wonderful time of sharing backwards and forwards.  I learnt so much about what it is like to live day-to-day with a traumatic brain injury.  In turn, I was able to talk about strategies to help with memory which can be a major problem when you live with a brain injury.

As people gathered, we discussed the tips and strategies that were already being used to help.  Particularly important was establishing routines in which one task follows another without too much variation. This way the completion of one task triggers the thought of the next. This is a strategy we can all use to make sure we don't go off with only half the stuff we need for work or school, or to ensure we don't forget we need to go to the library, supermarket and bank on Fridays and so on.

One young man explained to me that when it was important (he gave the example of putting food in the fridge to take out with him), then he would use the safety chain on his front door. When he went to open the door to leave, the opening being restricted by the chain on the door reminded him there was something important to remember.  I am going to try that myself! 

We enjoyed such a fun morning as we shared strategies for those common memory lapses we all have – those tip of the tongue moments, meeting new people, walking into a room and forgetting exactly why you went there in the first place!

Staying stress-free is important, too, as stress and anxiety make remembering much more difficult.

As the meeting progressed I could see how important it is that we don't fall prey to the expectation our memory will let us down, whether it is because of brain injury, or we are so busy, or we are just getting a bit older.  How often do we hear "Oh, I have to expect it at my age", or "I have too much going on," or the common fallacy that people with a brain injury can't remember anything.   Yes, of course a brain injury will have an negative effect, but it doesn't mean that memory can be improved or that we can't learn new ways to do things.

Understanding neuroplasticity, the ability of the brain to grow brand new neurons and to grow and reshape existing neurons, is so important in the ageing process and in recovering from a brain trauma. Your brain is a dynamic, adaptive organ with incredible potential to change.  Did you know that a piece of brain tissue the size of a grain of sand has about 100,000 brain neurons all talking to each other? Isn't it incredible, and when we encourage those neurons to stretch and grow by working and focusing hard with our memory, we will see amazing progress.

My lesson today?  How we can have a lot of fun and friendship learning from each other and understanding as much as we can of what it feels like to walk in someone else's shoes. I am in awe of the courageous people I met today.

I'm Dr. Allison Lamont. Visit my clinic website for information on your memory, and try the free mini memory course. You can try games and little video memory tasks here, too.

Read more from Dr. Allison Lamont here