I Have a What? A Guide for Coping with Moderate-to-Severe TBI

RRTC ON COMMUNITY INTEGRATION OF PERSONS WITH TBIby Jason FergusonDifferent people have different ways of coping with whatever life throws their way. Mostpeople can tell other people how or what to do. But when it comes to actually having todeal with it ourselves, then it is a whole different story. For me, writing is a copingstrategy. When I could not talk or communicate very well, I learned to hunt and peck onthe computer. Writing was a way for me to communicate and express myself in a positivemanner. I still have a problem sometimes with thinking quickly in a conversation. Peoplemay not understand me so things get twisted up. When I learned to accept that I could notcontrol other people and I could only control my actions, then the difficulties of meworrying about what other people did or what I thought they should or should not do waslifted off of my shoulders. I am also fortunate to have my wife to talk to. The best thing isto have someone that will sit there and just simply listen to you. Even now, I still put mythoughts on paper so that the inflection of my voice does not distract from the point I amtrying to get across. It is difficult for us all to go through this and none of us want to hearwhat we need to do. I do know that DRUGS AND ALCOHOL are not a coping strategy, theymake you feel better for a short time but when they wear off the problems are still there.My outlet is writing poetry; maybe it will work for you!Page 47