Stroke Patient Portfolio (PDF) - Buckinghamshire County Council

The Effects of Stroke Many people who have had a strokeshow some change in personalityor behaviour. They may become lesssociable, more introverted, angry oraggressive. Often there is a completereversal of character. For instance, a mildmannered person may become aggressiveor a difficult person may becomemore passive. More commonly, existingpersonality traits are exaggerated.Damage to the brain can also result inloss of inhibition. Some people becomeconfrontational and are unable to preventthemselves from expressing unkind orinappropriate thoughts. The person isoften unaware of these changes; it is oftenfamily and friends who are most likely tonotice.If you do have problems with behaviouraland personality changes which are causingproblems with your relationships, youmay be able to get help from a numberof professionals, for example clinicalpsychology, psychiatry or counselling. Talkto your GP or key worker for a referralor refer to the ‘Useful Contacts’ towardsthe end of the Portfolio. At home you may not be able todo all the the things you did, forexample preparing meals, shopping,gardening. You may have lost your job orhad to change the type of job you do. You may find that you are limitedby mobility, speech and/or financialissues following a stroke.It can take a while to adjust to thepsychological, emotional and socialeffects of stroke.16