Contents:
- Medical Video: Emotional changes after stroke
- Why does a patient's emotions and behavior change after a stroke?
- Will the patient's emotional and behavioral problems be cured?
- Are there therapies that can help?
Medical Video: Emotional changes after stroke
After a stroke, many people often experienceemotional and behavioral changes. This is because strokes affect the brain,which controls behavior and emotions. Everyone's stroke experience is different, but for many patients they feel like they have lost part of their lives.
Anyone who experiences a stroke will definitely experience various fluctuations in feelings and behavior as they try to adjust and accept the situation after a stroke. The emergence of feelings of shock, rejection, anger, sadness and guilt is normal when you face major changes in life.
Not infrequently, many people find it very difficult to control changes in their emotions and behavior after experiencing a stroke. Especially if the patient does not know how to overcome it, the change can certainly be extraordinary and cause new problems.
Why does a patient's emotions and behavior change after a stroke?
Some patients claim to experience various kinds of emotional problems after a stroke. Depression and anxiety are common problems that often occur after a stroke. The effect is that some patients have difficulty controlling mood and emotions that can change suddenly or commonly known as emotionalism - emotional lability. This sometimes makes stroke patients easily irritated, suddenly crying, laughing and even angry without any clear reason.
While the way patients behave often depends on how they feel it. So if someone's emotions change after a stroke, then their behavior tends to change too.But it's not just about the way they feel. Sometimes strokes can also affect the way patients respond to what's happening around them.
For example patients become more silent, feel indifferent or less interested in things they used to like, behave rudely like hitting and shouting.In addition, there is a sense of frustration because you cannot do something for yourself or get upset because it is difficult to communicate and can make them aggressive towards others.
Will the patient's emotional and behavioral problems be cured?
Generally patients will feel anxious, angry, upset, useless so that they will be more easily offended and difficult to control their emotions, especially in the first six months after a stroke. However, over time, patients will begin to be able to accept and begin to get used to the changes that occur within themselves. So, slowly their emotional problems and behavior will improve.
Improving emotional problems and behavior of patients is certainly not separated from the role of family and close relatives who assist in providing support.That is why, it is very important for patient nurses to never get bored in giving moral support and confidence to patients if their condition will recover over time.
In addition, as a nurse do not forget to adapt to the conditions of patients if they experience communication problems, memory loss, slow understanding of your intentions and so on.
Actually, the prediction of healing a stroke depends on the type of stroke suffered and how widespread it is in the organs of the body. If the patient's health improvement through medication and therapy shows significant progress, the chances of the patient recovering are very large. But keep in mind, if complete healing after a stroke will take a long time.
Are there therapies that can help?
Dealing with behavior change after a stroke learns more about how to control it, not cure or 'improve'. Changes in patient behavior caused by emotional problems, such as depression or anxiety can be helped by medication or therapy.
Usually the doctor will be able to direct the patient to consult a psychologist so they can see the cause and talk to the patient about the best way to deal with it.
The usual treatment for patients includes:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) therapy is a therapy that has a basic principle on how someone thinks in certain situations can influence how they feel emotional and physical, thus changing their behavior. Emphasis on cognitive aspects or behavioral therapy can vary depending on the patient's condition.
- Behavior management strategy. For example, anger management training.
- In addition, patients can take anti-depressant drugs. Anti-depressant drugs do not cure emotional problems, but can help relieve symptoms so that the patient's life is more pleasant. Not all anti-depressant drugs are effective or suitable for everyone because the side effects that are caused will vary for those who consume them. So before consuming it, don't forget to consult a doctor first.
