Today we have a guest post which is written for those who are looking for ideas on how they can show their support to someone who is living with a brain injury.
Julie Morris is a life and career coach. She thrives on helping others live their best lives. It’s easy for her to relate to clients who feel run over by life because she’s been there. Today, she is fulfilled by helping busy professionals like her past self get the clarity they need in order to live inspired lives that fill more than just their bank accounts.
To find out more about Julie go check out her website juliemorris.org.
Millions of people live with chronic health conditions that affect their physical and mental well-being, including migraines after a traumatic brain injury. You may wonder what you can do to show your support and ease the daily burden of your loved one who faces an ongoing health
challenge. I wanted to outline some suggestions for ways you can help.
Show Your Compassion
Chronic migraines caused by a brain injury come with numerous daily challenges and may lead to a broad range of overwhelming emotions. Living with a persistent health condition can cause someone to feel anxious, depressed, and insecure. Showing compassion means
listening attentively as your loved one voices fears and frustrations and describes the experience of living with an illness. The Mighty notes that offering encouragement without minimizing the other persons experience shows you understand.
Learn About the Condition
Learning as much as possible about your loved one’s affliction with migraines can go a long way toward offering meaningful support. My Health Finder suggested reading about the illness or attending and helping prepare for medical appointments will give you insight into the challenges your loved one faces and reveal how you can be most helpful.
Offer to Prepare Meals
Nutrition is critical to managing a chronic illness. However, as Nutritionist Resources notes, many sick people sacrifice healthy meals because they lack the energy necessary to prepare them. You can help by handling the weekly grocery shopping or preparing healthy recipes that your loved one can freeze or heat up at mealtime.
Care for Pets
Pets provide many benefits, including stress relief, companionship, affection, and a sense of purpose. The University of York details how much relationships with animals can support our mental health in this enlightening article. However, it can be challenging to care for a pet when chronic illness leads to low energy. You can help by offering to feed, walk, bathe, or play with your loved one’s pet. In addition to ensuring the pet’s well-being, you will enjoy the benefits of the human-animal bond.
Schedule a Stress-Free Outing
Life for someone with chronic migraines caused by traumatic brain injury can be unpredictable, and your loved one may face challenges scheduling social engagements or maintaining connections with others due to low energy levels. Consider planning a fun activity during the day when your loved one’s energy reserves are at their peak. For example, you can provide weekly transportation to and from a luxurious brunch or afternoon matinee. These activities do not require much effort but, as Psychology Today points out, they can significantly reduce feelings of loneliness for someone with health challenges. Nevertheless, your loved one may still feel the need to decline these outings sometimes if they are having a particularly difficult day. This is to be expected and is by no means meant as a slight against you. Don’t let this put you off continuing to include them in activities. Just check that these are the sorts of things they want to do or if they are other idea they would like to plan in from time to time.
Help With Household Tasks
Chronic pain and discomfort can make it challenging to concentrate or manage household maintenance. Still, you can alleviate your loved one’s workload by creating efficient systems that require minimal energy. For example, you can set up automated payments for all billing
accounts to avoid late fees and automatic refills for vital prescription medications. You can also help create a weekly schedule of tasks considering the sick person’s energy levels and routine.
Help Design a Home Office
You can offer to help design a comfortable and stress-free home office that incorporates ergonomic furniture, promoting healthy body movements and physical comfort. For example, a chair with adequate lumbar support and an adjustable height eliminates muscle strain and ensures that your loved one’s arms do not strain to reach the desktop. The ultimate goal is to eliminate poor posture, which, as All Health Matters points out, can negatively impact physical health and reduce overall stamina.
You should also ensure sufficient light to eliminate eye strain throughout the home. Ideally, natural light coming in from windows in areas including the home office can benefit from the mood-inducing benefits of well-lit spaces. Reduce fluorescent lighting as this can aggravate light sensitivity and induce further migraines. Also incorporate houseplants, which can help purify the air, and be sure to have a home that is free of clutter and is clean – Redfin reminds us that this is all a big assist when it comes to removing stress inducers.
After receiving a brain injury and chronic migraine diagnosis, your loved one may feel frightened and confused.
Unfortunately, you cannot change the circumstances, but there are countless ways to show
support and offer assistance.
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