Hi - I’m new to the group. I had my Stroke 6 months ago, at the age of 57.
Let me firstly say that I was extremely lucky. It was a very mild ischemic stroke which I detected the signs of at an early stage and which has left me with no more than a mild numbness in my left foot. Physically, therefore, there has been little effect.
However, I am struggling a lot with the mental / emotional recovery. I was very fit and active and was only 10 days away from undertaking a 100km mountain biking challenge which I’d trained 5 months for.
Since the stroke, I’ve found it difficult to get back into my exercise - the fear of a recurrence while I’m out on a bike miles away from anywhere hasn’t been very appealing. Even exercising at home makes me feel anxious. I have always used exercise to relieve stress and tension and now feel like I can’t.
I have a good support network - but to all of them, I’m no different becuase there is no obvious physical disability. It’s very difficult to explain how I’m feeling to people because the normal response is that I should thank my lucky stars (which I do)!
I’m even feeling guilty about writing this now because I know, from reading the posts on here, how much worse it could have been - and there will inevitably be people reading this who have been through much worse and wondering why I’m feeling this way.
I guess I’m looking for people who have had a mild stroke as well, and how they have dealt with the emotional / mental side post-stroke.
Hi @Eren & welcome to the community. Let me start by saying that all Strokes are a major event. Even if the physical disability that you’re left with is quite minor it has a massive impact on our mental and emotional well-being. It is very difficult for those who haven’t had a stroke to understand that because invisible disabilities are difficult for anybody to understand.
Following my stroke I too felt very anxious about getting back to exercising etc just in case something happened. I think it’s a very natural feeling after such a major event. What I did to try and get back to normal was built things up gradually. So instead of going on and all out exercise regime maybe you could just try a short distance and build up gradually from there. I found the anxiety reduced over time as I did a little more and nothing sinister happened.
Do you have anybody that could perhaps a company you for the first few times that you go out. Perhaps you could let somebody know that you’re going and when you’re likely to be back so that they can follow up if necessary.
You mentioned that you have a good support network around you. Have you tried explaining to them exactly how you are feeling? I think sometimes we try and hide our emotions and our mental well-being struggles when actually people would rather you were honest with them so that they can help you.
Never feel guilty because your stroke didn’t have the major impact that somebody else’s might have done. That’s just a normal fact of life. You’ll find everyone on here really friendly and helpful wherever they are on their stroke journey and however much they have been impacted by it.
Hi @Eren and welcome to the forum. A stroke is a shock to the system, it’s a life threatening event and you are certainly entitled to your feelings. It shakes everyone up and can go on for months, it certainly shakes your confidence. Yes, you stick close to home to begin with for fear of having another one. Where were you when you had this one?
Being the type of person I suspect you are from reading this post, I’d give it a year and I bet you will have had enough of being overly cautious or afraid, and will be venturing further afield once again. Though you will take more precautions to be prepared for all eventualities while you’re out there.
In the mean time though, your brain has still taken a major blow to the head. And just because you’ve next to no visible or physical signs of your stroke doesn’t mean there are no invisible ones, including your emotions being affected by it, that just depends on what part of the brain was struck.
I started rebuilding my level of fitness about 18 months after my mini stroke. By that time I was back driving so could go a little further afield too. I started by going to Strength & Balance classes run by Age UK, that level of class suited me at the time as I had a lot more to recover compared to you. I took my mother-in-law along with me as my safety net and then we could go out in the afternoon from there. I also joined my local gym and a walking group. At all times I carry I.D., a credit card, my phone is always fully charged before I leave the house, a prescription renewal slip because it has the list of all my meds and contact details for next of kin naturally.
But note, all my activities are surrounded by people, safety in numbers! I’m always with people or where people are! And there’s always at least one first aider among them. I used to be one myself but I don’t trust my memory enough anymore. I used to swim a lot but I won’t now because I don’t want to risk having a stroke in the pool. But I do know of a stroke survivor who had their stroke in a swimming pool and they still go swimming. You calculate your own level of risk. I know there are cycling groups and clubs in my area though I don’t do it myself. Have a look on the internet for your local ones, it’s a good starting point to getting back in the saddle. That first step is all it takes, don’t shackle yourself to what-ifs, guilt and fears. And assuming you’re on the usual cocktail of post stroke medications, chances are you are at a much lower risk of another stroke than anyone has never had a stroke.
Hi @Eren welcome in many ways I’m, very much the same as you in the sense a seemingly mild ischemic stroke. 16 months down the line with a few setbacks under my belt share some of the same frustrations you are feeling.
As others have pointed out mild still is a huge trauma to your brain and it needs time to recover. I fought hard to physically recover and neglected the mental recovery needed hence a second hospital visit. But I think I’m very slow;y on the right track and a few weeks away I hope from being back both at gym and martial arts - in my 50’s too but at times felt old and washed up- got the perspective now that mostly train with the 18-30 demographic so indeed am old but could keep up.
I’m slowly learning to accept this is the new me - stroke made me but at the same time doesn’t control me. I do understand the looks and comments because I don’t look like a stroke survivor this has come from friends, colleagues and medical professional. I have asked what I should like and how I should then act, makes them all uncomfortable and usually just mumble but you look “normal”. It’ll get better but talking may help, just started counselling myself ans spoke about some fears and frustration as well as loss of self/ identity.
Only advice I could offer is take your time recover at your pace it’s a marathon not a sprint, embrace the good days, learn from the bad and everyone here knows how it feels.
Hi @Eren welcome to the group. I had a mild stroke in 2017. I didn’t know I’d had a stroke and doctors just wrote on my notes unsteady gait noted. It was only later I got a diagnosis of mild gait ataxia. I too felt a bit guilty about joining the group with a mild stroke but I have been made very welcome. I used to hold my husbands hand an hardly felt disabled but I had three falls and it was only kind passers by that got me up. last year I was advised to use a walker. It made me feel disabled. You don’t know what the future will bring so think of this group as a port in the storm. Very best wishes.
Welcome to the community, I’m sorry to hear about your stroke. As others have said, even a mild stroke is a major event and can be difficult manage the feelings and emotions that go with it.
We have some information on the emotional effects after a stroke on our website and also on getting started with exercise again. I hope as well that the responses you’ve received from our members have been of help.
If you need anything whilst you’re using the Online Community, please don’t hesitate to tag me using the @ symbol and my username.
@Eren , as others have said, mild strokes are just as bad as serve ones. Don’t feel guilty. It’s not your fault this has happened to you. It’ll be a challenge to recover. The stroke.org.uk website is a good place to start. they have people on there who know what they are talking about.
Thanks @JohnnyBoy81 - I initially thought I could get through this on my own but now realising that’s more difficult than I expected. Appreciate your support
@Eren , no problem. There are lots of people on this forum who can help. Until recently, I had no choice but to do things solo. I had next to no help in getting my mum’s affairs sorted. My mum passed away yesterday (05/03/2026), now I have even more things to sort out. As I said, support is here if needed.
If you’d like to talk to a fellow survivors, the Stroke Association have volunteers they could match you up for with one to one weekly phone calls. And @Bobbi also holds a weekly online informal video chat group if you’re interested. They are usually on a Friday night at 7pm. You can meet some of the fellow members from this forum. And now that I’ve tagged Bobbi into the coversation, he might pop in with an invite and its really simple to do from your phone, if you have a smart phone
Oh my gosh, I am really so sorry to hear of your sad loss. You’ve cared for and faught for your mum so hard and for so long. You are really going to feel her loss so don’t hesitate to talk on here, we’ll give you all the support we can
Thanks, Lorraine - that may help. The problem comes when you feel like you’re the only one going through a situation (true for anything, not just stroke) so having a connection with anyone in the same boat would be good for me, I think
Have you sought out a local stroke group you could attend? I’m sure @Anna_Moderator could direct you to their list on the main SA website. I would do it myself for you but I’m at the gym just now.
I attend an Aphasia group, we meet once a month and it’s been a boon for my for my mental health, boosting my confidence to speak and therefore encouraging me to speak more. Speach/read and write ability issues have been one of my deficits after my stroke 5 years ago, much improved now though.
