I have recently joined the Forum as l succumbed to a brain bleed on November 3rd. Already the Forum has helped enormously especially with clarifying the fatigue and overwhelming tiredness and residual headaches after surgery. Something else l am struggling with is a total lack of motivation. Before my illness i led a busy life filling it with lots of things that needed to be done and now l really cant be bothered doing anything…any advice or ideas how to dissipate this apathy and lethargy or will my life eventually return to normal? Even the simplest of tasks seems overwhelming and daunting.
3 Likes
@Rosie24 hi & welcome to the forum. Sorry you’ve had a stroke.
You are still in the very early days of your recovery & your energy reserves are probably being used up by your brain doing its rewiring & repairing. In time this should start to improve & your motivation should return. Don’t forget you’ve had a major event happen & it takes time to come to terms with that. I’ve copied in a link to a leaflet that might help.
Are you low in mood? That can cause a lack of motivation. If it continues long term then it will be worth a chat with your GP.
Not sure if this helps but hopefully it has a little bit.
Best wishes
Ann
4 Likes
Hi @Rosie24
Hello and welcome to the forum although I’m sorry you had cause to join us .
I assume when you say
that you were reading without having joined and that you have only now joined in order to post?
(Your profile reports 7 posts read & 5mins reading time)
I suggest using the question mark above and searching for topics where the challenges of motivation but also many other common challenges that probably lie in your future have been discussed .
I’m 3 years past and that motivation issue is perhaps one of my top three, perhaps my top.
Last I discussed with anyone medical - who I think have since discharged me cuz I hear nothing more - an SSRI was suggested. They are antidepression medicines - so I declined. I’ve since read here that others have found it a useful aid.
I’m definitely anti “here’s a pill to cure an ill, It only takes me a second to write the script and then I can see the next person” BUT part of motivation is brain chemistry of emotions and a stroke scrambles both. Motivation is an emotional response to awareness over our to do lists - hence maybe an SSRI is called for
As Anne has said there’s a lot going on inside your skull that will be using your energies; hence the fatigue - and depressed motivation may well be a protection mechanism - if you’re like many of us you’re going to discover that overdoing it will multiply your fatigue and slow down your recovery.
It’s hard to accept but you’ll have a much better appreciation this time next year. Hard to accept because most people think of a broken arm has recovering in a few months and a scrambled head must be the same¿ and mostly it isn’t
2¢ 
Simon
1 Like
Hi @Rosie24 and welcome to the forum 
At this point in your recovery I wouldn’t concern yourself too much about your lack of motivation, you are still in the very early stages of recovery.
I always looked at it as my brain’s way of keeping me calm, emotionally numb, stress free. All to aid its recovery, to keep it as far away as it can from anything to put it at risk of relapse, avoiding another stroke.
Just like any other physical injury such as a wound or a broken limb, your brain is avoiding any mental bumps to its delicate state.
One things is for sure, your brain is not going to let you go back to that busy life you had before I’m afraid!
1 Like