Hello All, I hope you are enjoying the cooler weather.
I have been reading about Emotional lability as it’s the main after-effect of my stroke I’m struggling with and I read that whilst improvements can be made, it’s often something you just have to live with forever after a stroke.
So, being pragmatic I hope for the best but am prepared to accept it’s here to stay and just something I shall have to navigate.
So does anyone have management strategies they’d like to share? Open to any and all suggestions (as mentioned in previous posts I’m already pursuing therapy).
Hi Gaina - you could be opening a can of works here
This subject has been discussed quite a few times on this forum and I am sure we can continue the discussion here. In case you haven’t searched, there are a few posts you will find if you search using “Emotional liability”
My Emotional Lability has also proved to be a major struggle, but have been made aware by my phycologist that my breathing is a controlling factor.
In me this tends to be the first change, preparing my body for what comes next, I try to take more notice of how I breathe and react to changes, if your breathing becomes short or jerky, try to focus on “breathe in 4 counts, hold 2 counts, breathe out 8 counts” think about only this, if possible.
Thank you for helping me remember.
Please note, I am not sure if this will work for you, this is me.
Andy.
Thank you @ManjiB. There are a few discussions in that list which didn’t come up in my initial search, so I have taken a screenshot and I shall peruse them later.
I,m not sure whether it comes under the title "emotional liability"or not but yesterday I got myself into a right old state trying to complete a fairly simple urine test for the heath centre! In the end I gave up as it was coming up time for my appointment. So off I went redfaced to my appointment. I told the nurse about my struggles ,she gave me another one and off I went to try again! This morning test completed without any hastle whatsoever!!
I have found that being completely honest with those closest to you helps a lot. When I’m feeling overwhelmed, I just say to Dad “I need 5 minutes in my room, I’m feeling a bit Melty” (as in I’m close to having a meltdown) and take myself off to my room, close my blinds and put on some soft lighting. That helps a lot.
I have just discovered that people with Spina Bifida (like me) are predisposed to Emotional Lability anyway! This is all starting to make sense and I have some facts I can work with now.
Breathing and breathing correctly in this context is much underestimated.
There is much information out there as well as books and if I am not mistaken our regular contributor Roland @pando may have covered this in one of his many posts. I know his style means he puts it out there and if you want it take, else thank you for reading, but I personally like to sometimes try to encourage a bit more in that sometimes people might miss it the first time and so I like to say it once, say it again and then say it one more time.
I am not sure if this is the first time I have tried to promote this type of breathing, but I can assure you it will not be the last.
After five years post stroke, I still weep when viewing emotionally tender and heartfelt moments, particularly with films, before stroke I was prone to watery eyes but no more than that. Recently, I started crying at something that was fairly trifling, if memory serves me correctly, and then I started laughing because I was crying. Turning around the crying to laughter at myself was comforting and reassuring, not sure if this is a technique for managing emotional lability but it made me feel better about it.
I too still struggle with this although it certainly has reduced from when i first had my stroke. @ManjiB has linked my recent post on this so I won’t repeat it. There’s time for yours to settle yet & hopefully it will.
I saw my OT from the stroke team today and she told me my referral to the Neuropsychology team has been accepted. The waiting list is about 12 weeks, which isn’t too bad in the grand scheme of things.
That’s not a long wait at all these days. I was referred 3 years ago and am still waiting they hadn’t got anyone in the role in my area. Guess there’s a large backlog.
Post code lottery?
Have you checked to see if you are in the queue or if you’ve somehow been dropped e.g. through changes to IT systems?
3 years sounds bonkers
I admit i haven’t checked recently. I do know that at end of last year they still hadn’t recruited anyone. I have pretty much figured I probably don’t need to see them now but next time i have a stroke review i’ll ask the question.
. There are a few discussions in that list which didn’t come up in my initial search, so I have taken a screenshot and I shall peruse them later. 
This is all starting to make sense and I have some facts I can work with now. 
