How common is this disorder after having a stroke. ?
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Hi @Shellie & welcome to the community.
You’ll find it is very common after a stroke. Is it something you’re struggling with?
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I had to consult the internet to discover what this effect was.
I couldn’t say whether or not this is common, I don’t think it is much discussed though.
It turns out I had experienced this a few months after leaving the stroke ward when I was settling in at home.
I experienced bouts of emotion which were mild, not long lasting and didn’t cause my wife or myself any distress. In fact they were cathartic and left me with a sense of relief. Both laughter and tears would appear without warning and in floods.
I am a man and men are not supposed to behave in this way, perhaps one reason why this is not much talked about.
I put it down to the stress of confronting and coming to terms with the debilitating effects of the stroke. For want of a better term I see this as a period of grief for what I had lost from my life.
It did not last for long and never recurred once it subsided. I think it was just a natural part of what is a stressful and traumatic event. I’m sure it is a necessary process allowing one to emerge out of the other side to find a way forward and begin to make a start dealing with what stroke has dumped in your life. It is a necessary sort of emotional re-balancing exercise.
I am now in my third year since that life changing event. I feel there is quite a way to go but as with all life there is never any absolute certainty.
I wish you well as you find your way forward. I think this effect is an emotional re-adjustment rather than a disorder. There is no need to control or treat it, just experience and observe, enjoying the peace it brings.
You have far to go. Be kind to yourself and those around you.
Incidentally, speaking about matters that are usually not a subject one shares can relieve the strain. As long as you don’t go into depth describing who you are, where you live and so on then you can regard posts made here as anonymous, although others can read here and there is much of value shared in this community. With a little care nobody will know who exactly posted here.
As I pointed out, others can learn from our experiences and we gain on the principle that a trouble shared is a trouble halved.
keep on keepin’ on
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Hi @Shellie and welcome to the forum 
I’d say it’s probably more common than even the experts realise. Particularly as many will put it down to the stress and shock of having a stroke, PTSD even. For these reason they may not even discuss it with their stroke team/gp, particularly if its not severe in them.
Certainly what I experienced could be put down to any of the above including Pseudobulbar affect. It just wasn’t a priority area for me, I was more concerned with working on the physical disabilities and regaining independence. But it did settle down sometime in that first year post stroke.
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I suppose it does actually 
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My contact with this tends to indicate that is a phase one passes through, a result of trauma and shock. It is an indirect effect, one of many, that is now being analysed and recognised by professionals who care for those who have been through the stress of stroke.
I believe recognition and early treatment for this and the other psychological effects produced by this experience should be available from day one of the event. There is hope that this might be the case.
While one can deal with things oneself, most just don’t know what hit them.
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Thank you for your reply…2days after my husbands stroke he went into an uncontrolable session of laughter, the more he tried to stop, the more he laughed untill he laughed so much, he felt quite ill. Nine months ago ‘‘this happened’’ & it doesn’t seem to have lightened up any. On balance, his ''emotionalism is 95% hysterical laughing & 5% tearful. We went to a friends funeral 2 weeks ago & he went into a fit of laughter, it was a silent session so ‘‘I don’t think anyone noticed’’ but he is reluctant to go to anyone elses funeral now. He would have gone to on last Friday but because of the previous experience, he declined. It can be the most minor thing that ‘‘sets him off’’… He laughs till his stomach hurts. We hadn’t even heard of such a condition prior to his stroke.
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When it happened to me my wife just allowed it to happen, I did the same.
I didn’t feel the need to control it and just allowed it to occur.
It could be one of those things you just don’t fight and it comes to an end of its own accord.
My wife didn’t make me feel I needed to stop it and I did think it was strange but letting it happen seemed okay.
However I was never in a situation when I or anyone else felt uncomfortable.
Come to think of it I feel less inhibited about expressing myself verbally or emotionally these days. As far as I am aware I do not upset anyone though.
Maybe time will allow this problem to resolve itself. After stroke one passes through many stages, some completely mystifying.
I can’t give you a simple straight forward answer, but I do wish you well.
keep on keepin’ on
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@Shellie If you haven’t already perhaps have a look at this leaflet. It might help explain things a little.
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It has occurred to me since writing the above that both he and you might benefit from meeting up with others who have experienced stroke.
There are a number of ways you might accomplish this. You might find there is a stroke group meeting occasionally in your area, failing such a face to face meeting, there are online group meetings or you could have a number of personal telephone calls with someone whose experience matches your own.
Finding that there is another real person going through the same experience as yourself can put things into perspective.
All of this can be arranged through the stroke association. Find out more by ringing and asking for advice on this number:
Stroke Helpline: 0303 3033 100
Mon-Fri 9am-5pm
Sat 10am-1pm
Sun closed
or check out this web page:
https://www.stroke.org.uk/stroke/support/caring-for-a-stroke-survivor
Always let us know how you are getting on here. It is a long journey and good to know there is somewhere to return to when you need to share.
keep on keepin’ on
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Have you looked on the https://www.pbainfo.org/ website? They also have a facebook support group, where you might get more advice and support.
It might also help to search other brain injury sites such as the two I’ve mentioned below.
This is a PDF document from the MS Society website ‘mssociety.org.uk’ on Pseudobulbar affect.
Anger, laughter and tears: Understanding emotional outbursts in MS
https://www.mssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-02/Anger%20laughter%20and%20tears%20July%202015-L%20(revised%20Feb%202022).pdf
This is from the MS Society website ‘mssociety.org.uk’
And this article is from the headway.org.uk website
Pathological laughter - it's no joke | Headway
I had this when in hospital 3 days after my stroke I just was sobbing out loud
It only lasted a couple of days and went before I was sent home
Mind you I was on antidepressants and missing them while in hospital so a nurse borrowed some from hospital for me to take maybe my antidepressants stopped it going further x
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That must have been upsetting for you, It’s nice to hear you made it through. I hope you are emotionally well now. Thank you for your reply.
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I had a google what this a mean , and yes , i havehad bursts of cry and a laugh for no a reason , i prefer the laughing 
it happens straight after at a hospital and still , two month on
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