“They brought you back to the fact you’re not the same”: Sense of self after traumatic brain injury

Abstract

WestminsterResearch http://www.westminster.ac.uk/westminsterresearch "They brought you back to the fact you're not the same": Sense of self after traumatic brain injury Makela, P.

Subjectivity and illness narratives

“…As any subjective experience can only be articulated by a person having that experience, attaining an empathetic understanding of that experience requires selfreflection of those engaging in the subjective experiences of others. Mäkelä's (2017) paper in this special issue examines the narratives of a nineteenyear-old man, Toby, who suffered a traumatic brain injury following a bicycle accident, and his mother. In her analysis, Mäkelä explores tensions inherent in articulations of identity and subjectivity that circulate in both narratives.…”

“…They collectively examine how forms of subjectivity are created, maintained and transformed through experiences of breast cancer (Greenhalgh 2017), traumatic brain injury (Mäkelä 2017), uncertain futures in the context of advanced cancer (Kenny, Broom, Kirby, Wyld and Lwin 2017), chronic pain (Barker 2017), and complex, existential angst and extreme tiredness caused by long-time caring for close elderly family members (Danely 2017). The papers in this collection chart narratives through which subjectivities are formed, reshaped and contested in the context of challenging illness experiences.…”

How does a narrative understanding of change in families post brain injury help us to humanise our professional practice?

“…This dominant discourse is being challenged and the literature is opening up to explore a broader understanding of change post-injury including positive aspects such as the presence of personal growth and positive meaning (Degeneffe & Olney, 2010;Lefebvre, Cloutier, & Josee Levert, 2008;Mäkelä, 2017;Ownsworth & Fleming, 2011). Furthermore, our understanding of change is evolving, becoming more open to the possibility of continuity instead of change or continuity as well as change.…”