Suicide and TBI

This is a great article that explains why so many military men and women kill themselves after sustaining traumatic brain injuries.

The first paragraph is my favorite because it's a perfect description of "what it's like":

Imagine that you're hung over and haven't slept in two nights. You can't think clearly, can't focus or concentrate. You forget things -- even important things -- and spend your energy just trying to stay awake and drag yourself through the day. When you finally get to sleep, you drift off hoping tomorrow will be better. But it won't. That's what life with traumatic brain injury (TBI) is like, relentlessly.

I totally relate to this description - especially the part where it takes so much energy to drag yourself through the day and do anything. Don't get me wrong, I've never, ever been suicidal. I just know that if more TBI Surivivors were taught how to manage the effects of their injuries, suicide rates would go down.

Learning to live with a TBI takes an incredible amount of patience, and I'm so lucky that I was born with the gift of patience.

Read the article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ruth-bettelheim/why-heroes-kill-themselve_b_2108976.html