Ever since my daughter's AMV rupture (cerebellar and brainstem) she has been physically unable to cry. This is very emotionally difficult for her, as crying is the greatest emotional outlet/release for humans, and without the ability to cry she is unable to find that emotional relief. Please let me know if you or your loved one has lost the ability to cry, and if so, have you found any therapies that helped to solve that problem?
Kati
Yes, I have, to a degree. I'll be discussing this with my neurologist at my upcoming appointment but also the possibility of pseudo bulbar affect. I don't care for self-diagnosing based upon a medication advertisement but I think it may apply.
My personality has changed a bit since my bleed last year. People around me have noticed but I really don't believe much can be done.
Kati,
I did a little research, and even though your daughter can not cry, there are other ways she can release her emotions. I can not cry as well and I did not have a rupture, just surgery. The best advice I found was to have her write, journal, or vent on the site. This helps me immensely. This allows her to express feelings,instead of keeping it bottled up. Deepak Chopka offered 7 steps to address this, but it was all based on meditation. Knowing your daughter a bit, I doubt she's into that...lol. But the funny thing was that he mentioned writing too... Hmmm. BTW say hi to your wonderful family for me ;)
Hi Kati,
Although I don't have this problem. Being a single person and I have difficulties in confiding in people about my problems (it's just how I am). I learned that writing in a journal helps me a lot. I do it more when something is bothering me. If she believes in God (or a similar), she can rant at Him too. I know he has strong shoulders -- He puts up with me when I want to vent. Ha Ha I have heard that hitting a pillow is good therapy too.
I agree with you that tears are good medicine. Perhaps if she were to vent her troubles or what's on her mind out loud, that may help. If that was me - I think I would be yelling at the wall or the bed. Anything that I know would listen and not talk back to me..... It's just an idea.
Ben
Huh! It's amazing that Lizzie's former neuropsychologist asked around to her colleagues and none of the had come across this problem. And here you are, someone we know personally, who has this same condition. I'll forward your advice on to her. Never judge a book by its cover, missy...you might be surprised at what ideas Lizzie might embrace. =) She might actually be interested in meditation. It's sad that writing is so difficult for her. Typing takes a very long time and voice recognition software has a very hard time recognizing her speech patterns, so writing can actually be pretty cumbersome for her. And yet, in the past, it is something she would have been very likely to have done. :(
It's nice to hear from you. I'm glad that you had good luck with your surgery. How is your eyesight now? Still good? I will tell Don and Lizzie hello from you if you will give my best to your sweet mother! Hugs!
Thanks for your suggestions, Ben. I actually gave her the suggestion of hitting her pillow, sticking her face into a pillow and yelling into it, throwing beanie babies against the wall (something she used to do when she was a child...so cute!), etc., but she said she feels stupid doing those things, especially when there is someone else in the house who might hear her. But I'll forward along your suggestions. Perhaps it will have more impact coming from someone else besides her mother. =)
Thanks for responding to my query. As far as the pseudobulbar affect, it seems to be the opposite of my daughter's problem. She feels sadness, frustration and anger, but physically can not cry, and nobody seems to know why
I am now able to cry but right after my aneurysm rupture and surgery it took me about 3 months before i could cry again. Now i cry like a baby everytime I see a long distance commercial :P
However i know how your daughter must feel. I think meditation is a fantastic idea and I practive it myself along with yoga to help with stress. In addition, maybe something as simple as flattening some play-dough into a pancake when she is upset or sad, hammering something (they apaprently have kits you can buy at Home Depot where all you have to do is Hammer stuff together). Instead of journaling maybe she could try collaging. If she can use scissors get her tyo cut out words from magazines that relate to how she feels and paste them onto paper in a collage. Heck she could even get that game Jenga, build the tower and then just break it down on purpose to get her emotions out.
I hope some of these help you and your daughter :)
Heya Kati!
The surgery was fine. I no longer wear prisms, but I still wear glasses. Guess it's an age thing. Funny, I expected my 20-20 vision to miraculously come back. That didn't happen (and was never promised by the doctor). But the doc did say that they try to get the vision into a certain range and the brain will do the rest. Still waiting... nothing was said about me being stubborn...lol.
As far as Lizzie's concern with the emotion thing, maybe she can vent to you and you can write for her... wait, you're her mother and she younger... that probably won't work. Oh and the Jenga thingey is way good too if she doesn't want to hit her pillow. (I like that suggestion of hitting the pillow btw, but I understand (kinda) Lizzie's concern). Please tell the family hello from me... and your other daughter too! Hugs backatcha!
an update: after almost 1 year, I discovered I can cry.
Not Pseudo Bulbar and NOT seizure activity. I had to wear an EEG for 48 hours, talk about uncomfortable!
I don't remember the medication, they may not actually say it in the commercial. It's the one where people are laughing/crying inappropriately.
Yes, I also experience this. While I was recovering from my brain surgery I had a emotional dramatic falling out with my sister. I have not been able to cry since that was 14 years ago.