Brain injury causes beer-drinking man to take up cross-stitch

I am still in recovery from a brain injury playing hockey last year. Though the fogginess and aches are still there they are subsiding.

THe one thing I can't shake is how the entire world looks and feels different now. It is hard to explain but as of that moment things changed. Another is the fact I do not get agitated or wound up hardly at all and most things don't seem as important as they used to.

No cross stitching though! Maybe more gardening and talking to animals as I feel ultra sensitive around people.

Originally Posted by *whitefeather

Well Silvergirl, soul exchange is what had occurred to me too. I posed my question because I wanted to see if anyone else thought this as well.

Always looking for the most esoteric explanation, eh?

It only shows that we can be anything and behave in way we want to, subject to contradiction biological features. As the brain is pliable, and neurological pathways are continually built and re-built during our life time through our thoughts and actions, we can chose to be anyone we want. Through the the physical brain changes which happened to him he the pathways which he built up which made him a nasty guy, by choice, though he may not have been aware that it is a choice.
There is nothing esoteric or unnatural in this at all. It is an illustration or demonstration that every person has the ability to live in way they could not even imagine.
Therein lies our power.

[*whitefeather]

Originally Posted by rus11

I am still in recovery from a brain injury playing hockey last year. Though the fogginess and aches are still there they are subsiding.

THe one thing I can't shake is how the entire world looks and feels different now. It is hard to explain but as of that moment things changed. Another is the fact I do not get agitated or wound up hardly at all and most things don't seem as important as they used to.

No cross stitching though! Maybe more gardening and talking to animals as I feel ultra sensitive around people.

I'm sorry to hear about your injury rus. I hope the aches eventually subside. A family member of mine had the opposite experience to yours - his temper flares a little more quickly now since his accident. (He was hit by a motor vehicle a number of years ago and remained in a coma for a few days. He also had a near death experience). He hasn't taken up cross stitching either!

[*whitefeather]

Originally Posted by pre-dawn

Always looking for the most esoteric explanation, eh?

It only shows that we can be anything and behave in way we want to, subject to contradiction biological features. As the brain is pliable, and neurological pathways are continually built and re-built during our life time through our thoughts and actions, we can chose to be anyone we want. Through the the physical brain changes which happened to him he the pathways which he built up which made him a nasty guy, by choice, though he may not have been aware that it is a choice.
There is nothing esoteric or unnatural in this at all. It is an illustration or demonstration that every person has the ability to live in way they could not even imagine.
Therein lies our power.

.... we make choices every day but these aren't usually associated with a severe brain injury and/or 'possible' NDE. So on the contrary, his choices are not 'natural' in the strict definition of that word. Some organ transplant patients have been shown to experience a similar thing, where they suddenly choose to take on new hobbies and food loves that were previously associated with the donor of their new organ. Natural choice here too eh?

Originally Posted by *whitefeather

.... we make choices every day but these aren't usually associated with a severe brain injury and/or 'possible' NDE. So on the contrary, his choices are not 'natural' in the strict definition of that word. Some organ transplant patients have been shown to experience a similar thing, where they suddenly choose to take on new hobbies and food loves that were previously associated with the donor of their new organ. Natural choice here too eh?

If we make "the effect" a curiosity which only occurs under certain conditions we lose the meaning and the potential behind it. This potential is the realization that while we make choices every day we are not limited in our choices.
We can be anything we want to be, subject to physical and biological constraints. A male may be as kind and mothering to a child as any good mother is, a female may be as ferociously aggressive and competitive as some men are.
There is a tribe on one of the Polynesian islands where this actually happens and mother's are reported to be so aggressive that they sometimes kill their own children. (If necessary I can dig up the reference)

Our behavior is learned, we can unlearn and relearn, and in the process become anything we want to be. That is the message I see in the reported phenomena.

[*whitefeather]

Originally Posted by pre-dawn

If we make "the effect" a curiosity which only occurs under certain conditions we lose the meaning and the potential behind it. This potential is the realization that while we make choices every day we are not limited in our choices.
We can be anything we want to be, subject to physical and biological constraints. A male may be as kind and mothering to a child as any good mother is, a female may be as ferociously aggressive and competitive as some men are.
There is a tribe on one of the Polynesian islands where this actually happens and mother's are reported to be so aggressive that they sometimes kill their own children. (If necessary I can dig up the reference)

Our behavior is learned, we can unlearn and relearn, and in the process become anything we want to be. That is the message I see in the reported phenomena.

I didn’t “make” the effect a curiosity. I was merely OBSERVING this uncommon phenomena which has also been observed in several organ transplant cases.
Gender played no part in my observation – it was the man’s considerably altered behaviour I was observing.
Yes, we have the ability to make choices, but even choices are not limitless – an individual’s circumstances and environment will determine what choices they can make .... but I digress ... or maybe not ....
This man’s choices/drastic change in lifestyle COINCIDED with his brain injury, so there is a strong possibility his the brain injury (and maybe??? a NDE) had something to do with his new choices. He certainly didn't just wake up one day and decide he would now do the house-cleaning, cooking and cross-stitching in his spare time - this isn't the message here.

There have been cases of complete personality changes from traumatic brain injury documented before. It has been explained that it is the part of the brain that is damaged that causes the personality change. Aggressive behavior is governed by a different part of the brain from nuturing behavior.

There is also an unusual case of a British woman who now speaks with a French accent after a migraine attack.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39195151...-womens_health

[*whitefeather]

Thanks iolite.

I wonder what the trigger is for similar changes that occur in some organ transplant patients, where the brain hasn't been damaged.

Laying off of the booze is problably what changed this guys personality rather than the brain injury. Did he get knocked on the head and brused the drinking part of his brain? Problably not. With a brain injury he would have been in the hospital a while where he couldn't drink. He has to be jacked up on all kinds of medication I'm shure, the drink dosn't help that! And besides, after a few drinks you problably wake up the next morning with a headache without getting clubed on the head. Maybe it just knocked some sense in him.

What's wrong with drinking?
This could be any number of things. It could be that the guy realized after his injury how fragile the human body is, and realizing his own mortality, decided to turn his life around.
Of course that may not explain the crossstitching...

Originally Posted by *whitefeather

I would love to hear what others think may have caused this man to suddenly take up cross-stitching? (apart from the obvious physical injury to the brain). I've come across other articles over the years that have cited similar cases, but which involved organ transplant patients. I've always found these occurrences a curious thing.

AN ABUSIVE, heavy-drinking man was transformed into a teetotal perfect husband after suffering a brain haemorrhage.

Ken Merryweather, 44, from Glossop in Derbyshire, central England, used to go out on all-night drink binges before returning home to argue with his girlfriend.

But his personality was completely transformed after he was struck down by the life-threatening condition.

The change was so striking that his girlfriend even agreed to marry him.

"There was no way I would've married him before but he has totally gone the other way," Tracey Merryweather said.

Mr Merryweather said that although the hemorrhage caused him several problems, he was glad it had made him "a nicer guy to be around”.

"I used to be so verbally abusive - especially after a few pints. When I used to work I used to go straight to the pub and not get in until 2am to 3am in the morning."

He added: "There are things I can't do now but there are other things I can - I can cross-stitch and I do an awful lot of sewing and cooking."

Mr Merryweather had been drinking heavily just hours before he suffered the haemorrhage. He was found the next morning collapsed on the floor.

"I lost 50 to 70 per cent of my memory, I had to learn to walk and talk again. I asked if it was down to the alcohol and the doctors said no. It was basically just a time bomb ticking. I don't touch a drop now. Tracey says it's turned me into a better person," he said.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/world/brain-injury-turns-binge-drinking-lout-into-perfect-man/story-e6frfkyi-1225932578656#ixzz11JGbFvqk

Edited by SF Staff