The Psychological Pain of a Stroke

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By Ann-Marie Waters, Associate Editor.

Until recently, little was understood regarding the psychological effects of suffering a stroke. According to a recent study, the first of it’s kind, carried out by Newcastle and Durham Universities from The United Kingdom, the psychological side-effects are so devastating that they are considered to be as traumatic as those that soldiers have suffered in war-torn zones, commonly know as ‘post traumatic stress disorder’.

The study which was funded by the Clark Lister Brain Haemorrhage Foundation concluded that post-traumatic stress disorder in stroke sufferers was more prevalent in people who had suffered a ‘subarachnoid haemorrhage’ – a life threatening condition where blood seeps from arteries that run beneath the arachnoid membrane of the brain.

Approximately 8.000 people a year in the UK have a subarachnoid haemorrhage, and it is more likely to affect middle-age people; women being more susceptible than men. This type of stroke is particularly devastating; as fifty per cent of people struck down with it will be left either seriously incapacitated or will die.

One sufferer describing his experience said “It was like being struck by a bus”, and Professor/Neurosurgeon David Mendelow from Newcastle University refers to this type of stroke as a ‘brain attack’. He is delighted that the study has given more insight into a sufferers need for more psychological help in coping with acute and distressing symptoms, as well as support for their carers.

If you have suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage and are concerned regarding your eligibility to drive, you can check out the possible implications on the NHS website by clicking on the ‘complications’ section.