People say that making new friends is really hard for them once they grow older, but I feel that it’s extra difficult after having a traumatic brain injury.

I often feel that I’m still living in the past, while many people my age & my previous friends, have ‘moved on’ (getting married, having children, having a permanent job, etc.)

As a social young person, I often felt that many of my friends had similar interests, such as dancing, hiking, speaking many languages & singing!

Previously, whenever I had something to share, I called a friend and discussed my thoughts. This served as therapy for me.

I really miss this feeling☹☹

Since having an enormous accident, I can nowadays count my really good friends using a single hand! 😱

This is a common occurrence, yet during my life, I was often told that I’m very social, so I believed that the loss of friends, would never happen to me! (This wasn’t such a helpful thought!) 💭

‍

I’m sure that I’ve lost many of my friends(or who I previously thought were my friends!) because of my accident !

‍

I probably haven’t progressed in many cognitive ways, but I’m completely happy regardless! 😊

‍

As many others who have an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) probably feel, due to circumstances that are beyond my control, my situation has drastically changed.

‍

I definitely don’t consider any of my previous deeds or achievements as a waste of time! After all, the only person who I could blame/praise for any of this, is myself!

I now have completely different things that I am spending my time doing. I adore continuing the use of my languages, writing, reading and physical fitness. Also, my work nowadays includes giving presentations to school students (although this is much less frequent than what I’d desire!) & I also sometimes work for the Office of Public Advocacy (OPA) and I am a part of steering committees of different organisations likeBIM, VATT, OPA, and participating in different universities’  studies.

I  know I should keep my positive attitude as I havebefore, and I should befriend people who have similar interests, making new friends and currently, I look forward to a nice future!

‍