Since suffering a serious concussion (brain bleed) last May, I have been noticing the various ways that Hollywood treats these types of injuries.
On “Samantha Who?” the TV show, the main character said at one point: “A bonk on the head does make you free to change who you are.” Does it? In her case she goes from natural bitch to nice girl.
And then there’s the 1987 movie “Overboard” where the terribly rich and bitchy main character Joanna Stayton turns into a docile, need-to-please happy hillbilly housewife after a major brain injury.
I know these are just silly examples, but I found it interesting that in both cases the women went from nasty bitches to docile nice girls…kind of a male fantasy version of brain injury.
This left me wondering what happened to me? How do brain injuries change us? Part of the answer is determined by what part of your brain is injured and how seriously. And brain injury invariably leads to frustration when the brain does not perform as it previously did.
In my case, I still cannot remember words and spellings that I had no problem with before. I’m also left wondering if it somehow released parts of my dark side that I’ve kept hidden forever. I’ve never been a patient person, but now I have even less patience with anything that feels like it’s wasting my time!
When I tell other post-menopausal women about these changes in my brain they always say: “I wish I had that excuse!” Now I don’t know whether it was menopause or my brain injury that changed me the most. But I definitely didn’t change into the simple, desperate, need-to-please women portrayed in the media!
Hooray for Hollywood! They shows us how ridiculous we can really be!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Our daughter had a brain bleed ten years ago. As you state, it depends on which part of the brain is affected.
She has a short term memory problem… but she shares a lack of patience with you. Something that is new. But then again, she’s older now too. I also am less patient.
Interesting question: does the part of our brain that controls patience change as we age?
Thanks for your comment! I’m thinking of writing an article about how a serious brain injury can change our personality! Laura Lee
My SIL, a big band fan, trumpet and keyboards player, was sure that when our daughter woke up (they had just been married six months) she was going to only like country music.