Stroke and personality changes: psychological alterations after a stroke

A stroke or cerebrovascular accident (CVA) is among the most frequent reasons for seeking emergency care due to a cerebral circulation disorder, It should be noted that the chances of recovery are reduced every minute that passes from the moment the accident occurred until help is obtained. professional.

A close relationship has been found between the fact of having suffered a stroke and personality changes, some of these changes being the following: difficulties empathize with other people, loss of sense of humor, aggressiveness, loss of social inhibitions, introversion, emotional stability, rigidity or loss of initiative, among others. In this sense, here we will talk about the relationship between a stroke and personality changes.

• Related article: "Acquired brain damage: its 3 main causes"

stroke or cerebrovascular accident

Stroke or cerebrovascular accident, both hemorrhagic and ischemic, can produce very significant personality changes in addition to the effects suffered at a physical and health level. When a person survives a stroke, they may experience a series of behavioral changes posteriori that could affect different areas of their lives and also the lives of those closest to them.

As we mentioned before, there is a close relationship between having suffered a stroke and personality changes, as well as other changes are often experienced at the physical. The most common symptoms when suffering a stroke They are listed below:

• Serious speech difficulties.
• Loss of strength in the middle of the body (face, leg and arm on the same side).
• Feeling tingling in the middle of the body or loss of sensation in that area.
• A very bad headache that is different from a regular headache.
• A sudden loss of vision in one eye.

On the other hand, we can highlight risk factors of having a stroke the following:

• To live a sedentary lifestyle.
• Obesity and/or diabetes mellitus.
• Regular consumption of alcohol, tobacco and/or some drugs (cocaine, amphetamines, etc.).
• Have high blood pressure.
• Having suffered from some type of heart disease.
• Have high cholesterol levels.

Notably if lifestyle habits are improved, the risk of suffering a stroke is drastically reduced, and for this you can follow some advice such as these: practicing physical exercise on a regular basis, if you manage to reach a healthy weight, keep it under control cholesterol levels, quit smoking and avoid the consumption of drugs that increase the risk of suffering a stroke or diabetes is controlled, among others stuff.

• You may be interested: "Types of stroke (definition, symptoms, causes and severity)"

Can a stroke cause personality changes?

Since there is a relationship between suffering a stroke and personality changes, it is worth mentioning that recognizing these changes and the fact Having found the reason can be a big step in the right direction in order to modify those behaviors that are not desired while working with the help of a professional to recover those personality traits that most make the patient feel like "himself". In other words, it would be advisable to start by working on those traits that the patient considers to be most characteristic of his personality and his way of being.

Next we are going to see what are the personality changes that occur with the highest percentage among people who have suffered a stroke.

1. Difficulty empathizing with other people

When we want to talk about the relationship between stroke and personality changes, we are going to start by explaining that it is quite common for patients who have survived a stroke or stroke suffer serious difficulties in empathizing with other people, and this could be due to the fact that the brain damage produced in this type of case affects a various regions of the right cerebral hemisphere.

It is difficult to show empathy affects the relationships of these people with their loved ones, so it is convenient that they are informed and thus aware that the patient who has suffered a stroke needs understanding and professional help to retrain the skills that facilitate a greater development of empathy, although it is not always possible for the patient to improve in that aspect or even not. enough. In any case, the help of both your relatives and qualified professionals is essential.

• Related article: "Empathy, much more than putting yourself in the place of the other"

2. A loss of sense of humor

It is quite common for people who have had a stroke to suffer from a loss or diminution of their sense of humour, so someone who it used to be fun you could lose the ability to make the jokes you used to do before you had the accident stroke. At the same time that person might not be able to get the joke or find it funny.

It is worth mentioning that when you suffer a loss of humor it could be quite difficult to recover because this is usually occur because of a loss of some cognitive abilities, so perhaps it would be necessary to work first to recover those affected abilities.

3. loss of social inhibitions

The loss of social inhibitions is also noteworthy when it comes to discussing the relationship between stroke and personality changes, and this is because some people who have had a stroke may behave in ways that are considered inappropriate socially. This usually happens normally when the stroke occurs in the frontal lobe part of the brain. On the other hand, in this type of case, it is normal for the person to be unaware that they are behaving in an inappropriate way so it could be difficult for him to try to correct his behaviour.

4. Aggressiveness

Aggressiveness is also common in many cases when a stroke has been suffered, being characteristic in these cases that have become unexpectedly hostile and angry at higher levels than was previously common in those people. In addition, some people may behave in a cruel and/or physically aggressive way.

Aggressiveness is more characteristic of those cases of patients who have suffered a severe stroke or even who have a pattern of stroke causing vascular dementia. This dementia typically develops when several small strokes have occurred over a period of time.

• Related article: "The 4 main theories of aggressiveness: how is aggression explained?"

5. emotional instability

Many of the patients who have suffered a stroke may suffer emotional instability. In these cases, inappropriate laughter or crying can be observed. In addition, there are cases of patients who have suffered what is known as emotional lability or pseudobulbar syndrome, which is characterized by uncontrollable emotional expressions and sudden mood swings.

6. Social avoidance and other changes in social behavior

When it comes to associating stroke and personality changes, it should be noted that it is quite common for these patients to become more introverted, isolated and/or socially avoidant. One of the causes of a person's isolation could be the fact that after the stroke they are not able to do some things with ease that they used to master. In other more serious cases, isolation could be due to suffering from severe difficulties in doing various tasks (for example, getting out of bed, driving, etc.).

• You may be interested: "What is social psychology?"

Other possible psychological sequelae produced after having suffered a stroke

In addition to being able to observe a close relationship between stroke and personality changes, in different studies Other psychological sequels have also been found caused by a cerebrovascular accident or ictus. Those most common sequels are the ones we are going to see next.

1. anosognosia

The anosognosia or stroke denial, is the inability of the patient who has suffered a stroke to recognize it. Therefore, anosognosia could manifest as a result of an overconfidence and ignorance that there is something wrong after having suffered a stroke. Because of this, it is possible that this person feels disconcerted when it comes to receiving medical attention directed to the different complications suffered as a result of the stroke.

2. Loss of cognitive abilities

It is also very characteristic that there is a loss of cognitive abilities after a stroke in almost any of the brain regions, although they tend to occur more frequently in those strokes that affect the parietal lobe, the frontal lobe or the temporal lobe.

Within the loss of cognitive abilities in these cases, problems can be observed in solving problems, in reading, in reasoning logical-mathematical and also serious difficulties with language, memory problems and difficulties in understanding some concepts. However, with the help of a professional and with the effort to improve on the part of the patient, it is possible that there is an improvement that helps alleviate, as far as possible, this type of deficit cognitive.

3. Lack of motivation or apathy

lack of motivation It is very common in those who have suffered any type of brain injury, so it is also common after having suffered a stroke. And it is that when there is a decrease in cognitive abilities after the stroke, many daily tasks that used to be carried out before without much effort are now challenging and/or difficult to solve. In addition, here depression could play an important role.

4. Depression

Among the most common psychological sequelae after having suffered a stroke we can find depression, which is also a mental health condition that can affect various personality traits, so it could be considered that depression would play an important role when it comes to relating a stroke and changes in personality.

Moreover, in some studies carried out in this regard, it has been observed that more than half of the cases of people who have survived a stroke have come to suffer from symptoms of depression. This could be due to the fact that people who have had a stroke have various health problems (for example, physical limitations, brain changes or other types of health problems).