Stroke impacts the brain, and the brain controls our behavior and emotions. You or your loved one may experience feelings of irritability, forgetfulness, carelessness or confusion. Feelings of anger, anxiety or depression are also common.
It's common for people's behaviour to change in some way after a stroke. As you begin to recover, you might feel that your behaviour changes or improves. You may start feeling better physically and emotionally. But some changes will be long term.
Stroke patients may show aggressive behaviors including hitting or hurting others, kicking, biting, grabbing, pushing, throwing objects, etc. Their verbal behavior also includes cursing, screaming, making noises, hostile muttering, etc. This overt aggression is observed usually during the acute stage in patients.
Types of cognitive problems after stroke
Memory. Problems with planning and problem-solving (executive function) Problems noticing things on one side (spatial neglect) Problems moving or controlling your body (apraxia)
Childlike behaviors may include impulsivity, moodiness, aggression, and a lack of empathy. The causes of these behaviors vary, although many times they are a direct result of the brain damage sustained during the stroke.
Personality Changes are Common
After a stroke, you might feel more anxious, lose interest in hobbies or laugh or cry uncontrollably. These symptoms may be upsetting to you and your loved ones and can affect quality of life.
Another personality change that occurs after stroke is impulsiveness. This is characterized as the inability to think ahead or understand consequences. Impulsiveness is more commonly seen in people with right-side or a frontal lobe stroke.
The most common psychological symptoms include affective (including the experience of deep sadness, anger, or anxiety), behavioral (such as sudden outbursts of anger or crying, denial of disability, or withdrawal), and cognitive symptoms (e.g., diminished attention, decreased memory, or aphasia).
If you have suffered a stroke, it is common to have changes in your mood and personality. Some emotional changes may be caused by damage to the brain from the stroke, but you can also experience a range of emotions, as well as depression, as a response to the change in your situation.
Changes in your emotions and to your personality are common after stroke. It's very normal to experience strong emotions after stroke, however these emotional reactions usually get better with time. Longer-term emotional and personality changes can be very challenging.
Stroke survivors frequently present with complications of mood and emotional disturbances, including depression, anxiety, and emotional incontinence [1]. Additionally, they often show feelings of anger, angry outbursts, irritation and impulsiveness, and aggressive behavior toward others.
How Does a Stroke Impact Life Expectancy? Despite the likelihood of making a full recovery, life expectancy after stroke incidents can decrease. Unfortunately, researchers have observed a wide range of life expectancy changes in stroke patients, but the average reduction in lifespan is nine and a half years.
Medically reviewed by Courtney Maher, OTR/L. If your loved one appears more self-centered after stroke, try not to take things personally. Usually, self-centered behavior has nothing to do with vanity or selfishness. Rather, it's often a result of the neurological impact of stroke.
Stroke is characterised by an acute onset of neurological symptoms, which are usually motor-related. However, personality changes such as impulsiveness and disinhibition can be explained by fronto-cortical damage.
Even after surviving a stroke, you're not out of the woods, since having one makes it a lot more likely that you'll have another. In fact, of the 795,000 Americans who will have a first stroke this year, 23 percent will suffer a second stroke.
Behavioral risk factors are often unhealthy behaviors that can be changed or prevented. These factors can include lack of exercise, poor nutrition, tobacco use, and excessive alcohol use.
Problems that Occur After a Stroke
Common physical conditions after a stroke include: Weakness, paralysis, and problems with balance or coordination. Pain, numbness, or burning and tingling sensations. Fatigue, which may continue after you return home.
Apathy is a reduction in goal-directed activity in the cognitive, behavioral, emotional, or social domains of a patient's life and occurs in one out of three patients after stroke.
Mental illnesses that are commonly associated with stroke are depression [38], anxiety [39], fatigue [40], sleep disturbances [41], and emotionalism [42].
Pseudobulbar Affect, also called “emotional lability,” “reflex crying” or “labile mood,” can cause: Rapid mood changes — a person may “spill over into tears” for no obvious reason and then quickly stop crying or start laughing.
After surviving a stroke, a stroke survivor may become less empathetic towards others. Empathy is the ability to see things from another person's perspective. Empathy is especially important when it comes to understanding how another person is feeling.
A silent stroke refers to a stroke that doesn't cause any noticeable symptoms. Most strokes are caused by a clot that blocks a blood vessel in the brain. The blockage prevents blood and oxygen from reaching that area, causing nearby brain cells to die.
It can be from depression, anxiety, or dementia. But it can also be caused by a concussion, a tumor, or even a urinary tract infection, especially in the elderly. Certain medications may also cause personality changes. It's important to talk with your doctor about any personality changes.