“Our lives have mainly been the same – the difference is to other people’s lives.”
As pioneering research continues into experiences of loneliness during the pandemic for brain injury survivors, some of the preliminary findings are stark.
The resilience of survivors – many of whom face loneliness every day even outside of the pandemic – in dealing with the isolation many others were experiencing for the first time, is one of the themes to already come to the fore.
Dr Stephen Dunne, from the University of Sunderland, who is leading the research project – which is being carried out in conjunction with Headway – says a more ‘level playing field’ appears to have been created in the understanding and experience of loneliness.
“Loneliness is a common experience after a brain injury, but from the data we have gathered so far, the social restrictions placed by the pandemic have not changed life too significantly for those living with a brain injury,” he says.
“This may be explained by the adaptation that comes with sustaining a brain injury. Friends and family drifting away, changes to the way people socialise and adapting to a new normal are commonplace after brain injury.
“Instead, the pandemic has created a ‘level playing field’, where those without a brain injury have a snapshot of what life post-brain injury is like.”
While research is still ongoing, with participants still being sought, Dr Dunne says initial findings are helping to show the reality of the situation survivors face, particularly now restrictions start to lift.
“Preliminary conversations have been enlightening, with participants highlighting a number of key themes, largely around lockdown providing a greater awareness of what living with a brain injury is like,” he says.
“However, this increased awareness has been short-lived at times. When restrictions have been eased, one survivor told of their frustrations with how quickly friends forgot about their issues.
“’People stopped asking what would be easier for you’, they said.
“These frustrations and anxieties around the easing of quarantine procedures in the UK has been a recurring theme so far, with one survivor commenting: ‘That’s the problem that most brain injury survivors have, people don’t understand what the issues are…everyone’s got their own lives to lead and do what they want to do. We just get left behind’.
“This project will continue to explore these pertinent issues as lockdown eases.”
- Anyone who lives with a brain injury and is willing to share their experiences as part of the research can contact Dr Stephen Dunne at stephen.dunne@sunderland.ac.uk.
