Having the right mindset can be central to rehabilitation, says stroke survivor Lisa Beaumont, and can equip an individual with the determination to overcome setbacks, find new means of expression, and crucially, to never give up
Last month, I highlighted the importance of goal-setting. This month my focus is on the mindset that I believe is fundamental for a successful rehabilitation.
Even though goals and plans to reach them are important, it is crucial to have the right mental attitude to make a successful recovery throughout neurological rehabilitation.
No-one can control the many factors that impact achievements, such as physical injury, global pandemic and persistent rain.
Nevertheless a successful rehabilitation can be assisted by one thing that each individual has the potential to master – their mindset.
I was unaware pre-stroke that I have a positive, growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset, as described by Dr Carol Dweck in her book, ‘Mindset’. For anyone with a fixed mindset, setbacks will often be felt as a failure.
A ‘growth mindset’, on the other hand, thrives on challenge and sees setbacks as a heartening springboard for growth and for stretching yourself to fulfil your potential by learning and improving.
The platform developed by Neuro ProActive is ideal for underpinning recovery for those who adopt a growth mindset because it provides a means of support post-discharge for the patient to create a long fulfilling life. Dr Dweck emphasises the transformational power of effort and persistence that are the hallmarks of a growth mindset.
I believe that a positive-thinking mindset is needed to overcome the setbacks that disrupt any plan. For example, I haven’t had an opportunity to enjoy countryside walking this summer, yet.
My first intention had been to report this month on outdoor walking on uneven surfaces, but that report has been thwarted by a minor injury and poor weather conditions. So, how do I respond to these setbacks? I’m putting my effort into my daily physio regime that will improve my posture for walking and bearing my weight evenly on both sides. A minor niggle in my over-worked right knee has repaired sufficiently for me to be able resume my walking on our garden path and on the grass whenever the rain stops.
I might be able to tackle a countryside ramble later in June? I continue to make small gains by doing whatever I can do. I can view the weather and my injury as an opportunity to improve my stance indoors to prepare myself for outdoor walking.
I co-ordinate a Peer Support Group in West Kent on behalf of Different Strokes, where one of my group’s participants has exemplified a growth mindset in the last year. Chris mirrors many of my disabilities, hemiplegia hemianopia and left-neglect – an extremely limiting combination of conditions.
However, Chris, who was a keen craftswoman prior to her cerebral stroke at 47, took the decision to find a creative past-time that she could undertake capably with one hand. She chose to teach herself watercolour painting from scratch mainly by finding art tutorials on YouTube. One of her watercolour originals has been used to illustrate this article – ‘New Season’ represents her feelings about her devastating cerebral stroke.
By focussing her effort on what she can do, using her functioning right hand, Chris has found a rewarding past-time in watercolour painting, which allows her to escape the daily frustrations that stem from immobility and brings pleasure to others too.
Chris and I share an interest in creative arts. I write prose and poetry to help me to process what has happened to me. I am very pleased that Neuro ProActive’ s extensive directory of support practitioners includes a section on arts therapy as well as psychotherapists. A growth mindset permits you to find new ways to overcome setbacks through persistence and effort, which is abbreviated in the stroke survivors’ hashtag #nevergiveup.
For more information about Neuro ProActive’s platform, visit www.neuroproactive.com. 
Produced with assistance from Paige Gravenell, physio assistant neurorehabkent.com
