The Effect of Family History on Brain Injury

"I am the product of a mixed marriage. On my English side, I know much about my family antecedents; on the Zoroastrian side, very little. Only now, through taking a course on Zoroastrian culture and civilization, am I learning about this side of myself, culturally speaking, including a new-to-me concept, the marginal man. When one suffers a catastrophic brain injury that takes away one's identity and adversely affects family relationships, knowing one's history becomes crucial to recovering from brain injury grief and trauma."

"I wrote about this in my book Brain Injury, Trauma, and Grief: How to Heal When You Are Alone, which contains Action Plans to help readers do the practical and thinking work of recovering from brain injury grief. One such plan encompasses getting to know your family history. The following is an adapted excerpt on this topic from my book."

"[The] Japanese invaded Burma, causing [my father's] entire family to flee to India in 1942-his father with the army overland and him, his pregnant mother, and maternal grandmother, along with a motley group of refugees, in a Dakota airplane flown by Chinese pilots. As they approached the Burma-India border, the Indian Air Force flew out to fight off the Japanese attackers. He went from a cushy life to an uncertain, nomadic one in India; he determined to become self-sufficient."

A person of mixed heritage had detailed knowledge of their English ancestry but little of their Zoroastrian background and learned the concept of the marginal man through study. Catastrophic brain injury can remove personal identity and damage family relationships, making knowledge of family history vital for recovery from grief and trauma. Practical Action Plans that combine concrete tasks and reflective work support healing; one specific plan recommends researching and understanding family antecedents. Historical family experiences, including wartime displacement and role changes, influence how family members respond and shape the survivor’s path to reclaim roles and selfhood.

Read at Psychology Today