The day I had my first ruptured brain aneurysm was the scariest moment of my life. As soon as I was rushed to the hospital, I knew that my life would never be the same again. During the recovery process, all I could think about was the possibility of another aneurysm rupture, and it consumed me with fear. I couldn't even enjoy the fact that I survived the first one. But with time, support, and understanding, I overcame these fears and learned to take things one day at a time.
After undergoing surgery to repair my ruptured aneurysm, I realized that my life had changed forever. The possibility of another rupture weighed heavily on me and seemed like a constant reminder that death was always looming in the background. This thought was so overwhelming that it prevented me from enjoying anything else in life or focusing on anything else other than the potential for another rupture. That's when I realized that if this fear continued unchecked, it would eventually consume me completely and lead to further mental health issues.
In order to cope with this fear, I decided to seek help from a therapist who specialized in trauma counseling and brain injury survivors. Through our sessions together, I was able to slowly shift away from focusing solely on avoiding another rupture towards focusing on what I could do each day to improve my overall well-being.
This included taking time for self-care activities such as yoga, meditation, reading books, listening to music, or going for walks in nature—all activities which helped me put things into perspective and manage my fears better. Additionally, my therapist also encouraged me to talk openly about how scared I had been during and after my aneurysm rupture in order to get rid of any pent up emotions which may have been causing additional anxiety or stress for me.
Nowadays, two years later since my last angiogram showed that nothing had changed in terms of size (3mm) ,and though it is still something we keep an eye on but no longer consume me with fear like before! With time, support from loved ones and professional help from a therapist specializing in brain injury survivors ,I have learned how to take things one day at a time instead of living under constant fear of another aneurysm rupture .While living with fear isn't easy ,it doesn't have be debilitating either .By learning how to manage your fears you can start living every day more fully instead of worrying about what might happen tomorrow