Stroke survivor is not only someone whose physical health gets affected, but their mental health also takes a toll. This greatly impacts their quality of life as stress, depression and anxiety worsen their situation further.

We speak with Dr Ashish Bansal MD, a Consultant Psychiatrist and the Co-Founder of House of Aesthetics in New Delhi, on ways to cope with mental health challenges after a stroke.

Stroke survivors often find it hard to communicate their feelings, especially the ones that they face psychologically, as they are not able to process their emotions with so much going on in their lives. If a psychiatrist wants their client to talk to them, he/she must provide a safe and comfortable environment wherein they can express their emotions and know that these are normal and treatable too!

Mental health can be improved by any form of exercise, may it be just walking or body stretching exercises. This is due to the release of endorphins, the happy hormones, which help to alleviate the mood. Also engaging in exercise helps stroke survivors by giving them a feeling of accomplishment and recovery.

For stroke survivors suffering from depression or anxiety, their psychiatrist can use cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Through CBT, clients understand how to process negative feelings and learn to handle their stress. Meditation, deep breathing or any other mindfulness techniques can also help to conquer the mental health challenges of stroke survivors. Another technique that can be made use of by psychiatrists is acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) which helps the survivors to accept their feelings and emotions and face them.

For stroke survivors, it is very important to engage them in social gatherings where they can feel happy and relaxed. Also, they can be made a part of support groups to express their emotions openly. But out of all these, there is an added role of family members in improving the lives of stroke survivors. Nobody can understand the pain in the same way as family does!

If a stroke survivor takes up a short-term goal, it can give a huge sense of accomplishment on completion and also boost morale. The goal can be any—related to physical health, social engagement, and more.

Many stroke survivors are at risk of getting depressive symptoms. So psychiatric assessment is of great help for such individuals to identify and deal with mental health conditions. Regular evaluation can help to plan the treatment accordingly and aid in the holistic care of the sufferers.

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