Stroke recovery involves using both your brain and your body. Knowing the right mental techniques can help to enhance your quality of life during stroke recovery and improve the outcomes of your rehabilitation efforts.
Additionally, in general, mindfulness has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing depression and anxiety, fostering resilience, and managing stress, all of which are useful for life after stroke.
Stay Grounded In The Moment With Mindfulness
Mindfulness entails redirecting yourself back to the present moment when your thoughts drift to the past or the future. People can practice mindfulness in a variety of ways, from daily meditation to yoga to even finding mindful moments throughout your day. Potential mindfulness benefits for stroke survivors include:
- Augmenting neuroplasticity, which is instrumental in rewiring your brain to repair damage caused by the stroke, especially those neural paths that dictate focus, memory and mood
- Reducing spasticity (per a small pilot study of a structured two-week mindfulness program)
- Reducing depression and mental fatigue (from a meta-analysis of mindfulness and acceptance interventions for stroke survivors)
Additionally, in general, mindfulness has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing depression and anxiety, fostering resilience, and managing stress, all of which are useful for life after stroke.