Resources & Inspiration for Life with Brain Injury

The “Brain Injury Uniform”

by Linda W. Arms, dated Feb. 23, 2018

After my brain injury, I went from wearing outfits chosen from my wardrobe to wearing a “uniform”.    This change happened for many reasons.   Making a decision about what to wear was more than my brain could deal with.   Wearing an outfit was not something I could relate to any more.   Even after nearly 12 years and great improvement, I still lean towards the uniform approach to dressing rather than making the effort to create an outfit for the day.

For so many of us with a brain injury, decision-making is challenging, even for little things.     I preferred that others made decisions for me especially for anything that required a lot of thinking.    Getting dressed for the day was challenging because I had to make decisions.   Just think about some of those things  you consider when you pick out what you are going to wear?   Things like:

·         What activity, event or occasion am I dressing for?

·         Am I going to be inside or outdoors?

·         What is the weather going to be?

·         Does this color go with this?

·         Where is it?

·         Do these things fit together?

·         And the list goes on…

This requires a lot of brain energy!   It requires a lot of visual processing and sorting pieces of information to decide what to wear.   If we have problems with balance or pain we have to be cautious in how we move.   Sometimes, what we choose to put on, whether  it is clothes, jewelry or shoes, the wardrobe items cause sensations or stimuli that we don’t want to deal with.   We become quickly fatigued before we even go somewhere.   This often causes our symptoms to get worse leading us on a downward spiral.

After my injury, I became quickly aware that I didn’t have the energy to make decisions about what I wore.    I adopted a few simple pieces of clothing that I wore over and over again.    I chose to wear a “uniform”.    I didn’t have to decide.   I didn’t care any more about making the best impression for myself.   I didn’t care if I wore the same outfit the last time I saw this person.

I wanted to be comfortable instead of looking my very best for whatever I was going to be doing.   I didn’t want to have to deal with whatever restrictions or problems I might have with what I was wearing.   I wanted to make sure I wore flat shoes since my balance was off and I didn’t want to be challenged with walking and staying upright.    I didn’t wear jewelry because my dexterity and visual processing wasn’t very good.   I couldn’t easily manipulate small objects with clasps and other connections.

After my brain injury, I also lost many of the roles I played in my life.    I didn’t have to wear the outfit appropriate to the role I was filling for the day.    My old outfits did not fit the part any longer.     I had been a professional but my career clothes were unnecessary.   My career was no longer a part of my life.   The fact that I would not be working in my profession became very clear to me early in my recovery.   My career clothes were some of the first items I gave away.   Not only did I not fit the role any longer but I also didn’t want to be reminded of that fact.   It was painful to see those clothes that I had no use for and that I had once been proud of.

I was a social person who enjoyed nice dinners out.   I was a woman who wanted to look nice.   I was outdoorsy, and enjoyed hiking and skiing.   I liked special occasions or events where you had an excuse to dress up.   After the accident, my predominant role was an injured person trying to survive the day.   I forgot about career, socializing, looking nice and interests in outdoor activities.    All my other roles were gone and the few remaining took a secondary position in my life.   I had some special pieces of jewelry that I no longer wore – I didn’t feel worthy to be wearing them.    I was a sometimes childlike, sometimes old person-like, injured human being who could only deal with simple things.    As a result, I adopted my uniform and put aside most of my other things.

Over the last years, I am much more capable and I try to be more creative with my wardrobe.   I have the capacity again to want to wear different outfits and accessorize with jewelry and other things.    Sometimes, however, when too much stress is in my life or I’m tired, I revert back to my uniform.   It makes life so much easier!

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8 Responses to “The “Brain Injury Uniform”

  1. Hi again! I suffered my severe TBI in September 2014, and for my first two years home again, with my husband as my blessed caretaker, your blog was the most wonderful life-saver for me! It gave me SO many lifesaving tips about dealing with my every day life, things like eating in restaurants, dealing with holidays, and many other things. Through the years I had forgotten (my memory still STINKS) about your blog. Today I was put in touch with another woman who had recently suffered a brain injury, and I remembered your site! Imagine my joy to find it still exists. I will definitely give this new member of our “team” this link. I have read several more recent articles today, and I will keep it up. Thanks for all you do. Your site was a major lifeline for this very scared woman.

  2. Sam

    Having no work is torture to me. Ive always been so independent and I loved working. I worked from 11 to 31. Now ive 2 kids and stuck on uk benefits. I cant even manage my finances. I literally wear gym trousers every day but can’t even walk straight so never go in the gym anymore. Another huge part of my life I enjoyed! I enjoy being a mum but that’s difficult to be a hands on physical mum like I was!

  3. Mary

    It’s not just the choice of clothing, although home fashion changes I find comfort in having the same furniture, curtains and colours etc around me at home and when something needs replacing I look for something that resembles it. I know burgundy leather suites are not in fashion but I feel better in myself surrounded by familiar objects.

  4. I think you’re getting back to it. That’s how I was, slowly, and when all was clicking right, I would try to make myself more presentable. It was a lot of work but, after a while, it becomes easier.

  5. Thanks, Georgia. Can you give us more information about the Make It Look Easy course?

  6. Gretchen

    What is the course, Make it Look Easy?

  7. Steven D Roberts

    Interesting learning on “decision making.” I’ve been testing my blood sugar lately (though just pre-diabetic) and found that my muddled head/inability to make decisions moments coincide with lower blood sugar! Not truly low. Only 80-95. But my head is somehow not getting enough glucose to keep functioning. A candy bar or glucose tablet bring my brain back to clear functioning! Now I’m working on diet to try to even the blood sugar so as to not need that bad-for-me candy bar…

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