Setting goals for stroke recovery

Recovery from stroke can be a lifelong journey. There may be areas that you would like to change, a little or a lot. Setting goals will help you figure out how to get from where you are to where you want to be. There is plenty of evidence to show that people who have a plan and write it down have much better rates of success in achieving their goals.

Setting goals can help you turn a wish into action. It enables you to figure out what works and what doesn’t. It helps you measure your progress and celebrate your successes and it can give you motivation to keep going when the going gets tough.

However, some goals can be de-motivating. Goals that are so big that your hard work results in little progress, living for the end point and not enjoying the journey or working towards goals that are other people’s and not your own can make it a negative experience.

So how do you set good goals?

Believe in your brain’s amazing ability to change!

We used to think that no further recovery could be made after the first six or twelve months post-stroke. While there is certainly a ‘sweet spot’ where hard work helps you reach your maximum potential, recovery does not stop after this time. Stroke survivors can continue to make improvements for years and even decades after their stroke.

In the initial phase of recovery, your brain is trying to repair damaged cells and start working again. Some people have spontaneous recovery, where the damaged cells just start working. For other people, it is a case of ‘use it or lose it’. Activities exercising the damaged area of the brain help it to repair itself.

In the later stages of recovery, if the damaged area has not started working again, the brain may use a new area to take responsibility for the tasks that the damaged area used to do. This is called neuroplasticity, meaning that the brain has the ability to physically change itself – amazing right!

Pick an area that you want to improve on.

Ask yourself, “What is it that you can’t do now that you want to do?” Imagine that your stroke is no longer stopping you from doing something that you really want to do. What is that thing?

It could be getting back to work or driving, using cutlery to eat your dinner, spending quality time with family and friends or going on a holiday.

Set your own goal.

Sometimes, other people may suggest goals that they think will help you with your recovery. While their intentions may be good, the goal becomes a ‘should do’ rather that a ‘want to’ because it is less meaningful to you.

Just remember, when it comes to your life, you are the expert. There is no friend, family member, doctor or therapist who is in a better position to be in control of your recovery plan. There is no one who cares as much. When you direct your own recovery, your goals are more meaningful, motivating and you are likely to work harder and achieve greater success.

Involve your significant others.

When setting a goal, think about including your family and friends in your recovery efforts. What is needed from each person to help you reach your goal? Think too about anything your family friends might need to help them help you. Tackling recovery with a loved one can provide some powerful support and encouragement.

Make it functional.

Pick a goal that will help you participate in the things you love or are important to you. When goals have practical outcomes, they are much more meaningful. For example, working on your grip strength, for the sake of having better grip strength, may be uninspiring. However, working on your grip strength so that you can use cutlery to eat your meal and feel comfortable going out to your favourite restaurant may give you the motivation to work much harder.

Break it down into small steps.

One of the biggest challenges of creating good goals, is breaking them down into bite-sized chunks. It is important to do this so that you know exactly what you need to do to achieve your goal. It also means you can celebrate your achievements as you go.

Consider the goal below.

“I want to enjoy spending time with my grandchildren again”.

First consider what may be stopping you.

Let’s imagine that it is ‘anxiety resulting from fear of a having another stroke.’

What could help you overcome this fear? Perhaps you don’t know what caused your stroke and it is playing on your mind.

• Step 1: Find some information on the causes of stroke. Action: call StrokeLine to talk to a stroke health professional. This may give rise to the new goal of lowering your cholesterol, which leads you to read about what a healthy cholesterol range is, which foods in your diet should be replaced with healthier options and how often you should have your cholesterol checked.
• Step 2: Talk to your doctor about your anxiety. Action: call GP and make an appointment. This may give rise to the new goal of making an appointment to see a counsellor which may in turn lead to weekly counselling sessions and daily meditation practice.

Dealing with setbacks or changes.

Goal setting is not a single task. Your plan will need to grow and change over time. As you achieve goals, new goals will emerge. You might also have setbacks or hit road blocks. Know that it is okay not to achieve what you set out to achieve. You can adjust your goal and try again. Is there another method you can try? Can you break your goal into smaller steps? If the goal is important to you, then keep working towards it. You may achieve it, you may adjust it or you may decide it is no longer important to you and that’s okay too.

Fatigue can be a major obstacle for many stroke survivors. It can significantly impact your ability to participate in recovery activities.

You can help manage fatigue by getting some exercise, staying hydrated and well-nourished, reducing stress and asking your doctor to review your medications. Most importantly, know your limits, listen to your body and when you need a break, take a break. Pushing yourself too far can make you go backwards instead of forwards.

Enjoy the ride.

TIPS

Do what you love and love what you do. If you set goals that are meaningful, you will be motivated to work on them, which will lead to success and increased motivation.

Remember to be kind to yourself along the way and to take a break when you need one. Maybe you have partially achieved your goal and that is enough to allow you to get back to an activity that you enjoy. In that case, you may decide to stop working on it or to work on it less intensely.

You have a right to decide if the effort and time that it would take to achieve a goal is worth it to you. Maybe doing four hours of physiotherapy each day would improve your walking significantly, but reduce your ability to do other things that you want to do. You may decide you don’t want to work on that goal right now but instead, hold it in your mind as something you would like to do in the future.

There is no right or wrong, just the best path for you and there in no-one better to choose that path than you.

Cheers, Melita, StrokeLine