Three Misconceptions About Stroke Recovery

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I was one of those people who had no idea what it meant to have a stroke.

When first responders informed me that a stroke could be the reason why my left side was temporarily paralyzed, I thought a short trip to the hospital may be all I needed.

However, in the weeks and months to follow, as I spent time in the intensive care units and inpatient rehab, there was a flood of information explaining the next steps and what I should expect as a stroke survivor.

As anyone would, I had countless questions for the doctors, nurses and therapists that I met after stroke.

While they largely gave me great advice and suggestions on how to move forward in life after stroke, there are some concepts that I wish had been explained differently.

As I set out to leave rehab and return home, these are the three things I wish I had known sooner.

Three Common Misconceptions About Stroke Recovery

Misconception #1: The 1-year Recovery Fallacy

Over the past four years, I’ve spent a lot of time interacting with other stroke survivors through support groups and online forums.

I can immediately relate to people when I hear comments like “It’s been one year since my stroke, but I’m still not where I want to be. Did I miss my recovery window?”

I felt the exact same way about a year after my stroke.

Unfortunately, stroke recovery resources will often discuss a short spontaneous recovery period immediately after stroke or describe recovery as taking up to about a year.

However, mental and physical improvements can come years after stroke. As a stroke survivor, there is no one-year recovery window that one should worry about missing.

Debra Meyerson calls attention to this misconception in her book Identity Theft.

“The closest thing to a standard in the medical community is the extremely unfortunate mantra that most recovery happens in the first twelve months. Thankfully, that myth is losing credibility,” Meyerson writes.

Misconception #2: There’s a significant difference between a ‘functional recovery’ and ‘full recovery’

In the initial months after my stroke, doctors and nurses described me as a “walking miracle”.

They said I was making “tremendous progress” when I asked for their insights into how I was progressing in recovery after stroke.

In my medical charts, doctors noted that I was a patient who had “almost made a complete recovery” within the first two years of my stroke.

 Yet on the inside, I knew I was still a very different person from the one I remembered.

Functionally, I could do everything a normal person is expected to do – drive, walk, go to work, etc. – but there were still significant challenges that prevented me from believing that I had almost made a “complete recovery.”

For medical professionals – and to an extent, friends and family – a stroke survivor has recovered when they can function like a human being who hasn’t had a stroke.

Yet, stroke survivors know there are frustrating physical and mental deficits that continue long after they dip their toes back into “normal life.”

The dizziness, fatigue, numbness on my stroke-affected side, and feeling overwhelmed in social situations are all post-stroke deficits that can be hard to overcome.

Misconception #3: Recovery after stroke is so much more than the physical challenges

Stroke is one of the leading causes of physical disability in America, but the consequences of stroke are so much more than the physical challenges.

Stroke can significantly alter your mental state, including your emotions and cognitive abilities.

After stroke, I struggled with reading books, controlling my emotions and decision-making.

In the earliest days of recovery, I was solely focused on improving myself physically, such as learning how to walk and move my fingers again.

However, the mental and emotional side of recovery proved to be a more significant challenge than any physical exercise because I had no idea these challenges awaited me in the years to come.

Misconceptions About Stroke Recovery

The deficits faced by stroke survivors can vary widely based on their own unique situations. No two strokes and stroke recoveries are the same.

Yet, themes like a condensed recovery window, a focus on physical deficits, and the appearance of a full recovery apply to many in life after stroke.

Recovering from a stroke is challenging, and unless you’ve experienced it, it can be difficult to articulate and understand the feelings that come with it.