@article{ref1,
title="'Lonely in my head': the experiences of loneliness in individuals with brain injury",
journal="British journal of health psychology",
year="2020",
author="Lowe, Niamh and Crawley, Lorraine and Wilson, Charlotte and Waldron, Brian",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: This paper reports on the personal experiences of loneliness for  individuals living with brain injury. RESEARCH DESIGN: This is a qualitative  research design, employing semi-structured interviews and subsequent contextualist  thematic analysis. <br><br>METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Eleven clients (two female and nine male,  aged between 27 and 63 years) with brain injury participated in semi-structured  interviews. Thematic analysis was employed in the interpretation of the data. MAIN  OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: The interview data and subsequent analysis depicted three  overarching themes in a healing process - 'Internal Loneliness', 'Healing the  Cracks', and 'Visible with Cracks'. Participants described five factors which  contribute to their feeling of loneliness: trauma, social isolation, concealment,  rejection of part of self, and invisibility of their disability. The participants'  accounts also detailed the necessity of a therapeutic intervention and relationship  to deal with and address some of these issues. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights  that processing the trauma, developing dialectical thinking, self-compassion, and a  degree of self-acceptance assist in the movement of participants towards allowing  themselves to be 'Visible with Cracks'. This allowance of self to be fully seen  appears to serve an important function for reconnection with self and others. These  results may help to inform brain injury rehabilitative care, through developing  their understanding of the internal loneliness factors that may be influencing an  individual's social isolation or social withdrawal.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1359-107X",
doi="10.1111/bjhp.12481",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12481"
}