Living With an Invisible Neurological Condition: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Study

Living with an invisible neurological condition can involve physical, cognitive and psychosocial challenges. The aim of this study was to explore the experience of living with an invisible neurological condition, particularly focusing on life within the context of the family. Four people were interviewed: a man and a woman with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and a man and a woman with prosopagnosia (face-blindness). The participants’ ages ranged from 44 to 68 years, and all four were married with children whose ages ranged from preschool to adult. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using a blend of thematic analysis and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) methodology. Four major themes were developed: 1) Feeling different; 2) Learning to cope; 3) Loneliness; and 4) Moral failure. 1) The participants felt that their experiences were “bizarre”, and they contrasted themselves with “normal” people and/or with their pre-injury selves. 2) The participants had learned and were learning strategies to cope with their condition including avoidance, acceptance of limitations, and active problem-solving. 3) The participants were lonely at times. They found social interaction difficult, but they wanted to be understood. 4) They felt that they did things that were somewhat shameful in order to live with their condition. They felt guilty when they were unable to meet their own and others’ expectations, and believed that others judged them unfairly. This study extends the TBI literature by showing that there are similarities between the lived experiences of TBI and of another neurological condition. It enhances the literature regarding the lived experience of prosopagnosia, where little qualitative research has been done until recently. The findings demonstrate some of the psychosocial consequences of prosopagnosia and TBI. Health practitioners may benefit from having more awareness of these consequences in order to be better able to help people with these conditions to live well

Intelligent Circuits and Systems

ICICS-2020 is the third conference initiated by the School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering at Lovely Professional University that explored recent innovations of researchers working for the development of smart and green technologies in the fields of Energy, Electronics, Communications, Computers, and Control. ICICS provides innovators to identify new opportunities for the social and economic benefits of society.　 This conference bridges the gap between academics and R&D institutions, social visionaries, and experts from all strata of society to present their ongoing research activities and foster research relations between them. It provides opportunities for the exchange of new ideas, applications, and experiences in the field of smart technologies and finding global partners for future collaboration. The ICICS-2020 was conducted in two broad categories, Intelligent Circuits & Intelligent Systems and Emerging Technologies in Electrical Engineering