Every day I had to call to see if I needed to do a random drug test. Around the time that the abuse became physical and he injured my brain, I was sentenced to probation. Before my brain injury, I had been coping with my partner’s emotional abuse by drinking, and one night I drove under the influence. Why should they get these screenings, I thought, when victims of violence also need this help?īut I also knew the line between those categories isn’t always clean. I learned that lawmakers were considering a measure to provide brain injury screenings to people in prison. Studies show that incarcerated people are far more likely to have brain injuries than the general population.Īfter my abuser was sentenced, I met other victims, and I started showing up at the Colorado legislature to advocate for our interests. I’ve come to realize that my experience isn’t rare - among victims or perpetrators of crime. If I’d known this sooner, I would have had a far easier time navigating the criminal justice system. More than a year passed before I learned this all stemmed from a brain injury. I’d always had a very active brain, with thoughts constantly flying around, but now I’d wake up in the morning and feel like I had no thoughts at all. In addition to the uncontrollable laughter, I often found myself emotionally overwhelmed, bursting into tears and physically collapsing in public. He went to prison, and my life was changed forever. In 2018, I was with a man who beat me over the course of 10 weeks, strangling me, punching me in the head, and dragging me off the bed so that my head slammed into the ground.

The movie doesn’t show an exact cause, but for me and many others, it starts with a brain injury. I know this because I suffer from it too. His actions were partially based on a real neurological condition called Pseudobulbar affect. In the movie “Joker,” Joaquin Phoenix’s character frequently bursts into unnerving laughter at socially inappropriate moments. Sign up to receive 'Life Inside' emailed to you every week. Perspectives from those who work and live in the criminal justice system.

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