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The TakeAway: Joel talks about mindset and exercise after a stroke

May 29, 2025

It was July 2022. I was a young man of 31 years of age. Fit, healthy, and busy building my own business. I was excited about my future.

I was at the gym and was trying to lift weights above my head but noticed my arms wouldn’t go past my shoulders, particularly my left arm, I could no longer lift or move it in a natural way. A trainer noticed I wasn’t lifting as heavily as I normally would, I told him I was taking it easy as I thought I had a pinched nerve in the back of my neck, and I went home.

Was there a moment when you realised that mindset could help shape your recovery? (1.08 mins)

Joel says, “I found having a positive mindset in especially in the early days was important....having faith that it was all going to somehow work out.”

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Was it hard to have faith in those early days? (1.46 mins)

Joel says, “Absolutely! Recovery is extremely difficult. You don’t know what is going to happen.... It’s especially hard to keep a positive mindset when staff and trainers (allied health professionals) are telling you the worst-case scenario. Digesting that and staying positive was a real battle.”

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Have you struggled with negative self-talk or self-doubt and how do you work through that? (2.36 mins)

Joel says, “I have....it’s something that everyone experiences. I got through by...... trying my best which is all I could do.

But self-doubt after a stroke or brain injury is on 10X scale. It’s deep because you’re constantly doubting yourself that [your efforts] are not going to work. But I can tell you from my experience, if you do the work and hang in there, it does get better.”

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Has your stroke changed the way you see yourself, or your inner strength? (3.50mins)

Yes, it has changed the way that I see myself. I see myself as strong and determined with the structures and knowledge to get through the hardest time in my life.

Do you also have patience and a different perspective about other people as well? (4.36 mins)

Joel says, “I appreciate the lesson of patience. I apply this patience to every part of my everyday life. I have learned that things happen as they need to.

I woke up in the stroke ward and thought I would walk out in 30 days....It wasn't until my neuro team told me, “Joel, we can’t fix you, you have to fix yourself”. It was the biggest slap in the face, and that was the start of my journey with patience and doing what needed to be done.”

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How has moving or exercise impacted your mental health or confidence? (6.32 mins)

Joal says, “Okay, so exercise for me is key. I believe exercise or movement is the best antidepressant and getting your heart rate up is so important. It clears the air, the mind...

I couldn’t move my arm in the early months, so lifting a hand weight is amazing for me. My arm was badly affected. It felt so heavy – it weighed a Tonne. Over time when I began to see improvement, and I could lift a small weight, it was amazing!”

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What is pacing and grading, and how do you use that? (8.27 mins)

Joel says, “So, pacing and grading are rehab terms. Grading is essentially giving yourself a grade of how you feel you did with that action/activity. This helps you to track your progression. Pacing helps you to gradually increase your exercise/movement tolerance.”

Pacing, or finding your “activity threshold,” is a simple but important part of recovery. It means finding the right balance between being active and giving your body the rest it needs to heal.

Did grading give you confidence? (9.46 mins)

Joel says, “Yes, it did. Because you can track your progress and see how far you have come. I also like tracking data, so it helped me a lot.”

Resources:

Australian Physiotherapy Association - How many repetitions are needed to reach recovery goals post-stroke?

Final question, do you have a favourite band or song that you want to share? (10.22mins)

Yes, Nirvana’s, ‘It smells like teen spirit’. I also like the album cover.

Other TakeAways in the series: