The effect of the "Golden Circle" exercise on personal goal achievements of stroke survivors: Preliminary findings

The success of a patient's rehabilitation depends greatly on many variables. Stroke survivors are often not sufficiently or fully aware of their mental health condition, and as a result are unresponsive, frustrated, and have difficulty with executive functions. The aim was to investigate the effect of the "Golden Circle" cognitive exercise on the quality of life of post-stroke patients. The subjects were 30 volunteers at a subacute stage after an ischemic stroke. They were randomly allocated to either an experimental group (n = 15) or a control group (n = 15). Quality of life questionnaire and Visual Analogue Scale administered. They were asked to draw a circle on a blank A4 page and at the top to write a title, and within the circle to write their problems, their suggested solutions and to intuitively write associations to a color, a taste, an animal, and a general physical sensation, and below these the date. Following the intervention experimental group showed improvement in walking, standing up, daily activities and general quality of life. Using the "Golden Circle" exercise to improve self-awareness and motivation in stroke survivors contributes to coping and taking responsibility for their rehabilitation.