The accident that caused my concussion had a strong enough impact to knock me to the ground, and I don’t recall getting there, so the brief time ‘out’ classifies my concussion as mild. After three months, I still have symptoms every day, and they increase with any brain activity. Because I enjoy breathing, it’s pretty much impossible to rest my brain entirely. My accident happened at work, so I have been fortunate enough to be enrolled in a head injuries rehabilitation program (which I call brain camp. ) I love the program and would be happy to recommend it to anyone interested.
The best thing I learned this week is the strategy of alternating activities: I have finally found a way to use one area of my brain, then allow that area to rest, and to move on to another area. I’m sure it’s more than one area at a time, but it looks like this: If I run into some friends, I can fully join in on the conversation for about 3-4 minutes (cognitive work.) After that, my symptoms start to rev up and I know I need to step aside. Prior to starting my “brain camp” I would have found my way home as quickly as possible, and lay down, hoping the pounding in my head would calm down. It was a frustrating pattern, and it didn’t seem to be getting any better. Now, I have learned to switch to a completely different activity, to allow the fatigued part(s) of my brain a little rest- a polite “Sorry, gotta go, my time is up” is easily understood by my friends, and then I start up on a vigorous walk for 5 minutes. That is the secret to giving one area of the brain a rest, and still living your life. I”m going to be in such great shape, and I’m not stuck at home. I expect that the time I can tolerate without increased symptoms will gradually increase, but for now, I’m doing my best to listen to my body. That’s it, my 5 minutes is up and I’m heading back outside (into the trail in the picture above.) I’ll do my best to update this whenever I can handle some computer time.
Beth.
5minuteswithbeth 