If you've been trying to achieve more symptom-free days, check out these tips for getting more good days ahead. It takes time and a lot of rest, but you can recover, Survivor!
Making Progress
- Track Your Healing
- Building Endurance & Stamina
- Maintaining Yourself > Maintaining Your Social Life
- Exercise
- Create a Retreat For Yourself
- Don't Overdo: Pace Yourself
- Learn to Adapt to Your New Brain & Your New Life
- Use Caution
- Take it as a Learning Experience
Track Your Healing
Journal about your good (and bad) days
If you observe a change or disappearance of symptoms, write it down! Should new symptoms appear, it is also important to make note of these as well. (Remember to keep your notes in your medical folder!)
Building Endurance & Stamina
"Gradual gains"- recovery doesn't just happen over night. It takes time to heal and you must pace yourself.
Maintaining Yourself > Maintaining Your Social Life- You love and appreciate your friends and family very much, but when you don't feel well- go have a rest! Try to take care of yourself before you go above and beyond meeting the needs and expectations of others.
Exercise- Exercise is important for your health, but if you have vertigo, nausea or headache- getting any exercise seems futile. On days where you do feel good, try light exercises. There are many therapeutic benefits for concussion healing that can come from light exercises such as yoga, tai chi, swimming and walking.
Create a Retreat for Yourself- If you've been in the dark hiding from light and sound- make it your own! Create a place for yourself that makes you feel happy and comfortable- surround yourself with things that make you feel happy: a picture of sunflowers, a soft pillow or throw nestled in your favorite armchair. Ease from retreat, not stress and discomfort, will aid your healing.
Don’t Overdo: Pace Yourself- As survivors, we had days where all that we could do was try to sleep off the pain. Yet, on the days where we felt great- we went hog wild! We'd go to the grocery store, meet up with the girls, do laundry, try to clean the house and redecorate the living room. We ended up using all our energy by overdoing. Every time we overexerted, the next few days we were back in bed. The key is learning your limits and not pushing yourself beyond those self-determined boundaries. Don't push it!
Learn to Adapt to Your New Brain & Your New Life- It can be hard coming to terms with having different abilities. If you were type A++ like our founder, Lisa, you may know how difficult it can be not to be in constant "GO! mode." Recognize that you may not be able to do what you could do before injury, but in time you can possibly resume most of your activities.
Caution-It is critical that you consider your surroundings while healing from your injury. Ensuring that obstacles in hallways and bathrooms are cleared limit the possibility for new injury to occur.
Learning Experience- Learn what you can and take it as an opportunity to grow!
Journal about your good (and bad) days
If you observe a change or disappearance of symptoms, write it down! Should new symptoms appear, it is also important to make note of these as well. (Remember to keep your notes in your medical folder!)
Building Endurance & Stamina
"Gradual gains"- recovery doesn't just happen over night. It takes time to heal and you must pace yourself.
Maintaining Yourself > Maintaining Your Social Life- You love and appreciate your friends and family very much, but when you don't feel well- go have a rest! Try to take care of yourself before you go above and beyond meeting the needs and expectations of others.
Exercise- Exercise is important for your health, but if you have vertigo, nausea or headache- getting any exercise seems futile. On days where you do feel good, try light exercises. There are many therapeutic benefits for concussion healing that can come from light exercises such as yoga, tai chi, swimming and walking.
Create a Retreat for Yourself- If you've been in the dark hiding from light and sound- make it your own! Create a place for yourself that makes you feel happy and comfortable- surround yourself with things that make you feel happy: a picture of sunflowers, a soft pillow or throw nestled in your favorite armchair. Ease from retreat, not stress and discomfort, will aid your healing.
Don’t Overdo: Pace Yourself- As survivors, we had days where all that we could do was try to sleep off the pain. Yet, on the days where we felt great- we went hog wild! We'd go to the grocery store, meet up with the girls, do laundry, try to clean the house and redecorate the living room. We ended up using all our energy by overdoing. Every time we overexerted, the next few days we were back in bed. The key is learning your limits and not pushing yourself beyond those self-determined boundaries. Don't push it!
Learn to Adapt to Your New Brain & Your New Life- It can be hard coming to terms with having different abilities. If you were type A++ like our founder, Lisa, you may know how difficult it can be not to be in constant "GO! mode." Recognize that you may not be able to do what you could do before injury, but in time you can possibly resume most of your activities.
Caution-It is critical that you consider your surroundings while healing from your injury. Ensuring that obstacles in hallways and bathrooms are cleared limit the possibility for new injury to occur.
Learning Experience- Learn what you can and take it as an opportunity to grow!