It does seem to be a slow evolution, with no two weeks exactly alike and most symptoms coming, going, or changing . .

There is a striking difference between symptoms before and after the *SMACK* on the head at the end of Week Four (see my baseline; perhaps I should start the weeks over with the *smack*.) Weeks Five and Six were rocked by mood instability resembling bipolar disorder, with high anxiety on one end and calmness and tranquility on the other. My own personality is part of it. It seemed like just when I thought I was moving in the right direction something bad would happen (I'm afraid to say I'm improving for fear I'll jinx myself.)

First big question: what are the triggers? One theory is: almost everything--with key activities worse than the others. Your brain is involved in 99.9 percent of anything you do. The more demanding the task, the greater the workload. Sight, light, conversations, motor activity . . reading . . keep adding 'em up over the hours, and you have a trigger--according to this theory. Most weeks I thought just staying home would be enough. But maybe not, because I usually crowd every waking moment with lots of reading, thinking, and probably emote-ing[?]--and that stuff evidently burns up a lot of glucose too. I wonder if TBI sufferers should shut down regularly. I seem better--like a recharged battery--when I shut down in some way, including falling asleep. I wonder if being active, or even conscious, the full normal 16 hours per day is deleterious to recovery. Activities I'm not sure I should do: walking/exercise; maybe my hot baths (I've already asked in a separate thread); my morning stretch etc. routine maybe?; getting overly emotional . .

I changed my dietary pattern: now I eat round the clock, including a quickie in the middle of the night; plus most of the nutrients in our Sticky. At first I almost jumped to the conclusion, This is It!--and I seem to experience what Mark described. But it isn't the whole story. It does seem to keep me more stable. One down side is I get SO much energy my obsessiveness is more prone to take off and I get a little more restless at night.

Next intriguing question: what are the best ways to shut down? And how many hours should you give up? Mark says 'gentle stimulation', which I think means doing things with your hands. But maybe also: meditation, if you know how; watching TV or listening to radio that isn't too mentally challenging; yoga?--how about lying with your cats staring at the ceiling. My favorite so far is lying still, eyes usually covered, relaxing . .and falling into a deeply relaxed state, which I think might be the parasympathetic nervous system taking over, but I usually also fall asleep. These are wonderful but this might be shutting down a little too far?

Food for thought guys.