Originally Posted by jtoronto

Sorry to hear about how your injury happened as well.

First of all, I think it's really important not to beat yourself up about it. Because it's not your fault.

Everyone who doesn't work with concussions or hasn't had a concussion or a loved one with a concussion has no idea about them. I've heard soooo many people say to me, "Wow, I didn't know it could take so long to recover from a concussion. I thought they weren't a big deal."

Another huge thing is to realize that you have not permanently ****ed up your life. I don't say this to belittle your anxiety at all. I have huge amounts of anxiety as well, but I'm constantly challenging those thoughts and trying to look at things rationally. Getting the anxiety under control is probably the most important thing you can do. That's easy to say and hard to do, but it's possible to have much less anxiety than you have now.

Most people recover fully from concussions. Some people take longer than others. You are going to have a whole life of happiness ahead of you. It's just dealing with the crazy difficulty of this chapter. It's so hard. But we can be strong.

Here are some things that have helped me with anxiety:

-I mentioned the thing about giving meaning to the injury and to the setbacks.
I'm going to be such a happy person when I recovery. This injury will have been such a good thing because of what it's going to do for my life. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but there will be huge positives from it. Imagine what it's going to be like to walk in a park on a warm sunny day when you're feeling great.

-Try to come up with the image of that perfect hero. For me it's the wise and gentle warrior. I imagine that I am that hero and that I'm going through a huge battle. I'm strong enough to fight no matter how difficult it is. And I'm not just fighting for myself, I'm fighting for my girlfriend, family and friends who are affected by my injury.

-Things like meditation and progressive relaxation can be helpful. They aren't a quick fix but they are worth learning to do if you can find the time.

-Make plans to look forward to. I've been planning a trip to Eastern Europe, which I've never been to before, with my girlfriend, brother and friends when I get better.