Hi Sarah,

It doesn't matter how you sustained a concussion, or whose is "worse" or whose came from a "more traumatic" situation - the fact is that your brain is having trouble because it endured trauma/damage to itself. No two brain injuries are the same anyway.

Your brain is trying to heal itself. The best way that it will be able to heal itself is with rest. Usually, an increase in symptoms means that it's not resting enough - consider those symptoms to be warning signs that your brain is trying to give you that you're overdoing it and that it needs you to rest more.

I understand that you are excited about going to China - but I think you really need to consider what going to another country will do to your brain - you will be asking it to learn so many new things in an overwhelmingly different community and society very quickly. That is considered a difficult experience for someone with a well-functioning brain. To a brain that is trying to recover - it might cause a catastrophe.

A person who is recovering from a brain injury is very susceptible to what is known as "setbacks". I'm afraid that moving to China might cause a series of setbacks that will prolong your recovery.

Something to consider here is that symptoms don't always immediately manifest themselves after overdoing it - you might press yourself too hard one day and not recognize symptoms from doing that for a couple of days. Unfortunately, you need to "pace yourself".

If your daily life in a setting that you are familiar with is causing you to experience symptoms - it is a good idea to reduce what you're doing here and now and not to plan to increase mental activity somewhere unfamiliar until you are no longer having any trouble in your current setting for a significant amount of time. Then try to increase your activity in a familiar setting before considering going somewhere so new and different.

Right now, you need to reduce the responsibilities that you require of your brain as much as possible so that it can rest so that it can heal itself.