Non-screen activity suggestions?
 

One of the hardest things for my 25yr old son (concussion 1/15, PCS diagnosed 3/15, still lots of symptoms & getting bored esp. since he's not back at work yet) is to find things to do that don't involve electronic screens.

It would be great to have a list of things that do not involve electronic screens and are not too mentally or physically taxing. I haven't seen such a list anywhere else so thought I would put the call out to the collective wisdom of this forum to reflect on what they now know.

So far we've done walks around the neighbourhood (can be limited by light-headedness and rapid heart rate), light gardening and also a bit of cooking/baking.

It would be really useful to have a list of activities, perhaps divided into those that can be done when you're on his own and those that can be done with friends/family?

Thank you :-)

Here is one thread. There are more. If I find them in the next little while I'll add them on here.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread217197.html
Suitable Activities for Brain Healing

edited to add: my eyes started glazing over so I stopped looking for more. ;)

Just remember too, Karina, that everyone is different. We don't all have the same symptoms.
Some of us will find some activities easier to deal with than others.

Tell him to go listen to podcasts. There are a million podcasts out there for every subject and hobby and subculture. I suggest The Joe Rogan Experience. I think he'll like that one.

On behalf of my son, many thanks for all the suggestions. He has been doing some walking outdoors with friends (we live near a nature reserve & Botanical Gardens) when his lightheadedness allows.

We were wondering about 2 activities:
1) going to the movies -- is the cinema experience more about the type of light & motion on the big screen, or is it going to be problematic, whatever?; and

2) swimming -- mentioned by a couple of people, but what is it like for PCS at a big indoor pool in terms of noise & being in the water?

Thank you :-)

swimming - it depends on the person I think.

I have difficulty swimming because I have vertigo problems. Noise and crowded places bother me as well so busy public pools would be out of the question and the ocean, as much as I love it and have half lived in it all my life, seems a treacherous place when dizzy.

I don't enjoy going to movies at a cinema either - same sort of reasons. Watching something at home is ok for me though I need to watch it in stages rather than alll in one sitting. [p.s. I've always been hypersensitive to certain sounds but much worse at the moment so the variation in sound levels in a theatre would be intolerable to me]

Movies -- how it went
 

My son did go to movie last night, so I thought I'd report on how it went for him. It was in a small theater, an old film with dull colours and long screen shots, so not super-bright or loud and not many fast cuts on screen. Eyes started feeling strained half-way through so he put on some light-tint sunglasses which seemed to help. All in all, not a bad experience but he thinks the actual movie and the theater would make a big difference.

watching outdoor sports
 

The summer is coming up and I spent my first summer watching my son referee recreational soccer and my other son coaches little league. I took a lawn chair and sat away from the crowd (away for noise and confusion). I enjoyed watching and it did not seem to bother me too much and I felt connected to the outside world.

I do not go to movies, or hockey games or anything inside even HD T.V. makes me sick.

I'm 23 and over the last 29 months i've come up with a bunch of ways to keep away from the computer!

-bird feeder. Picked one up at the dollar store and I have 20 birds that visit me everyday and I have learned all kinds of backyard bird species!
-learn to make bread/crackers. Really easy to do and tastes delicious!
-Paint. I am an awful painter but i've been learning for about a year now and there has been some improvement! I picked up all my supplies again at the dollar store
-Nice walks are always good for the brain
-I really like taking photographs so I bring a little camera around and photograph mushrooms and things of that nature.
-knitting: i've been learning to knit too! not very good at it but it will be nice once I get better!

There is a few ideas that I found have helped me spend my time wisely. Also got a membership (15 bucks) to the local botanical gardens for a place to go thats usually quiet and for a change of scenery