[myheadhurts]

3/26/12 work related concussion/tbi/pcs. I was crouched down on one knee
And was struck above the left eye at the hairline by a part that fell off a machine
I was working on. It weighed about 8 pounds and it fell around ten feet before it hit me. Suffering what seems to be the "standard" symptoms STIMULI. Shopping and don't agree. How do you explain to someone what you can handle and not handle and when you recognize reaching a threshold. We stopped at The Children's Place at the outlet mall and I was good for ten minutes, when I said I had to leave, I got "The Look" and "The Sigh" I don't need any more stress how can you help people understand. I want to scream and crawl into a dark hole.

[andromeda]

Oh yes I know the look, and the sigh. Unfortunately brain injuries can be virtually invisible to others. People want hard evidence or you're just "being awkward". I ask somebody if we can turn the radio off in the car....SIGH. I try to tell my friend I need to find a bathroom or I'm going to pi** myself...SIGH. Sometimes I think we should wear bandages around our heads.

Don't crawl into a dark hole...come here and talk it out instead.

[Mark in Idaho]

A somewhat technical explanation is this. The brain has a function that everybody else takes for granted. It is a filtering mechanism that helps the brain ignore most of the stimulation in our environment. Think of it as sunglasses for light, sound, visual images, tactile sensations, even smells.

The injured brain may be able to filter out these excess stimuli for a while but as the brain fatigues from this same over-stimulation, this system can suddenly stop completely.

For those 'friends' willing to watch it, there is a good video series on YouTube called "You Look Great." The first segment of 6 is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9Xso...ature=youtu.be . It takes about an hour to watch all 6 segments.

[Mrs-B]

For those 'friends' willing to watch it, there is a good video series on YouTube called "You Look Great." The first segment of 6 is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9Xso...ature=youtu.be . It takes about an hour to watch all 6 segments.

The last time I sent this link to a "friend", she came back with the following reply:

"Hi, hope you are feeling a little better. I did some research about your condition a couple of weeks ago and am struggling to deal with my own illness at the moment so this is a bit much for me. Take care."


Haven't heard from her since!

[TBI/PTSD]

I could handle being out if: I had sunglasses on, headphones in, and a t shirt that says stay back 50 feet, or someway to maintain my space. I feel like this is more important than ever. I buckle at the thought of being over stimulated by people or places. All week my ears have been popping and ringing with pounding headaches and I am staying home the rest of the weekend. Yesterday was a big day. I need to recoup.

[Mark in Idaho]

A big day for me often means days of recovery.

Research suggests that long term recovery is directly related to how many days that can be linked together without an over-stimulating day needing recovery.

Maybe this will help. If you can link 10 days together without a overload then a small overload requiring 2 days to recover, you may have a net of 6 or 8 days toward recovery. If you go 2 days of good then a overload needing 2 days to recover, you have no improvement.

The injured brain takes very little to regress but may good days to move forward toward recovery. This is why the concussion medical establishment has finally started recommending continuous days of low stimulation.

We have people on NT who have finally taken the time to rest properly after months of on and off rest who have posted the need to bite the bullet and shut down their life and rest.

Posting here in support of others more than once a day is likely too much cognitive stimulation plus the stimulation of empathizing with others struggles. As much as we want to support and share each others burdens, for those still recovering, it is probably counter to recovery.

Over the 3 1/2 years I have been on NT, I have noticed that those who post the most tend to be the ones who struggle the longest. They often start their posts with anxious questions about how long it takes to recover and then count the days, weeks and months.

I follow a TBI blog where the primary author will write 1000 words a day and never seems to get any better. As my signature verse says, "Be still."

I have learned to observe struggles in others and even recognize a bad day in my life and not let it get to me. I know to just wait it out. My wife knows that she needs to just let me have time, too.

[andromeda]

Originally Posted by TBI/PTSD

I could handle being out if: I had sunglasses on, headphones in, and a t shirt that says stay back 50 feet, or someway to maintain my space. I feel like this is more important than ever. I buckle at the thought of being over stimulated by people or places. All week my ears have been popping and ringing with pounding headaches and I am staying home the rest of the weekend. Yesterday was a big day. I need to recoup.

"stay back 50 feet" Hahahaha that made me laugh - thank you. I really need to get me one of those.

[andromeda]

Originally Posted by Mrs-B

The last time I sent this link to a "friend", she came back with the following reply:

"Hi, hope you are feeling a little better. I did some research about your condition a couple of weeks ago and am struggling to deal with my own illness at the moment so this is a bit much for me. Take care."


Her "illness"? She has the flu!
Haven't heard from her since!

Wow, better off without!

I have a friend who will text me, leave it a day, text me, then doesn't reply and ignores me for a month. I feel like saying, 'I'm done with this now. You're either in my life or not.'

We used to be best friends.

[Mark in Idaho]

I think it is better to realize that we need to stay 50 feet from others. We know our problems. We should make the effort to stay away from others.

[Astrid2803]

andromeda - LOL @ bandages around heads! You legend you!

Mrs-B - Just goes to show how self-centred people can be. One never really sees other people's true colours until tragedy strikes in one's own life.

Mark - That makes so much sense. I find that nothing constructive gets done on the days that I'm off from work (besides trying to recover from work)!