I made some really good progress the past two months or so, but the past three weeks I've declined significantly. I would suggest not trying cold showers or exercising to the max. Clearly, my brain can't handle those things.

But the part that caused the most decline was "overdoing it." I had a week or so of really good days, but I guess I did too much. For a while, I thought it was a new supplement that caused the decline, but I'm finding out that that was a wrong assumption.

I'm just wondering if anyone has advice. I can't live my life taking an hour break every 1.5-2 hours. That's my biggest issue. I get overstimulated frequently, and then need around an hour to return to activity.

I'm still exercising, eating healthy most of the time, taking supplements, sleeping very well, and keeping my brain stimulated.

What things are you doing when you feel you have overdone it ?

Brain games. puzzles, etc. And reading.

Have you tried to learn when you are at the very beginning of over-doing it ?

How long do you play the brain games ? Lumosity like stuff ?

What kind of puzzles ?

What kind of reading ? fiction, non-fiction, technical, news, ?

Have you tried to learn when you are at the very beginning of over-doing it?

Yes. I usually am great at knowing when I'm at the beginning of over-doing it; mostly because I can easily overdo it, and the consequences are not worth it. The week where I felt good, I thought headaches were something that could be ignored, but was clearly wrong.

How long do you play the brain games ? Lumosity like stuff ?

I played for around 10-15 minutes at a time. Yes, Lumosity and similar apps, as well as Donalee Markus' Designs For Strong Minds exercises.

What kind of puzzles ?
Brain Games #1: Lower Your Brain Age in Minutes a Day (Brain Games (Numbered)): Editors of Publications International: 978141271451: Amazon.com: Books

What kind of reading ? fiction, non-fiction, technical, news, ?

Mostly non-fiction. During the good week, I read about 200-300 pages. Maybe more. Why Isn't My Brain Working? by Datis Kharrazian, Norman Doidge's The Brain That Heals Itself, and The Ghost in My Brain by Clark Elliot were the books that I was reading.

I suggest you stop reading about brains. Many have found that spending a lot of time reading about brain injury and such serves to increase their symptoms. A few on NT have been told to stop reading and even reduce their NeuroTalk frequency by their therapists. They have reported back that it helped, especially for those who have anxiety issues. Better to read enough to put together a written plan of action. Then, use that written plan to direct your activities.

When you consider books like Normal Doidge, keep in mind that some of his anecdotes are in reference to focal injuries. They have a different recovery path than concussion/diffuse axonal injuries.

Brain training is not the cure all many make it out to be. Extensive research shows that it improves the specific functions in the activity practiced but rarely does that improvement cross over into other disciplines/functions.

The personal improvement goals of Donalee Markus are more appropriate for healthy brains with high stress tolerance. The goal is often to maximize focus and cognitive function during high stress. One needs to keep in mind that many such programs are primarily focused at taking an unorganized brain but healthy brain and teach it to be organized. The real capabilities have not changes. The claims of increased intelligence are not supported. Instead, the person has increased their skills at test taking so they perform better on intelligence tests.

I have had roughly the same intelligence my whole life with peaks in my early teens and early 20's. But, I have had struggles with testing that shows deficits during that testing. Remove the stress or other challenges of the test and I unfreeze my brain and am back to normal.

Concussion research shows that learning to work with and through our limitations is the most successful path. Trying to force a return to pre-injury without needing any work-arounds or accommodations is not usually successful.

There is very little I cannot do. But, many times, I have to stop and find a detour around a mental roadblock or a memory limitation I have. It is counter productive to try to force my way through that mental roadblock. It will cost me. But, stepping back, re-examining the task, and finding a different way to get it done is very rewarding and usually successful.

If you read these brain injury books, you will find than many have used this, "Find a way around the roadblock" concept.

What tasks are you struggling to accomplish ? What happens when you hit a roadblock ?

I and others have likely already discovered ways around those roadblocks.

From my observation, it appears you come up against roadblocks and spin your tires trying to push through rather than look for a detour around it. That is extremely frustrating and counter-productive. Been there, done that, stunk up a Tee shirt doing it.