🪶🪶🪶🪶🪶

🪶🪶🪶🪶🪶

🪶🪶🪶🪶🪶

🪶🪶🪶🪶🪶

and 0.2 of a feather 🪶

here ya go

- @wheelbarrowofstagefourcancer

since my injury, i struggle with planning. doesn’t that sound ridiculous? how do you lose the ability to plan. 

humans (brains) are complex. we all plan our lives in our own ways. some of us plan obsessively, some of us might not plan at all. planning was always something i did...

to reach my financial goals,          to map my life design,                     to be successful at work,                               to meet my nutritional/health needs,                                         to get me through the week. 

without a plan i feel lost.

what are the obstacles I face when planning?

CONFUSING days of the week, sometimes what month it is

FORGETTING what i am doing mid-thought, and it not coming back

 not understanding my NEEDS hour to hour, day to day

needing RIGIDITY in my routine 

memory RECALL is poor

what i do to help myself:

get plenty of SLEEP

keep a wicked PLANNER close by all the time 

come up with a WEEKLY plan every Sunday

spend time everyday to review YESTERDAY, TODAY and TOMORROW

try to be CONSISTENT in my routine 

to be honest, i still have TROUBLE with MEDIUM and LONG term planning. so my methods aren't the end all, be all. before my injury, planners were not my thing.some weeks my planner feels like a crutch, a lifeline. i tried going with out once and felt absolutely lost.... then the ANXIETY would set in. 

it has taken me awhile to readjust. once i was able to let go of the old way i used to plan, i could embrace the new ways i tackle my crazy world. 

I hate the way you make my head pound.

I hate the way i’m bound

to you and give in to your pain.

I hate the way you have pulled sanity from brain,

and I can’t think straight anymore.

you’ve poured yourself into every open wound I had forgotten about,

the things I love so dearly- you strip me from them.

and suddenly it stings again.

suddenly I hate going out.

I hate hearing people shout

in happiness.

the books I loved are all an unread mess

on my desk.

it’s times like these I think the rest

of my life will revolve around you—

so leave me alone.

i wish I would have just broken a bone//

i would have been healed by now.

—A letter to my concussion

did you know? silence isn’t really a thing. Okay, maybe it is possible, but your brain does a lot of work to FILTER out baseline NOISE. hunh? 

SENSORY ADAPTATION is when our brains become less sensitive to CONSTANT stimuli that are picked up by our senses. 

Think about it. your almighty BRAIN filters out background noise constantly.

ticking of a clock

hum of your car engine

heartbeat/blinking/swallowing

typing on a keyboard

rumbles from heating/air conditioner systems

all the conversation and chatter at parties/indoor public places

clanging of silverware at restaurants

a symptom of brain injury can be SOUND SENSITIVITY. the brain can have a hard time filtering out the background noises and/or has a hard time choosing what to pay attention to. SHARP sounds and certain FREQUENCIES also trigger symptoms.

i hate this one. its impacted a few areas of my life that i used to thoroughly enjoy:

going to the movies

house parties (& pubs (& clubs))

social get togethers with more than 4 ppl

participating in open mics/karaoke (yes i am a fan)

restaurants & cafes

malls & grocery stores

open concept workplaces (cubicles)

putting dishes away (this one drives me crazy!)

my common SYMPTOMS (sometimes occur the next day):

headaches

feelings of panic and anxiety

drains energy stores

confusion

brain fog

what do i do to PREVENT SYMPTOMS from SOUND SENSITIVITY

EAR PLUGS

i stash them everywhere (purse & vehicles)

not always totally helpful

NOISE CANCELLING headphones

listening to MUSIC while in busy places

prob not the best solution, but helps me focus on one thing (music) rather than all the competing and confusing noise

AVOIDING loud places/situations

mTBIs can lead to SOCIAL ISOLATION, which is a whole other issue

not always successful solutions. key is to remove the stimulus BEFORE you start getting symptoms. symptom delay can make this hard. trail and error and understanding your triggers and sensitivity levels can really help with this.