My Story of Living With a Brain Injury

I am young adult living with the trials and triumphs as a result of a brain injury. This is my story.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Thanks, Mom!

In honor of Mother's Day..... My mom has a child with special needs.  I believe she is extra special since I sustained a brain injury between 0-2 years old but not diagnosed until 21. Trying to help me and support me the best way she knew how; being aware that I had challenges but not understanding the nature of my challenges and how to address them.

Here are the top 3 things that my Mom did that helped me the most:
-She supported my dreams
-She listened to me when I would talk about my challenges and try to help as best she could
-I knew she was proud of me and loved me, simply for being me.

Thanks, Mom. I love you.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Benefits of List Making

I am a recent convert to the benefits of list making. I generally have a good memory and did well at remembering what I need to do, where I need to be and when. The combination of my memory and success and pride I believe kept me from discovering the benefits sooner. List making was suggested to me as a strategy before but I would think, "lists? I don't need lists! I can do this on my own!"

However, once I did begin the list making and started to reap the benefits I have not looked back! The biggest benefit is that it helps with my anxiety, a common and prominent effect of brain injury.  List making also helps reduce feeling overwhelmed, which can shut me down and make it hard to even begin what I need to do!

Life events also gave me a nudge.   A couple months ago a badly broken leg forced me to take off a few weeks of work. A couple nights before my scheduled return date I started freaking out about all I all I had to do upon my return so I decided to make a list. And I learned that while there was in fact a lot to get done, it wasn't nearly as much as I initially anticipated! This calmed my fears and helped me to be more productive. Now I make lists for many things. Groceries, people to call/email, general to do list, etc. I have one for home and one for work, posted in a prominent place with a writing utensil close by.

What benefits have you experienced from list making? What strategies have worked for you?