Learning to Heal with Bella Paige
Show Notes:
Today Bella Paige gives us an insight to how she's been feeling lately and all that she's overcome. Advice is given on many things that are often missed in concussion recovery. If anyone understands what it's like to experience life changes from their health it's Bella, make sure you don't miss out on this personal episode.
Bella also goes on to share some very exciting aspects of Post Concussion Inc's growth and how you can benefit!!
Key Points From This Episode:
[00:01:36] Letting yourself heal
[00:07:59] Concussion Cookbook
[00:12:14] Bella shares exciting courses now available
[00:19:27] Bella talks about the invisible
[00:20:51] Long time concussion survivors
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[00:00:00] Podcast Introduction
Hi everyone. I'm your host Bella Page, and after suffering from post-concussion syndrome for years, it was time to do something about it. So welcome to the Post-concussion podcast where we dig deep into life When it doesn't go back to normal, be sure to share the podcast and join our support network.
Concussion connect. Let's make this invisible injury become visible. The Post-concussion podcast is strictly an information podcast about concussions and post-concussion syndrome. It does not provide nor substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on this podcast. The opinions expressed in this podcast are simply intended to spark discussion about concussions and post-concussion syndrome.
[00:01:06] Episode Introduction
Welcome to episode number 97 of The Post Concussion Podcast with just your host me Bella Paige. Today's episode will be a little different, just kind of focusing on a few things that I really wanted to talk about that have come up recently and yeah. So here we go. We're gonna talk about letting yourself heal The Post Concussion Cookbook, some courses launched on Concussion Connect that I know you should really hear about if you're suffering and a surprise coming in the future.
[00:01:36] Letting yourself heal
Now, here we go. Let's start with number one, letting yourself heal. Now. It took me a really long time to learn that I could even heal from this. Now, if you've been on Concussion Connect, you kind of know that even though I've healed, I have actually got a few permanent or chronic conditions from my concussions that are no longer related to post-concussion syndrome. And if you wanna hear about those, that is where you'll hear about that.
But something that I really struggled with with all of this, Was, I was always fighting against myself. For example, I needed to take breaks, I needed to rest, and I just wouldn't. I just would keep riding horses, keep going out. And I'm not saying you need to stop living your life and we're gonna talk about that a little bit more today, but you know, You actually have to let yourself heal, and that means doing the therapies and being active in them and paying attention to symptoms and triggers and all these things.
But the other thing that can be really big in all this is the stress of it. I know the stress for me exasperated my symptoms to an unimaginable level. And so learning to manage stress is really important with things like breathing exercises and meditation and being outdoors and all these things that can kind of help reduce stress in your life if you can.
Now, I understand that life is full of stress and I can't count how many times people have told me. Oh, I deal with that too. And sometimes that's really frustrating, especially when you talk about fatigue and other people are like, oh, I'm tired all the time too. And you're like, I wish you could understand that my fatigue is not your fatigue.
And so things like that, and you really have to remember that things can get better and how things can change. Let's go back. Four years ago was back when I was show jumping horses and puking over a bucket and I couldn't really do anything. I decided to stop completely and retire, which was a decision I finally made for myself.
And then after that, I kind of spent a bunch of time trying out other sports and I kept it pretty safe for a while. Probably not long enough if you asked my parents, and now four years later, I ride dirt bikes and I can ride a dirt bike and not get any symptoms. And that is something that I never expected.
And sometimes it's really hard cuz I think, oh, you could go back to that show jumping career that you loved. But at the same time, you know what, I put it in the past and sometimes it's okay to let things stay in the past and create new goals. I had a really hard time a few weeks ago that I kind of shared on social media and a lot on Concussion Connect, and that was about every few months I kind of get this wave of not loving my life or I have a good life, I always say, but it's not the life I wanted. And it's something I still struggle with. And as you all know, I try to be really open on here. And so when I struggle with that, I really have to kind of reprioritize what I want in life. And it does help with that. But at the same time, it's like an emotional wave of y ou didn't get to do what you wanted because of your health. And that is the only reason, and that is something that takes a long time to accept. And that is where that letting yourself heal is more than just the physical symptoms you have to get over or get through everything else that has happened because of your injury or injuries.
Because it's a lot more than just, okay, you did the therapy and you're better now. Okay. What had to change in your life after your concussion? What can you change back? What can you do again? What do you not wanna try again? Which direction do you wanna go? And so I think it's really important to kind of go through those motions.
I really like to write everything out on paper. They used to talk about mind maps in school, if you know what those are. And they're just like big bubbles everywhere and you kind of connect the dots. And I really like doing that on kind of like, okay, what do we wanna focus on right now? Something can be like family, a partner, friends, maybe a sport, maybe a hobby.
But you know, we can all do everything at once. So I think when I do go through that moment, This isn't really the life I wanted. As I, you know, shovel steps off or do something. It's usually something just everyday life that happens and I'm just like, wow, this is a part of my life and it probably would've been a part of my life anyways but sometimes I feel like I'm missing that piece. So. It is really important to get through those things cuz if I didn't, this wouldn't exist. Concussion Connect wouldn't exist and all this help from all these providers wouldn't be here. So it's really great to take your time when you're letting yourself heal and remember that it's a lot more.
Then most people think it is all those moments that you didn't get to go out. It is all those moments you had to say no, it is all those moments you had to change plans. All those things are something you have to accept and get through because they will be in your mind depending on who you are. So take your time to do that.
That reprioritizing goals is something that can really help, and even if they're short-term goals. Even if they're, I'm gonna work out an extra time this week because I have the energy now or I'm gonna read a book when I can now because I have the energy now. Or I took the vision course on Concussion Connect and I can read now. So I'm gonna do that more when I can. So then by putting that goal in your mind, you'll do it more because it'll be on your mind. So that is something I just really wanted to talk about. It's just something that gets missed as a lot of things do in concussion recovery.
[00:07:59] Concussion Cookbook
Now, the next thing I really wanted to talk about was The Post Concussion Cookbook.
I know a ton of people have ordered it so far, and thank you very, very much for all your support. I hope you're really enjoying it. You can find it on Amazon in most countries. If you can't find it, please let me know and I can ship a book to you directly. And so in the cookbook, recipes are categorized around symptoms like dizziness, fatigue, memory issues, something called bionic text is used in large paragraphs, so it's easier to read, and there's lots of reminders for things like setting a timer, turning the oven on, when to take breaks, when you could sneak in a break while cooking a recipe, things like that.
I created this because I sort of became hateful towards the kitchen. Cooking was something I could barely do, or I was making like meals that like weren't good for me or they were just lazy. Like I put toast in a toaster and I really love this cookbook cuz it has a lot of things that I relied on for a long time, especially the breakfast recipes that are in there.
I relied on a lot of those for a long time to kind of get through bad symptom days. And I just think that's really helpful to kind of introduce yourself back into the kitchen while also being really conscious of all your symptoms that you're dealing with because most people aren't. And it's a lot easier to know when to do all these things rather than come up with them yourself.
I really hope you check that out. You can't find it on Amazon. You can find it in the link in our episode description and you can find it on our website. So don't miss out on that. And I just think it's really important because. With the lack of food, I found a lot of the time my symptoms were getting worse.
So a lot of the meals, some of them are a little bigger and you can make those and then eat them over a few days if that's kind of how your energy levels really work.
Make sure you look at that and just try it out. There is an ebook version. I know a lot of you have computer sensitivity issues, and we are gonna talk about that actually right after the break, but if you want the ebook version, it's very affordable. Otherwise, you can actually get part of the ebook version on Concussion Connect if you join.
And another option is the hard cover, which I know a lot of people are loving because having the physical book in the kitchen is obviously a great help. I really like having a physical book. I actually have one on my desk right now as I'm recording this, so don't miss out on this book. I'm telling you to order a copy because it will help you or order it as a gift if you're a survivor and you know somebody else suffering order this book and I really mean it to be honest. So we are gonna take a quick break, but when we get back, we're gonna talk a lot about vision, yoga, how to live with PCS and a surprise. So make sure you stay around.
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Welcome back to the Post-Concussion podcast with myself Bella Paige.
[00:12:14] Bella shares exciting courses now available
And like I said, we're gonna talk a little bit about the courses launched on Concussion Connect. Now the first one was launched just the other week. On Yoga by Shelley Latendresse which is actually episode number 95, and it is one introductory class and we are in the process of creating more, and it's really just to get you moving.
Shelley is in love with movement practice and how it can really help you recover both your mind and your physical side of the symptoms, so make sure you check that out and participate. You can do it every week, every day, and continue to add onto it to get to the point that you feel more confident with movement.
Now the next Post Concussion Vision Syndrome course is a lot more extensive. It just got launched yesterday by Dr. Riyad Khami who has an episode number 57. Now, this course has so much information that it might kind of blow your mind, but that is the whole point, is it has so many different parts in it, and he has thought of everything that you really should know about your vision from eye anatomy to different issues that can arise to symptoms, to light sensitivity, to computer sensitivity, dry eyes, vision shift, tips, exercises and more. Now the way courses work on Concussion Connect is it's really easy. You can do them on your phone, you can do them on a computer, you can do them on an iPad.
Super simple. You have to be a member of the platform to get access to these and you can work through them at your own pace, and I really recommend that. For example, if you went and did Shelley's yoga class and it's too long for you, then do part of it and then maybe add five minutes, then five minutes, then five minutes, and just slowly add time as you do it every morning, every few days, every week to get to the point where you can do the whole thing.
With Post Concussion Vision Syndrome course with Dr. Riyad. It's a lot more extensive, so it's definitely something that you could work through for months, and it's something that you could do eye therapy for a few weeks if you want a few months, and you could just take different parts of it. There's different exercises in it, there's different tips, there's different tricks that you can try. So much advice inside of it, so much education that you can really get help with your eyes. And if you're like me, your eyes are struggling or mine were struggling, and I mean they were struggling a lot. For example, I used to be able to not read or I would read and I would get really bad headaches or staring at a screen would cause a lot of issues.
Light indoors would cause a lot of issues like in the grocery store, in my own house, even to this day, I really don't love overhead lights. I usually have lamps on and things like that, and so it's really important to understand that your eyes might be struggling if you're getting things like headaches and dizziness.
So that's where this course can really step in and help you from the comfort of your own home, which I love because I'm a homebody. A lot of concussion survivors are turned into home bodies, and it can really help you because you can do it at two in the morning if you can't sleep, or you could do it at nine in the morning when you wake up or in the middle of the day, it doesn't matter.
You could do 10 minutes at a time. You could do 30. You could do 30 minutes of the course, which is a lot of information, and then rewatch that section and keep re-educating yourself to the point where you understand it or you could take a lot from what you learn in this course and then apply it to your everyday life.
Like all the tips and tricks to all the things that might help you while you're at work, while you're at school, while you're just at home. So make sure you don't miss out on these courses. There is another course coming out, which is actually from myself, which is How to Live with Post-Concussion Syndrome, and this is a specialized course that I've created in understanding that we don't heal overnight and because we don't heal overnight, we need help on living with this. And so by the end of that course, you'll really understand how to manage your life with post concussion syndrome and all the symptoms and all the emotions and all the feelings. So it is a very extensive course. It is coming out soon, and I think it's really important because one of the things that took me a long time was learning how to live with this and actually got complimented at the Mayo Clinic just a few months ago on how I coped so well, even though not mentally, but nowadays with how I cope with symptoms with so many tricks, so many habits, plan arounds, programs that I do, things that I do in my everyday life that I don't think of that so many of you would benefit from. So that course will be launching on there soon. So make sure you do sign up for Concussion Connect and don't miss out. There's so many things on Concussion Connect, like concussion news and so many different interesting articles that come out.
If you wanna keep up to date on what's going on, support groups, questions, people are always asking things. Just the other day somebody was asking about Easter actually coming up and the holidays with family and how to handle events like that. So really important for conversations like that. Really important for seeing new therapists.
Have you ever seen this therapist before? Have you ever seen this type of specialist that gets asked about all the time, and I have a help series on there that comes out every Friday where you get information from me, which can be from anything from school tips to managing emotions to work, to getting out with friends to relationships.
So make sure you don't miss out on those as they are exclusive to Concussion Connect. Like a lot of other things, like there's so many downloads on it now that I don't even remember them all from holiday tips to school tips to managing stress to how to feel better in just a moment when you're really struggling on a day, there's a ton of tips and tricks on that sheet. I'm like, how do I feel better right now? And that download's super helpful. I even look at it to this day to be like, what can I do right now to get out of this slump? So make sure you check that out.
Now, so far I've talked about letting yourself heal, which is really important and really hard to do. And I don't mean like of course you're letting yourself heal. You want to heal, you want to get better, you're doing your best. But I think we have to really work through all the emotions that come along with getting better.
[00:19:27] Bella talks about the invisible
For example, I got better and then I was afraid to kind of do more, and that was something I had to work through on getting better. All these things are things that we have to go through when nobody else can see it. Nobody can see that you're struggling in the kitchen.
Maybe they just think you're lazy and you don't cook, which is why the cookbook can be great. Maybe you are struggling with getting moving and people think you know you're lazy or inactive or don't care about yourself, but in reality, you just have a lot of symptoms. Maybe they think you're not interested in reading or you're not interested in a lot of things, and it's not that you're not interested. It's that can't actually retain information like you're supposed to because your eyes aren't working right? So that's where all these things can really help you, and there is a surprise coming in episode 1 0 1, so make sure you don't miss that episode. Of course, as always, concussion connect members will find out way before everyone else, but make sure you don't miss out on that because I think it's really important. And actually super exciting. It's something I've been working on for a long time and it has a lot of cool things in it. So it'll be a really big launch and that is just a few weeks away.
[00:20:51] Long time concussion survivors
And there was just one other thing I kind of wanted to stick in today, and that is being a survivor for a long time. And a long time to, you might be months, but I'm talking more like years. I get a lot of messages on social media and they're like, you suffered from this for a long time. Should I be afraid? And you shouldn't. Just because I suffered for so long doesn't mean you have to.
You know, healthcare has come a really long way in the last 10 years and therapy has come a long way in the last 10 years, and if you're struggling to find therapists and things like that, You can reach out to me. I do have a program where I can work with you to find people in your area or telehealth that can help you, because a lot of people are in remote communities. A lot of people don't even know where to start. You look for a concussion help and the list is really long. Or you just find a lot of articles that just say what a concussion is, which isn't really that helpful because you already know you have a concussion. So I don't want you to miss out on therapists that you could have access to that are really close to you or that would help you through telehealth.
So make sure you check that out. That's on the website. So many things to check out, and as I was talking about living with this for a long time. I just wanna give you like a big hug or a high five because that's where the survivor aspect of this really comes in because you're dealing with something that no one can see. You're dealing with something that can change every day. You're dealing with something that's really hard to control, and you're dealing with something that is super unpredictable. And so I want you to give yourself credit for that. And I don't want you to forget that you are way stronger than you might think or that you might feel in a lot of moments, but you're getting through it and that's what matters.
So don't forget to check everything out that I talked about today. I know today's a little bit of a short episode, but we have a lot of great things coming out and make sure you stay tuned and I'll talk to you
Need more than just this podcast. Be sure to check out our website, post-concussion inc.com to see how we can help you in your post-concussion life. From a support network to one-on-one coaching, I believe life can get better because I've lived through it. Make sure you take it one day at a time.
The Post Concussion Cookbook is here!
Make sure you don’t miss out!
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