Gray Matters Survivor Outreach

Life’s troubles are thrown our way -
– Can’t remember that important information just told to me a minute ago
– Don’t remember where I am or what day it is
– Feel isolated from the world

This too shall pass!

Lets stand strong together.
We battle with ourselves to survive.
What doesn’t kill us, makes us strong!
We are not victims of our injury!
We are made victors by our triumphs.

I declare –
No obstacle can defeat us.
Our minds are filled with good thoughts about ourselves, our friends and our family,
not thoughts of defeat.
We are empowered by our Creator. We are blown by the winds of heaven.

Survivors, stand tall and have the courage to love yourselves.
Imagine this -
Look into your mother’s eyes. Love yourself as she loves you.

I quote Bob Marley when I say, “Don’t worry, bout a ting, cause every little ting is gonna be alright!

In the movie Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts turns to Richard Gere and asks: “Did you ever notice how our minds just remember the bad things more often?”

This is the automatic negativity bias of our brains at work. Make it your intention today to be more aware of your mind. How often does it reactively flow into automatic negative thoughts and judgments about yourself or others?

The moment that you recognize this automatic flow, you’re no longer caught in it and a choice point opens up, paving the way for more clarity and possibility.

Notice more of these choice points and choose to disengage from auto-pilot.

The more you practice and repeat this process of awareness, the more it too will become automatic (beneficially) and you will break free from the habitual style of thinking that drags you down.

Elisha Goldstein, PhD

www.elishagoldstein.com

This has been the hot debated question, though now research is showing positive advantages of drinking coffee!

According to Gary Dash, PhD., a research professor at Florida Alzheimers Research Center and University of Southern Florida, caffiene is  a brain stimulant that increases cortical activity.

First thing in the morning, I drink a 2 cups of coffee in the morning (that is usually it, it is rare that I’ll drink more coffee throughout the day).  Through time, people have commented (making wisecracks) about my habit, now research is proving my feelings to be right on!  I have always felt it to be a good thing.  It awakens my attention, otherwise, I would sluggishly approach my day.  Being a brain injury survivor (together with having a case of ADD), I have become pretty attuned to my attention, what helps keep my focus and what hinders my attention.  Coffee allows me to feel better in facing a new day.

For a while, I was a regular user of Lumosity (a site with exercises that help you “reclaim your brain).  The tests I took showed an increase in performance in alertness based activities after drinking coffee, as compared to before my morning coffee.

So, do I endorse coffee?  No, not necessarily.  I am confident that you will figure out what is best for you.  Weigh the pros and cons.  For me, the pro is the feeling of alertness in the mornings; it also seems to affect my mood.  The cons, as I see it, are: over acidity (yet there is low acid coffee – which I use), whiteness of teeth and an increased need for hydration (but coffee seems to not encourage your thirst).  These are all important considerations.

To each her own!!!

Now I’ll go get myself a cup of coffee (unleaded) and I’ll toast it to all my readers on Gray Matters.

L’Chayim!

GOING THE DISTANCE

http://www.goingthedistance.info/index.html

Allison Shelley

March 8, 2012 — Having diabetes for a decade or more dramatically increases the risk for ischemic stroke, report researchers.

The new study, published online March 1 in the journal Stroke, found diabetes increases risk 3% each year and triples at 10 years.

“We were not surprised to see an increased risk,” senior investigator Mitchell Elkind, MD, from Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, told Medscape Medical News. “But we were taken aback by how high the risk was.”

Using data from the Northern Manhattan Study, investigators looked at 3298 multi-ethnic participants. They found that 22% had diabetes at baseline and another 10% went on to develop the disease over the course of the study. There were 244 ischemic strokes.

“Our study provides evidence that the risk of ischemic stroke increased continuously with duration of diabetes mellitus,” the authors explain. This was after controlling for other factors such as age, smoking history, physical activity, history of heart disease, blood pressure, and cholesterol.

“The increase is not as much during the second half of the first decade,” they noted, “but it increases steeply as the disease enters its second decade.”

Duration of Diabetes and Ischemic Stroke Risk

Among the nearly 26 million Americans with diabetes, more than half are younger than age 65 years, according to the American Diabetes Association.

“We used to think of type 2 diabetes as a disease people get when they are older, after a lifetime of poor dietary habits,” Dr. Elkind said. “But the age at diagnosis is getting younger and younger because of the obesity problem among young people.”

The researchers pointed out that diabetes was determined by self-report in this study. “It’s possible we missed some cases,” Dr. Elkind added during an interview. An estimated one third of diabetes cases may be undiagnosed. It has also been found that true onset of diabetes may be 4 to 7 years earlier than clinical diagnosis.

As the population ages and the elderly live longer, more and more people will live with longer duration of disease, the authors note. “It is important to better understand the dynamics between diabetes, time, and stroke, and to emphasize the importance of interventions to prevent early diabetes. Minimizing the number of years a patient has diabetes would help combat the increase in stroke risk with each year of the disease.”

Some of the reasons for increased stroke risk may include an association between longer diabetes duration and thicker plaque in neck arteries and the higher prevalence of hypertension, accelerated vascular complications, and clotting abnormalities.

Northern Manhattan Study

Asked by Medscape Medical News to comment on the findings, Philip Gorelick, MD, from the Hauenstein Neuroscience Institute, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, said the Northern Manhattan Stroke Study has provided a wealth of information about risk factors for stroke over the years. One of the important risk factors for stroke is diabetes.

“In this publication, the authors have shown little incremental value of using diabetes as a time-dependent variable when compared to baseline assessment of diabetes as a risk for stroke. With duration of diabetes, however, the risk of stroke does increase. This is a key take-home message for clinicians as intensification of risk factor management may be very important amongst those who have had diabetes for a longer time period as their relative risk of having a stroke becomes higher with time.”

Although tight control of blood glucose may not reduce stroke risk, he pointed out, associated problems such as high blood pressure and dyslipidemia are prime targets for patients with diabetes.

“Young people should be educated about diabetes and how to prevent it,” Dr. Elkind added. “Eating a healthy diet, remaining physically active, and avoiding smoking are important.”

The Northern Manhattan Study is funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The investigators have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Authors and Disclosures

Journalist – Allison Shelley

A frustrating dilemma for many stroke and/or brain injury survivors is the inherent difficulty with word recognition (i.e. Aphasia). The following information is important to directly quote The National Aphasia Association’s website, http://www.aphasia.org…

“Aphasia is a communication impairment usually acquired as a result of a stroke or other brain injury. It affects both the ability to express oneself through speech, gesture, and writing, or  to understand the speech, gesture, and writing of others. Aphasia thus changes the way in which we communicate with those people most important to us: family, friends, and co-workers., The impact of aphasia on relationships may be profound, or only slight. No two people with aphasia are alike with respect to severity, former speech and language skills, or personality. But in all cases it is essential for the person to communicate as successfully as possible from the very beginning of the recovery process…”

“Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder that impairs a person’s ability to process language, but does not affect intelligence. Aphasia impairs the ability to speak and understand others, and most people with aphasia experience difficulty reading and writing…  Aphasia affects about one million Americans — or 1 in 250 people — and is more common than Parkinson’s Disease, cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy. More than 100,000 Americans acquire the disorder each year. However, most people have never heard of it.”Here are some suggestions to help communicate with a person with aphasia:

• Make sure you have the person’s attention before communicating.
• 
  During conversation, minimize or eliminate background noise (such as television, radio, other people) as much as possible.
• Keep communication simple but adult. Simplify your own sentence structure and reduce your own rate of speech. You don’t need to speak louder than normal but do emphasize key words. Don’t talk down to the person with aphasia.
• Encourage and use other modes of communication (writing, drawing, yes/no responses, choices, gestures, eye contact, facial expressions) in addition to speech.
• Give them time to talk and let them have a reasonable amount of time to respond. Avoid speaking for the person with aphasia except when necessary and ask permission before doing so.
• Praise all attempts to speak; make speaking a pleasant experience and provide stimulating conversation. Downplay errors and avoid frequent criticisms/corrections. Avoid insisting that each word be produced perfectly.
• Augment speech with gesture and visual aids whenever possible. Repeat a statement when necessary.
• Encourage them to be as independent as possible. Avoid being overprotective.
• Whenever possible continue normal activities (such as dinner with family, company, going out). Do not shield people with aphasia from family or friends or ignore them in a group conversation. Rather, try to involve them in family decision-making as much as possible. Keep them informed of events but avoid burdening them with day to day details.

These guidelines are intended to enhance communication with persons who have aphasia. However, they cannot guarantee that communication will be immediate or on a par with former skills.”

Does Aphasia Affect a Person’s Intelligence?

NO. A person with aphasia may have difficulty retrieving words and names, but the person’s intelligence is basically intact. Aphasia is not like Alzheimer’s disease; for people with aphasia it is the ability to access ideas and thoughts through language – not the ideas and thoughts themselves- that is disrupted. But because people with aphasia have difficulty communicating, others often mistakenly assume they are mentally ill or have mental retardation.

Are All Cases of Aphasia Alike?

No. There are many types of aphasia. Some people have difficulty speaking while others may struggle to follow a conversation. In some people, aphasia is fairly mild and you might not notice it right away. In other cases, it can be very severe, affecting speaking, writing, reading, and listening. While specific symptoms can vary greatly, what all people with aphasia have in common are difficulties in communicating

The study was supported by National Science Foundation grants, and a National Institute on Deafness and Other Communications Disorders grant.
Contact: Karen Mallet – Georgetown University Medical Center
Source: Georgetown University Medical Center press release
Image Source: Neuroscience image adpated from an unrelated image shared at Wikimedia Commons by By Bkroeger via CC-BY-SA-3.0

The needs of people with brain injuries are slipping through the cracks! Gray Matters Mentoring will personally attend to issues that are not addressed in the traditional system of care. In the Gray Matters Mentoring Program, we will professionally funnel rehab goals through the personal care of long term brain injury survivors (i.e. Mentors). Each brain injury takes individual care and survivors can best do this for each other!

Survivor Outreach

Gray Matters Survivor Outreach extends support in the form of montly groups in San Diego and North County. We raise awareness the public about having a personal experience with a brain injury and better educate survivors about theirs, aiming to help in coping and rehabilitation.

Mentoring

The Gray Matters Mentoring program will train individuals to provide one on one peer support to those who have sustained mild to moderate Traumatic or Acquired Brain Injuries. Successful mentors will be patient, flexible, non-assertive and will collaborate with mentees in figuring solutions to problems.

Mentorships will be monitored to assure they stay proactive, free of problems and that they reach their potential to rebuild skills & improve attitudes. This will lead mentees to increase their confidence and have a greater degree of independence.

Qualification

Gray Matters’ Program Director, Heidi Lerner has her Masters in Transitional Special Education for people who have sustained Acquired or Traumatic Brain Injuries. She is qualified to work with people of all ages, ranging from children to senior citizens. She has published a book about brain injury titled Gray Matters, Brain Injury: The Inside Perspective www.graymatters4u.org.

Heidi Lerner has been a Peer Support Specialist and has facilitated support groups for brain injury survivors for over 12 years. She previously ran a mentoring program for people with disabilities, when working at Access to Independence, an Independent Living Organization in San Diego.

Heidi is instinctive in her work and has an intimate understanding of the needs of brain injury survivors. In her studies, Ms. Lerner conducted research on the inner workings of personal motivation in the rehabilitation from brain injury. The results of her study inspires her work. Heidi works to bring survivors out of their shell and encourages them to be interactive; participants are appreciated and are then more willing to participate. Individually, Heidi encourages strengths, edifies clients (makes people feel valued) and encourages them to advocate for themselves.

Statement of Need

Sustaining a brain injury is a life-altering experience. It effects many different aspects of who we are as people. We are affected cognitively, psychologically, socially, emotionally, neurologically & it affects our behavior. A person may come to from a coma and not even know who s/he is. Even a person’s very core sense of self is shaken. A brain injury is far-reaching and comprehensive.
n the acute phase of recovery, a survivor may have to relearn speaking, dressing, eating and many other daily living skills. In the post-acute phases, survivors are left dealing with problems in:

• Memory (events, people, where things are, names, etc.)
• Organization
• Attention and concentration
• Judgment
• Interacting socially
• Making decisions
• Inhibiting behaviors
• New Learning
• Perception
• Balance
• Coordination
• Sleeping
• Depression
• Self-centeredness
• Anger management
• Coping skills
• Motivation
• Irritability
• Mood swings/Emotional control
• Fatigue
• Self-confidence/Self-esteem
• A whole list of Psychosocial issues

Listed above are some of the basic symptoms; there are many other possible symptoms of brain injury. Please note that survivors are not just dealing with these individual symptoms, they deal with many of them at the same time and it can be quite overwhelming! No two brain injuries are the same; they take individualized care. People with all of these complications are continually trying to better understand themselves and they have a strong need to be understood by others. Mentoring helps to satisfy this overpowering need.

Benefits

The aftermath of a brain injury is devastating. Peer support and mentoring can be a core part of the recovery process. Peer support encourages survivors to feel OK with themselves (i.e. significantly improves a survivor’s coping skills) and their recovery. Personal support can be the motivating force that propels a person through rehab. successfully.

People who have sustained brain injuries intimately understand one another. Mentors & mentees bond because basically, they know what one another are going through. This support or bonding alone can be healing in and of itself. Mentees benefit from mentors in many ways (see list below). For a survivor, just knowing that his or her mentor cares can be soothing. Mentors also benefit. Brain Injury survivors, after years and years of personal rehabilitation, have a need to give back. A mentor-mentee relationship can bring fulfillment, healing and satisfaction for all involved; it is a win-win relationship!

For a mentee to have a trained mentor will significantly increase his/her learning curve in the rehabilitative process and will reduce the frustration of dealing with his or her great loss of skills. This program will dramatically increase the quality of life for brain injury survivors.

Peer Support

Peer support is vitally important to a brain injury survivor. Everyone needs to be understood, especially brain injury survivors, who are always trying to understand their new self. A peer or friend (i.e. Mentor) offers a receptive ear and presents a mirror for a survivor to better look into him or herself.

A mentor helps fill up that empty, isolated space inside that a survivor usually blocks out the world with and they help a survivor know they’re not in this alone! Additionally, they can help to avoid depression. A trained mentor provides a more experienced guide in dealing with the complications of brain injury; she or he helps the Mentee cope by aiding the survivor in coming to terms with personal issues.

Objectives

In their relationship with a survivor or mentee, a successful and supportive mentor will:

• Build a relationship of mutual trust and respect with the survivor,
• Affectively communicate in a way that is clear and easily understood by the mentee,
• Promote positive social inclinations and behaviors,
• Coach the survivor regarding interpersonal or relationship skills,
• Allow the survivor to practice in interpersonal relationship skills such as effective verbal and written communications, and provide feedback,
• Provide insights & suggest techniques to help the survivor minimize stress and better cope with their injury based on the mentor’s own life experiences,
• Help survivors avoid isolation & depression,
• Improve the survivor’s attitude about dealing with personal challenges,
• Enhance the willingness of the mentee to seek out all opportunities for rehabilitation and personal growth,
• Inspire the mentees to take the initiative to perform interventions for themselves and to assume responsibility for their actions and outcomes,
• Help mentees rebuild their skill sets and attitudes, promoting self-confidence and independence.
• Act as a positive role model at all times,
• Exhibit a level of personal responsibility & empathy that will help ensure the relationship with the mentee will be sustained & encouraged to develop.

Protocol:

• Process of becoming a mentor starts with the Program Director training the mentor.
• She then matches up the mentee with a mentor, based on condition, needs, location, and gender (mentors are usually the same gender).
• The mentor, mentee and Program Director gather together for an Individualized Mentor Planning session. There they will discuss the areas that the mentee needs to work on. They will write an Individualized Mentoring Plan (IMP), which consists of goals and objectives, both short term and long term. The IMP will then serve as the roadmap for the mentor.
• The mentor and mentee from there, meet at places of their own preference. This includes communicating via email, phone calls and personal get-togethers. They are encouraged not to meet in their homes unless there is a specific purpose for that.
• The mentor is welcomed to call to consult with the PSS at any time regarding mentoring. He or she sends Heidi Lerner a monthly report of the progress of the mentee. Mentors will have regular meetings with the mentees, ideally, twice a month.
Section I. Some Common Psychosocial Problems Following Brain Injury

Gets frustrated easily
Has limited insight into own abilities and behaviors
Gets tired easily
Denies problems
Changes mood rapidly
Isolates self
Increased sensitivities
Has inappropriate manners and mannerisms
Cannot understand humor and “size up” situations
Cannot inhibit inappropriate behaviors (disinhibition)
Is inappropriately affectionate toward others
Cannot see others’ viewpoint (egocentricity)
Cannot correct behavior after feedback
Gets stuck on one thought or behavior
Appears apathetic or poorly motivated
Takes too many risks or acts impulsively
Acts fearful
Acts immature for age
Gets angry out of proportion to cause
Is verbally and/or physically aggressive
Appears anxious or depressed
Laughs or cries for no apparent reason
Seeks attention, even with negative behaviors
Is demanding
Is irritable
Seems unmotivated and passive.

One study Dr. Amen has been doing in California is regarding members of the NFL and brain trauma. His study is “Impact of Playing Professional American Football on Long Term Brain Function” and he has tested these professional football players in using SPECT scans and Microcog (a test of neuropsychological function). He also showed great success with use of his nutritional program, in treating NFL participants in the study and their symptoms of brain trauma (i.e. The Amen Solution). He is a great innovator in nutritional (i.e. holistic) treatment of our master organ!

The Amen Solution:

http://70.32.73.82/blog/4560/amen-clinics-scores-big-with-nfl-study/

Look under Blogroll and click on Amen Solution!

Gray Matters – Brain Injury: The Inside Perspective
Heidi Lerner

Imagine this: the sun’s shining and you’re crossing at the light. Out of nowhere, a car comes racing through the red light and…WHACK! You go flying through the air and land on the sidewalk. Your head hits the concrete. Immediately, you go into a comatose state… When you come to, what are things like? What are YOU like? Have you ever thought of such things?

Silent Epidemic

What would it be like to have a brain injury? It is a dilemma for brain injury survivors that others simply don’t have a clue what they are going through. People don’t comprehend the devastation or how comprehensive the affects are in a survivor’s every day world. This lack of awareness is often a strong factor that drives survivors further and further into isolation. This hovering vacancy of knowledge is the “silence” in which brain injury spreads, hence the “Silent Epidemic”.

Gray Matters remedies the Silent Epidemic

Heidi Lerner introduces an intriguing book of poetry, Gray Matters, Brain Injury: The Inside Perspective, in which she offers an introspective, resourceful and sometimes humorous view of what it is like to suffer a near-fatal blow to the head and live with its complications. Ms. Lerner was in a car wreck twenty years ago, where she sustained a severe Traumatic Brain Injury. Ten years after her injury, she earned her Masters degree in Special Education specifically for survivors of brain injury. Gray Matters gives its readers a non-clinical, but professionally based sense of what a brain injury entails. Readers walk away with a personal sense of what it’s like to walk in the shoes of a brain injury survivor.

The author brings a smile to her readers’ faces; she touches on serious issues, but not in a distressing tone. She believes that laughter can be “emotional medicine”. The aim is to help survivors see objectively the problems they’re going through and glimpse the lighter side of these otherwise troublesome issues. Such insight and humor can cause attitudes to adjust, leading to acceptance and a better coping with problems brought about by brain injury.

The chapters of the book consist of Brain Injury, Sequelae, Rehabilitation and The Brain. Sequelae (i.e. meaning symptoms) is a particularly educational chapter where poems masterfully articulate many of the symptoms of brain injury. The last chapters are Academia, Nature’s Touch and Circle of Support. Academia is regarding Cognitive Rehab through schooling, Nature’s Touch is about how the ocean serves in recreational therapy. Lastly, Circle of Support illustrates the therapy of support groups.

Audience of Gray Matters

The target audience is multi-faceted. The primary aim is to educate those personally affected by injury to the brain. This includes survivors, their friends and family members as well as caregivers and other therapeutic professionals. The aim is to be an intellectual, psychological and emotional support. The secondary purpose is to educate the general community about what it’s like to have an insult and compromise to our master organ, for those who have been spared the drama of brain injury.

Ms. Lerner has been most distressed to see how professionals in the field of rehab have such an un-personalized, book-knowledge of brain injury. They should know that they are not treating information, they are treating people!!! In a review in the Journal of Neurosciences Nursing, Marie Lasater states “Gray Matters will give survivors of TBI hope and reassurance that they are not alone in their rehabilitation process. It will help family members understand the thought process of the brain injured patient. It will also guide the health care provider in giving optimal rehabilitative care.”

In the sickness of silence, we are called to a new frontier of awareness regarding brain injury:

In the field of rehabilitation,
Brain injury is often termed the “Silent Epidemic”
Silence hovers around the lack of awareness,
Allows for infectious growth.

But for a brain injury survivor,
The epidemic is far from quiet.
It is PERVASIVE / COMPREHENSIVE / UNDENIABLE,
Life gets off skew,
GOT TO GET A BALANCE!
Organic dysfunction,
24-7… dealing!
Rehabilitation is a full time job.

Lets break the curse of silence!
You need to know on the inside
What it’s like to walk in my shoes.
Pick up my book,
Listen to my rhyme,
I’ll have you captivated in no time!

This is a call to awareness…
Pass on the word of what you hear,
We are breaking the silence
Thanks to your receptive ear.

We’re opening the gates,
Enter and you can feel.
IT’S OK TO CARE,
Because empathy heals!
Melt those stones in there,
Love rebounds,
When it’s found.

We’re paving the way for knowledge,
We are the pioneers…

Gray Matters!

Contact info:

Heidi Lerner
Brain Injury Advocate, Peer Support Specialist, Published Author
www.graymatters4u.org
braininjuryadvocacy@roadrunner.com

Psychosociality

It’s really hard to understand,

How a person is affected psychosocially.

“Psychosocial” refers to -

Emotional, social, behavioral and psychological

Distresses caused by injury.

The following is a seemingly endless list.

These symptoms are less obvious to the average eye,

They are more enduring and harder to pacify.

Here is an inventory

Of survivors’ ongoing obstacles:

· Increased emotionality

· Poor self-awareness

· Being socially inappropriate

· Frequent mood changes

· Being unmotivated or seeming to be of no use

· Reacting with alcohol and drugs

· Social disinhibition

· Depression

· Self-esteem disintegrates

· Loneliness

· Egocentricity/self-importance

· Anxiousness

· Impulsivity

· Decreased sense of discernment or judgment

· Poor anger management

· Insensitivity to others

· Unawareness of how actions impact others

· Lessened ability to interpret emotions & read situations

· Lowered tolerance for frustration

This is a somewhat complete list,

But no doubt,

There’s some that I missed,

Some advice -

About what to give the survivor,

How to supportively console:

Encourage strengths (e.g. sports, music or crafts),

So s/he won’t over-identify with the “sick role”.

Lastly,

After the continuous self-correction of rehab,

Please don’t underestimate the power of your love,

And positive feedback!

Today, I’d like to talk with you about something I would say I have an authority on, DEPRESSION.  I’m not saying that I know your depression, I’m saying that I am pretty familiar with mine.  Certainly depression can be as sorted, just as the many colors of the rainbow and their are then many tones to each color and many shades of tones (i.e. in varying depths of darkness).

I have found the necessity in figuring out what it is that makes me feel good and then make the effort to do it.  It is tricky, because one of the symptoms of depression is not to do what you enjoy doing.  It’s like a snake with it’s tail in it’s mouth.  It can’t get out of it, unless it spits out what it tries to digest!

What I suggest is to make a list of at least three things that you really enjoy doing.  I don’t want you to be one of those people that says, “Oh yeah, I love to do X, Y or Z, but I haven’t done that since 19…”  NO!!!  Don’t be swallowed by the beast!  Take control of yourself, dare yourself to explore some possible good times.  Take friends OR DO IT YOURSELF!

Dare to threaten the beast.  Go have some good times!  This topic will be further addressed in upcoming mailings.  Please feel free to respond.

This is Heidi signing off as your personal cheerleader.

Ways To Reduce The Risk Of Depression – Mental Attitude:

1. Exercise: Try a half-hour of moderate exercise, walking or swimming, 5 days a week. Exercise produces chemicals in the body that boost your mood and stimulate hormones and neurotransmitters, including endorphins, that can help reduce stress.

2. Strong, supportive relationships: Isolation is a risk factor for depression. Belonging to a community buffers people from the effects of adversity.

Please note that negative, critical relationships are also harmful!  Sometimes you may need to know when to slip out of a relationship that is destructive.

3. Gentle Pilates, stretching, meditation, prayer, counseling, mentoring, psychotherapy. Studies show these practices can reduce stress.

4. Reduce alcohol consumption or recreational drug use. People who feel stressed may drink too much; alcohol is a known mood suppressor.  Both drug use and alcohol may seem like you are relieving the problem; perhaps you may be immediately avoiding the problem, but in the long term you are worsening your condition.

You deserve personal joy and blessings!

I want you to do me a favor and look into your internal mirror and see how you responded to my opening, stating what you’re entitled to.  Did you hurry on to read what came next?  Did you think to yourself,? – whatever!  Did you feel an emptiness inside?  Were you critical of yourself in some way (like saying “Yeah, right!” and roll your eyes)?

This is for all, if you have a brain injury or not.  Are you your own ally or foe?  My point is, how do we treat ourselves?  This is so important, because we have to deal with ourselves 24-7!!!  We can be our worst foe.  I write this to you because this I know (Had to throw a rhyme in there ).  Look in the mirror and see your greater potential.  You are that lion!  Go ahead, no one will hear you, GGGGrrrrrr!

I’m just trying to aim you toward some peace inside yourself, in this crazy world.