by Amy Zellmer, Editor-in-chief
When I first suffered my traumatic brain injury I remember going through a range of emotions, with questions constantly running through my head such as: “why did this happen?” “am I ever going to get better?” “when is this going to end?” “why am I still struggling?”
Little did I know the journey was going to take me several years of living in a vicious cycle of chronic pain and coping mechanisms.
It wasn’t until I finally said to myself, “Amy, it’s time to put your big-girl panties on take charge of your life again” that I finally had a turning point in my recovery.
Once I took acceptance of what had happened to me, my life started to change.
I began looking at life as “half full” instead of “half empty” and I celebrated all of the little things that were going right for me.
Yes, I was still struggling with the constant cycle of symptoms, but I had shifted my attitude from “poor me” to “I’m going make the most of the my life while living with this TBI” — and it was profound.
I eventually found a Functional Neurologist … he was the first doctor to acknowledge the symptoms I had been struggling with, reaffirming that I wasn’t exaggerating or making them up as other doctors had implied. He had a treatment plan that I followed, and over the next 10 or so months I had dramatic improvements.
If I hadn’t shifted from a place of “victim” to a place of “survivor and thriver” I may have never found my doctor nor received the proper care.
Taking charge of your recovery means you have to stop looking in the rearview mirror — that isn’t your life anymore and you will never move forward if you’re always looking backwards.
Embrace the new you, and empower your recovery journey!!
