October 9, 2006
OVERLOAD - Has anyone ever talked about "overload" with you? Some may refer to it as "sensory overload." Do they even mention it at all after your BI? You may hear things like:
- You may experience more problems when you try to return to work or school.
Which is another way of telling you that "you're brain is getting....TOO MUCH STIMULUS!" This means you need to REST, SLOW DOWN, do some NO BRAINER stuff and cut DOWN on what you were doing!
See how EASY that sounds? Yeh, if it was that easy I would have been able to control it better these past almost 9 years and maybe even find a job?! Ok, quit laughing! :-)
Overload is one BI symptom that most doctors don't even begin to address (which makes our frustration even worse). I'm grateful that my doctor did. Of course, there really isn't anything you can DO about it, but you can learn to:
- pace yourself
- change what you're doing if you're beginning to overload
- learn what your overload symptoms are
- learn to adjust your life accordingly if possible
- don't be afraid to STOP what you're doing and rest
Learning to spot your overload symptoms is very important and the sooner you figure out what they are and what can/does trigger them, the better off you will be. Changing what you're doing may be one of the simple ways to avoid major overload. How you say? It's really quite simple. Say you're doing something on the computer and you begin to yawn or feel sleep tired (two symptoms right there), then get up and go get something to drink, go for a walk, maybe take a short nap (30 minutes or less), do some housework, etc.
These are just little changes you can do that may stop the overload trigger. Finding something that you can do that you might consider a no brainer, like for me it's as simple as playing Solitaire on a hand held game I have, just shutting your eyes to relax, or watching a show on TV. It's just a simple change that you make that causes the brain to switch modes and think less which uses less energy.
Triggers can be as simple as talking on the phone but having to draw information about something specific (causing you to have to "think" really hard), doing anything that causes a "drain" on the brain, or maybe as simple as playing some games on your computer. I have gotten major overload from speaking on the phone to my attorney because I had to remember information about my wreck so I could tell him, playing a game called "Collapse" because you have to respond quickly to it, or just simply doing some strenuous physical activity.
The thing is....STOP WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING and DO SOMETHING ELSE right when you begin to notice the symptoms! This can make a huge difference if you've tried to go back to work and are beginning to feel the drain. If you overload no matter what you do, then that signal should tell you.........I CAN'T DO WHAT I WAS DOING! This is what happens to me, and you'd think that I'd remember all the symptoms? I WISH!
To continue to do what is causing your overload will only lead to major overload, possible seizure activity, and possibly worse. When the brain is overloaded it has NO store house of energy (most BI'ers have lost this ability anyway from their injury). You are using up all possible energy from the body/brain and more. The brain will continue to overload until you stop what you're doing and either nap, rest or change doing what you're doing. For those who have damaged areas of the brain that don't allow it to make connections, your brain will continue to keep working over time until and unless it makes those connections, or you die. It takes "energy" to make these connections and when they are damaged, it takes more energy to work.......PERIOD! So, this is just one reason your energy levels are so low. Getting plenty of rest will and can make a huge difference in your life.
Overload may not start immediately and you may be back to work for a few days, a few weeks or a few months, but you WILL begin to feel the symptoms from it, so be mindful that this may happen and LOOK for it! When you are aware of what some of the symptoms are and allow yourself "time" to adjust, rest, work less hours, take less classes at school, you will find that the sumptoms aren't as extreme.
Now, let me warn you, not ALL BI'ers respond this way or this well. For instance, I have never been able to completely stop the overload so I'm not able to work at a "normal" job. Why? Because my overload is too major (I overload from ALL senses). When I tried to work 20 hours I overloaded so bad that I was zoning out while driving home (only a few miles away), and spent the entire weekend on the couch or doing "no brainer" stuff so I could store up enough energy to work the 20 hour week again. After a month I began to get physically ill. My immune system was so compromised, that bacteria that our body normally controls began to get out of control. I had some hand surgery (caused from the wreck) and was so irritated by the stitches that I ran a 100 degree temperature while they were in and each stitch swelled up about the size of a pencil eraser and were beat red! Within 12 hours of removing the stitches (10 days later), the swelling was gone, the reddness was gone and the fever left too! Even the surgeon commented that he had never seen such a reaction except by those with immune system problems. Oh, this was already after my primary care doc had told me I had immune system problems too.
So, what can we do about this? First off, make sure you keep your vitamins and minerals around to take every day. Get plenty of sleep to keep the immune system strong, watch your diet and get some exercise, and there are also herbs you can take to help. I take the KAL brand Colostrum 1000mg which is from Bovine's first 48 hours of milk. It comes from New Zealand and is some of the best quality Colostrum I've found. It helps build the immune system and won't hurt you at all or have any side affects with other meds and herbs.
So, you've gotten a BI, and you don't know a thing about it, let alone what you'll need to do to help yourself recover, what do you do?! Get all the knowledge you can about BI. Ask questions and get "technical" too if needed. You don't have to "understand" everything you read, especially at first, but you will find that reading and learning about it over time can help with the frustration and you will find that there are ways to better care for yourself along the way.
Don't ever be afraid to help yourself, learn and TRY new things! I never would have thought I could learn how to use a computer let alone build web pages! I may not have a college degree, but I learned that I "CAN" learn something new. I may not REMEMBER it all (that happens a lot), but there are ways to back things up on paper (I use a 3-ring binder) so I have something to refer to at a later time if needed.
Learning new "tricks" of organization can make a large difference in a BI'ers life too. Don't be afraid to use anything that helps you and learn how to say NO if you've got too much on your plate already. Remember, if you don't USE IT, you LOSE IT! I'm a firm believer in that. You don't have to be fantastic at everything you do! Just remember you may end up finding something that you enjoy while trying to better yourself! Just don't give up!
~ barbara jean~