“Happy talk, keep talking happy talk. Talk about things you’d like to do.” This line from the Rogers & Hammerstein musical “South Pacific” always made me smile. Not so much the boy-girl thing, but definitely the positive outlook that “happy talk” about things I wanted to do (dreams) could make life unfold the way I wanted. Idealistic thinking of a young child? Perhaps. But I’ve been doing that my whole life and especially over the past year as the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted BEST and our precious brain injury community. As our BEST team remained hopeful, positive, and focused on…
A little music? It’s Monday and we thought this song would be the perfect addition to our Mindful Monday lineup … Why music? The benefits of music cannot be overstated. AARP conducted a survey of music and brain health. The results indicated the following about the impact of music on cognitive and emotional well-being: Music listeners had better mental well-being with reduced levels of anxiety and depression compared to people overall. Active musical engagement, including those over age 50, was associated with higher rates of happiness and good cognitive function. Adults with no early music exposure but who currently engage…
One thing I’m glad about is that my brain injury rarely made me feel isolated and alone, like with so many other brain injury survivors. I did feel it briefly a few times, but that was because soon after I was discharged from the hospital in St. Paul I was shipped to Tacoma, where I didn’t know anybody but two of my sisters. But isolation and loneliness are a consequence for many, if not most survivors. I’ve been wondering why it’s that way for so many and I haven’t been able to come up with much of any real biological…
We’ve gotten wonderful feedback on our Monday Mindful series. I’m excited that during this difficult time we’ve been able to continue supporting our community with the information, ideas, and encouragement we all want. Today we’re sharing three simple steps for becoming mindful and focused on the present moment by using all five senses. Our exercise for today is to (1) In your Mindfulness Journal (or on a piece of paper) write down 5 things that you see, 4 things that you touch, 3 things that you hear, 2 things that you smell, and 1 thing that you taste. (2) Next…
