BEST Blog - Page 2 - Brain Energy Support Team

In a Flash: The Moment I Realized I was Recovering from a Stroke

Posted on June 14, 2021 by Isaac Peterson

Maybe you could call it a flash of insight, an epiphany, or a sudden realization. Whatever you want to call it, I just had one, about my recovery, and I want to tell you about it. I have to kind of build up to it, though. The other day I was out walking, minding my own business, lost in thought. Then for some reason, out of the blue, I started thinking about something I did in fifth grade I haven’t thought about in many years. I was living in Wyoming at the time, a state that’s big on hunting. My

Happy Talk!

Posted on May 30, 2021 by BEST Admin

“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

Think Big, Start Small

Posted on May 24, 2021 by BEST Admin

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

Brain Injury Doesn’t Mean Social Isolation

Posted on May 19, 2021 by Isaac Peterson

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

Becoming Mindful in 3 Easy Steps

Posted on May 17, 2021 by Gloria Kraegel

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

Rust Never Sleeps

Posted on May 14, 2021 by Isaac Peterson

A long time ago, Neil Young put out an album called Rust Never Sleeps and went on tour. I was in the audience when the tour hit my area. I’ve never known just what he meant by rust never sleeps, but I always saw it as a warning to keep moving ahead, that to stop or slow down is to get rusty. I think that applies to recovering from a traumatic brain injury: don’t stop moving forward. How do you keep moving forward with a brain injury? One way is to continue your self-care regimen. Make keeping your body and