My new monitor is so amazing! Using it releases energy for me. I can actually “feel” that my brain is more organized when using it. And it feels like it takes less cognitive energy for me when I use it.
I was describing to a friend today how exciting using this new monitor makes me feel. She told me that she notices something similar when she uses her ipad (a bigger screen) rather than her iphone (a smaller screen). She says she is able to “think” better with her ipad. I thought that was interesting feedback from someone who is not even trying to compensate around cognitive deficits from a brain injury. Even she can notice a difference in the size of a screen.
Upgrading computer equipment that makes my day easier or does not take as much energy out of me allows me to do more with my day.
And the feeling that I have when I use the new computer monitor is that it is opening up new horizons for me because I can think better and it takes less energy for me to use.
To me, new horizons mean new possibilities for my functioning and these new possibilities both inspires me and gives me hope for improving the quality of life in the future.
Feeling this new energy also makes me reflect about how far I have come in my recovery about earning how to manage a burst of new energy.
Early on in my recovery, I might stumble upon strategies and activities that would increase my energy and I would think that that energy meant I was “well”. Yahoo! Yahoo! I wanted to be well so badly.
But I wasn’t well, I just had a little more energy.
But erroneously thinking I was “well”, I would unintentionally overdo it because of the short-term energy and hope I felt. Sadly, I would exhaust myself without intending to or even knowing that I was. Often I would become “too tired to sleep” so I wouldn’t be able to sleep. And when I did get some sleep, I would often be fatigued for days. Or worse, fall into a downward spiral that I would not know how to get out of. Difficulty sleeping would lead to poorer cognition and then more difficulty sleeping and ultimately my mood would sink.
I had not learned important skills like acceptance about my injury and I had not learned awareness about my injury. These are critical skills for recovery. When I finally was referred to speech and language therapy, roughly 3 years after my accident, I learned acceptance and more awareness. And I learned about how to manage my injury better so that I could be more functional. I learned to pay attention to my long term recovery.
As I write this, I realize I have come along way!
After years of increased acceptance and awareness and practice, I have learned to notice the increased energy and let it inspire me. I have learned to work with the energy to help me improve slowly and easily over a longer period.
And, I have also learned not to get fooled by it.
