What is my New Normal?

”The new normal can offer you different opportunities, but you may find great satisfaction through those opportunities.” I have both visible and invisible wounds from my brian injury; how do I achieve my new normal? Join us as we talk with Dr. Leigh Richardson from the Brian Performance Center on how we can use certain methods and techniques, as well our community, to realize our new normal.  The brain is our biggest asset and Dr. Richardson explains why that is ”still so” for those of us who traverse this journey of recovery.

Guest Social Media info - https://www.instagram.com/thebrainperformancecenter/

Transcript

Leigh Richardson: 0:00

So get a new normal. And the new normal can offer you different opportunities, but you may find great satisfaction through those opportunities. Don't stop trying.

Bernard: 0:25

Opinions shared by the guests of the show are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the hosts bindwaves or the Brain Injury Network. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and it's not a substitute for professional medical advice, the diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of a healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Speaker 2: 0:50

Thank you.

bindwaves Cohost: 0:52

I'm Carrie Hi. A stroke survivor and a member of BIND. And I'm Brittany. Uh, I'm a brain injury survivor and a member of BIND. Um, today guest is Dr. Leigh Richardson. Dr. Leigh, Dr. Leigh Richardson is passionate about helping people improve their brain health, build resilience and reached her full potential. She blends psychology business coaching CBT and neuroscience to create real lasting change. Welcome.

Leigh Richardson: 1:25

Thank you, Brittany. I can't tell you what a pleasure and a joy it is to be doing this podcast with you because Brittany, we've been through that traumatic brain injury together

bindwaves Cohost: 1:35

definitely.

Leigh Richardson: 1:36

it, and it's great to see you behind the mic.

bindwaves Cohost: 1:41

Yeah, it is. Um, you definitely helped me and it's still a journey that I'm going through too. Um,

Leigh Richardson: 1:48

Well, it is,

bindwaves Cohost: 1:49

yeah. So today about the invisible wounds of traumatic brain injury. Um, Leigh, it's been a while since we had you on the podcast. Um, what's new with you and The Brain Performance Center?

Leigh Richardson: 2:02

Well, The Brain Performance Center, you know, we're, we're still focused on brain health, but we've broadened the way that we look at and we think about brain health. We th we have started to think about it as brain capital because your brain is the single biggest asset that you have.

bindwaves Cohost: 2:21

Yeah. Um, so a little background story, um, with me and Leigh. So I went to Brain Performance Center for, um, neurofeedback training after my car wreck. Um, originally I went long time ago for migraines and then after my car wreck I went to Leigh'cause I knew it was the best decision and she helped me with brain retraining. So, um hmm. So your services, um, are for people with acquired brain injuries too.

Leigh Richardson: 2:53

It's, I mean, we service people with brain injuries, anxiety, depression, OCD, autism, A DHD. But the thing that makes it interesting about a brain injury, it's not like you have a broken arm. Or you have a visible scar, that traumatic brain injury doesn't leave external sick signs. And with you it did, but it doesn't with everybody. And but where you feel those effects is internally, and those are the invisible wounds and the anxiety, the depressed. And a lot of times I've had people say, you know. They look just fine. I don't understand what they're struggling with, and they will dismiss it. And that's not the right answer because you know, when you think about a traumatic brain injury, anytime you fall or you're in a car accident or a sports injury, or a combat related, so you're gonna, you're gonna enter the brain and you're gonna change the way it's wiring and firing. And that's gonna result in cognitive, emotional, and psychological changes.

bindwaves Cohost: 4:06

Which is really hard on people, especially when it's an individual invisible brain injury. Like with mine, some people look at me like you don't have a brain injury, but oh, there's are so many challenges that are going on inside my head. Some things are not connecting, or if I get overwhelmed my brain just shuts down automatically, it's kind of hard and challenging. Yeah.

Leigh Richardson: 4:26

Well it is, and people, what we need to stop and think about is how the brain is affected. And what's happens in a, in the brain is that the injury affects multiple brain regions. It's not just the point where the head was hit, certainly impacts that free prefrontal cortex, how you make decisions, how you control those impulses, and a lot of times that can cause a lot of mood swings or impulsivity. And then you've got the limbic system, and that's the emotional regulation. If you're more irritable, if you're anxious, if you're emotionally reactive, that's because that limbic system was impacted and. Memory. When I say the word memory, I automatically think of the hippocampus because it's, when you've had a brain injury, it's hard to retain new information. And then you've got those neurotransmitters. So those are the chemical changes and the serotonin and the dopamine. And once those chemicals get outta balance, you're much more at risk for depression and anxiety.

bindwaves Cohost: 5:35

Yeah, and you

Leigh Richardson: 5:36

Okay.

bindwaves Cohost: 5:36

something I get that I think is something that I've noticed. In me some, but in a, in a lot of different brain injuries that you wonder like, did your personality change or was that part of your personality before? And because of the brain injury, maybe it's just enhanced it a little bit different way. Like, like you're talking about kind of that anger, maybe that anxiety, maybe you were always a little anxious, but then after the brain injury, it's enhanced something in that area where now maybe you are angered a little bit quicker or a little more anxious than you used to be. Is that part of that?

Leigh Richardson: 6:09

Well, statistically, 50% of the people with a traumatic brain injury will experience anxiety, depression, or both. And what happens is then they start to withdraw. They socially isolate and it's, it's emotionally exhausting when, when. Don't know how to, am I depressed? Am I anxious? Am I frustrated? It's hard to focus. It's you're, just because you look okay doesn't mean that that brain is working, okay, and that impacts the biggest thing that I've seen is it impacts motivation. Brittany, I know you lost motivation.

bindwaves Cohost: 6:51

And I kind of fell off of that again too, losing motivation.'cause it's hard, it's frustrating, like when your brain doesn't work and you don't know what to do, and then your emotions from brain injury, like you ask, has your personality changed? Sometimes I'm over emotional and so I'll have like many mental breakdowns. And it's because it's like, okay, and the thing I can't run from is my mind, my brain is still right there, so I can't run from it like a broken arm or something, or well, I can't, you know, run with broken arm either, but it's still my body. But it's mainly not like physically hurt, but it's like mentally, emotionally psychology, like hurt in your mind. So it does change and it does get hard. It's really hard.

Leigh Richardson: 7:33

Well in those invisible struggles, that can be brain fog, that can be memory loss, it can be trouble focusing. You mentioned mood swings, frustration, and I've had people say they just, they feel numb. They just feel emotionally numb. So, and sometimes has it ever impacted your sleep or your fatigue

bindwaves Cohost: 7:56

Yes. Yes.

Leigh Richardson: 7:59

and fatigue and you know, headaches. And if, you know, if you have somebody in your home that's had a traumatic brain injury and you see them, you know, they're forgetful or they're irritable, don't think, well, they're just lazy. Um, or moody, it could actually be a result of the traumatic brain injury.

bindwaves Cohost: 8:22

Mm-hmm. Right. Yeah. Which is kinda, um. Hard because then if you,'cause right now I'm dealing with memory issues, so it's frustrating. So I get frustrated and then my mom, she does like, look at me like, why are you so frustrated? Like, calm down. It's like, I can't,'cause, you know, I need to remember this. Like, why can't I function? Right. So it's, it's a journey emotionally.

Leigh Richardson: 8:49

It is. And Brittany, I would love to have you come by the office. We, one of the things that we do have that's new is that we've gotten certification in the Kennedy method, and it's something that I can show you that you can do on your own and it will help your processing. You're processing speed and a lot of memory is you have to process what's going on. So, and that's a, a, a real invitation. Please, I'd love to, to have you come by and show you how to do that.

bindwaves Cohost: 9:20

yeah.

Leigh Richardson: 9:20

And even if you, I'd love to share that because it's something that you can do on your own to improve that brain fog, that concentration and how the brain processes.

bindwaves Cohost: 9:33

Yeah, I would love to, especially anything to improve you in quality of life. Just little improvements each day. So I definitely would love to.

Leigh Richardson: 9:42

Well, you know what to do. Call the o, call the office. yeah. But so, you know, that's just an example of there, there are things that, that can be done to support the, the treatment, but at the same time, there are a lot of barriers around it because when I've heard families say, you know, there's, there's, there's a stigma. They'll, and they'll say, well. She looks fine. He looks fine. He can drive his car, so you know, he must just be stressed out or she must just be lazy. No. That is not the case. That's just a, the brain is working differently and a lot of times, you know, there's a misdiagnosis with a brain injury, especially if the injury is mild. That and the symptoms can be misread or overlooked and then think, I Thank goodness for BIND and what it gives to people, because many people suffer in silence. They don't get the right support. And with BIND, they get, they get support on so many different levels, so

bindwaves Cohost: 10:54

Well, we

Leigh Richardson: 10:54

and

bindwaves Cohost: 10:55

Oh yeah, definitely.

Leigh Richardson: 10:57

no.

bindwaves Cohost: 10:57

story because, um, my brain injury went on like. unnoticed for seven months, which, you know, with a brain injury, you wanna get treated in the first 12 months. So seven months on a brain injury, not knowing it in silence. And so after that, I went to Leigh and then she told me about mine. So BIND really has helped me, as you can see,'cause I'm up here on a mic and talking.

Leigh Richardson: 11:23

Well, and the neurofeedback that we did, there's biofeedback, there's, you know, some CBT, and that's just cognitive behavioral therapy. Negative thoughts create negative behavior that creates negative feelings

bindwaves Cohost: 11:40

that's so true.

Leigh Richardson: 11:40

And. You have to, instead of looking for the barriers, look for solutions. And my son was in a, a car accident when he was in second grade. He and he, this was a long time ago, but he, by the time he got into fifth grade, I came home and he said, mom. My brain is broke and back then, this is like in 2003, he had gotten on the internet and done research. Well, back then, it's not cool when a fifth grader gets on the internet all by himself. Now it now's different,

bindwaves Cohost: 12:17

Right.

Leigh Richardson: 12:18

it's, you know, we have to really. And I was so thankful that he did his research. He is the one that said, I need help. And because we can, the people that have had a brain injury, they're a survivor and we've got to frame recovery as Brittany, I think you said it, it's a journey.

bindwaves Cohost: 12:39

Yeah.

Leigh Richardson: 12:40

not about, oh, just, I just wanna hit the normal button and go back to the previous norm. And you have to be intentional about it.

bindwaves Cohost: 12:50

Yeah. Because unfortunately there, that normal button is not the same anymore. Mm-hmm. But I, I wanna go back a little bit, Leigh, you mentioned, um, I mean, we all know that there's the internal struggles after brain injury. How do we get others, like our caregivers or just friends in general to help. Help them understand and recognize those internal struggles that while they may not see it outwardly, how do we engage them more so they can understand those? Does that make sense?

Leigh Richardson: 13:20

It makes total sense? and I think that what caregivers struggle with is What. they want is they want to build cognitive and functional independence for people, but they don't know how they, and it's, it's hard to figure out, and one of the first pieces of advice that I give is let people do things at their own pace. It doesn't matter, you know, she used to, could do that in seven minutes. It takes her an hour. Now well let her do it at her own pace. Let her feel confident about her ability to do it and the, you know, then. Don't treat people with brain injuries as they can't make choices because they can. I mean, you can foster independence with a safety net, so give'em a choice. You know, you really need to go up and do you need to do your walking? So do you wanna do it before or after lunch?

bindwaves Cohost: 14:24

Exactly. Yeah.

Leigh Richardson: 14:25

You know, and, and create a structured environment. Maintain predictability and control because when you, when I don't know what I need to do or how to do it, first thing that happens, I get all stressed out. So for caregivers, if they can create an environment where it is structured, where they're, they do have some control where they help break the task down into small steps and just make it easier. And there's nothing wrong with using checklists and visual cues and alarms and memory tools. All the tools that. They're out there now. Help. Help them learn how to use those tools.

bindwaves Cohost: 15:13

Yeah, so, um, especially like calendars on the back of your garage door going outside because that's what I had to get. Calendars like, when's my doctor's appointment? this is where I need to go. Oh, podcast on Thursday, go to Plano. So that actually helped me out to realize and, you know, find a rhythm to get back into a rhythm. Not my normal rhythm, but a new one, so.

Leigh Richardson: 15:39

Well, and I think a morning check-in is good because it reorients and it sets the tone for the day. You ready for the day? You know where you, you know what you have to do. You got everything you need. Okay.

bindwaves Cohost: 15:54

Yeah.

Leigh Richardson: 15:54

And I think also, Brittany, do you ever use quiet time? As a way to help manage overstimulation.

bindwaves Cohost: 16:02

Um, I try, but then my brain is not nice to me. My brain will just randomly start buzzing because I'm, I guess, overstimulated, which my brain is weird. Like, I'll wake up in the morning and start buzzing, and then I'll go wash my hands and start buzzing. Then I'll start writing to start buzzing. But I do try to do quiet time. Be myself somewhere alone in a dark room. But then, you know, my weakness is arts and crafts, so that helps me. Mm-hmm.

Leigh Richardson: 16:31

I think it's great because you get a lot of satisfaction from that.

bindwaves Cohost: 16:36

Yeah. And that is a quiet thing, activity to do. So it helps you be quiet while you're doing it. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah.

Leigh Richardson: 16:42

So, Brittany.

bindwaves Cohost: 16:43

easy.

Leigh Richardson: 16:43

Brittany, do you have any affirmations that you use?

bindwaves Cohost: 16:47

Um. Watch your fingers. No, I'm just kidding. But no, um, not really. Like sometimes like, okay, you can do this. Um, you got this, or what I like to say now on a podcast, like, oh, my life is ruined. No, it's not. You just have to reimagine your life,

Leigh Richardson: 17:07

That's a great affirmation. And when you say that, doesn't that give you a little bit of a boost emotionally?

bindwaves Cohost: 17:15

Yeah, it's like kind of, okay, I didn't go down this path, that path is closed'cause of construction. I just have to find a new route to do the things I need to do. It might not be the same, it might not lead me to that place, but it might lead me to new amazing things. But it's, I'm still here and I'm still gonna work for it. So, yeah.

Leigh Richardson: 17:35

I think that's a great attitude, and I think just the fact that what you're doing with the podcast, you're educating families and friends, you're, you know what, what I have found caregiver burnout and misunderstandings, those are so common.

bindwaves Cohost: 17:55

Yeah, very common, especially like the being a brain injury survivor. When the caregiver has like a burnout, it's kind of like. Okay. I don't wanna mess with them, or, oh, I feel bad'cause they're burned out because of me. And it's kinda like you can't ask for help because you're like, oh no, I'm just gonna stress'em out more. Or they don't understand it. Like they don't get it. It's like something new to them too. It's like, oh, person has a brain injury. Here you go. And then they have to learn everything. They have to do everything. They have to adapt to everything. Help you adapt to everything, which you don't know. And that gets frustrating too, with kind of no support if the caregiver gets burned out. So.

Leigh Richardson: 18:40

And you know, it's. And one of the things that communication, it's learning how to communicate and normalizing those emotional responses. And instead of a caregiver saying, well, you know, it could have been worse.

bindwaves Cohost: 18:58

Oh

Leigh Richardson: 18:59

Another, another way to say that is, you know, it makes sense that you feel the way that you do given what you've been through. So think of words and it's how you use your language. And that's hard because when you're in that caregiving moment, you're in a reactive mode. They want, they want the best for you. And when they're not, you know, they, they feel like they can't give you the best that makes them feel bad. So it, it's normalizing. This is the way it is today. And having your affirmations. I think everybody should have an affirmation when, I guess it was six years ago and the tornado that came through Dallas totally destroyed my office. Everything in it and my, yeah. my affirmation and it's, it's still the one I use today is I will come back bigger and better and stronger and I can remember standing out in my backyard screaming that affirmation.

bindwaves Cohost: 20:07

That's good. Yeah. I think probably the biggest one we have here at BIND that we encourage all of our survivors to say is. You don't ever say, I can't do that, or I can't do X, it's, I can't do that yet. Always end it with the word yet because we're gonna get there. We may not, you know, it doesn't mean I may not be able to do it today, but I can do it tomorrow. I mean, that's like, you know, we talk, talking about Brittany. Brittany never had a brain injury and said, I'm gonna have a brain injury and I'm gonna go be on a podcast. Well, I didn't either, but you know, but hey, here we are. Mm-hmm. So, yeah, I think and I know you're talking about caregivers and I say this to lot, but you know, no one thinks about that, that the brain injury isn't just for the survivor. It, it affects the whole entire family. I know my, my parents and I had to sit down and reset new boundaries because it was kind of more like, okay, I've had a brain injury. That doesn't mean I'm your five-year-old child that, that you used to take care of. I don't need that. I don't need that. Hovering that constant, what do you need? What do you want? What can I do? I need you to still treat me like the38-year-old woman, independent woman that I am, and that I was two weeks ago before this happened, or a month ago, whatever, you know, treat me like that same person. Now if you see me something, maybe doing something dangerous because I did have, I did have impulsivity. Mm-hmm.

Leigh Richardson: 21:28

Yeah.

bindwaves Cohost: 21:28

me trying to climb the counters with my half

Leigh Richardson: 21:31

Okay.

bindwaves Cohost: 21:31

self, maybe correct me there. But yeah, so it is, I mean that's a lot I think that we don't think about, um. To work that we need to work on with caregivers. They kind of get left out and just try to figure things out and pick up the pieces on the go. So.

Leigh Richardson: 21:49

And that's so hard, and it's, you know, they don't know what to do. They don't know how to help. And one of the things, pieces of, of a advice that I offer is be consistent as a caregiver. Be consistent with what you try to do, whether that's support, social reconnection, um, get them involved in a community, get them involved in BIND,

bindwaves Cohost: 22:14

Mm-hmm.

Leigh Richardson: 22:15

the, but whether it's everybody needs a community to grow within and to grow from, and BIND is a perfect example. A religious, uh, whether it's church or, um, you know, any type of religious structure that provides the opportunity. And I know you guys do a lot of different things with, with social interactions. And Brittany, I'm surprised you don't have craft groups go in there every day.

bindwaves Cohost: 22:45

Oh, I try, but I think Rummikube beats us out in Fort Worth.

Leigh Richardson: 22:50

Oh, okay. I think that, you know, one of the things that, the key takeaways I always tell people is understand the effects of a traumatic brain injury. It is a survivor and they may experience memory loss. They may experience fatigue, emotional dysregulation, mood swings up down. Certainly difficulty concentrating and as was mentioned earlier, you may see some changes in in personality or behavior and you have to, you have to, as caregivers, we have to learn to and to take that, to view that with empathy rather than frustration.

bindwaves Cohost: 23:44

Yeah. Um, so I know a little thing to touch off on. I know a lot of us get overstimulated and overwhelmed in different environments, so do you have any, um, techniques to avoid getting overwhelmed in overstimulated environments such as party sports event and noisy environments?

Leigh Richardson: 24:04

Well take a brain break, and that's exactly what the way to think of it is. Take a brain break, hit the pause button, just step back. And sit down, or if you need to stand up, but get comfortable and stop and just focus on your breathing because if you change your breath rate, you'll change your heart rate. And when we get overstimulated, you ever feel like your heart's beating a lot faster and a lot harder? And the best way to slow that down. Is to slow that breath right down

bindwaves Cohost: 24:47

That's true. That's, I mean, and you don't, I mean, you don't need any special equipment for that.

Leigh Richardson: 24:53

and, and matter of fact, you have to do it. You have to. You have to breathe. So when you feel that, Brittany, do you ever feel that overstimulation coming on?

bindwaves Cohost: 25:05

Um, sometimes I don't, and sometimes I do, but when I don't, it hits really fast and like by the time I realize I'm overstimulated, I'm like in that little pickle in that moment.

Leigh Richardson: 25:20

And the best thing to do is just breathe into it.

bindwaves Cohost: 25:25

Mm.

Leigh Richardson: 25:25

Literally breathe into it.

bindwaves Cohost: 25:28

So don't fight it. Yeah.

Leigh Richardson: 25:30

Don't. No, because if you just, once you start the fight, then ooh, if you start the rollercoaster

bindwaves Cohost: 25:36

Yeah.

Leigh Richardson: 25:37

flight, freeze, fight, flight, freeze.

bindwaves Cohost: 25:39

thought about that. Yeah. Especially my aphasia comes out too when I fight it, so. Oh, hadn't thought about that. Mm-hmm. All right. um, what's one thing that you would like brain injury survivors to learn from your research? From the Brain Performance Center?

Leigh Richardson: 25:58

That you can do something about it. You abso, I'm not saying you're gonna get your normal back. I mean, things have, think about the normal that we had before the pandemic.

bindwaves Cohost: 26:08

Right.

Leigh Richardson: 26:09

haven't gotten that back.

bindwaves Cohost: 26:10

no.

Leigh Richardson: 26:11

And how many years has it been? So get a new normal. And the new normal can offer you different opportunities, but you may find great satisfaction through those opportunities. Don't stop trying.

bindwaves Cohost: 26:29

Absolutely. Yeah. So, um, thank you for joining us, Leigh, and thank you for all of those listening.

Leigh Richardson: 26:37

Well thank you and I hope you'll take me up on my offer

bindwaves Cohost: 26:40

definitely I will. Anything to improve my life.

Leigh Richardson: 26:44

and it's something that You can, share with some of your, your colleagues at at BIND.

bindwaves Cohost: 26:49

You can bring it back. You can teach us a little class. We'll let you do that instead of arts and crafts. Yeah.

Leigh Richardson: 26:56

Thank you so much, ladies, for having me.

bindwaves Cohost: 26:58

thank you again. Um, for those of you listening, if you would like to contact us, you can email us at. BIND waves at the BIND dot org. You can follow us on Instagram at BIND Waves, and we've switched up things a little bit now. So now you can find us on the internet and just go to bindwaves.org and it'll take you straight to our portion of the BIND site website, just the podcast site. So yeah, and don't forget to like, share and subscribe on your favorite platform. And also hit Notify on YouTube while listening to bindwaves. And remember, you can find us on all your favorite platforms. Um, so until next time. Until next time.

Rick: 27:37

We hope you've enjoyed listening to bindwaves and continue to support Brain Injury Network in our nonprofit mission, we support brain injury survivors as they reconnect into life, the community, and the workplace. And we couldn't do that without great listeners like you. We appreciate each and every one of you. Please remember to click the like button, the share button, and the subscribe button on YouTube. And follow us on Instagram@bindwaves and Brain Injury Network on Facebook. You can email us at bindwaves@thebind.org or go to our website bindwaves.org or call us at(972) 769-2463. Please continue watching. Until next time.