Finding Peace this Holiday Season

Christmas in Oconomowoc 2017

“Remember that stress doesn’t come from what is going on in your life. It comes from your thoughts about what is going on in your life.”

~Andrew Bernstein

Struggles in the Spotlight

The holidays are simultaneously wonderful and awful for most people. Even the sappiest among us must admit that the holidays elevate our stress levels (and usually our glucose levels, too). Like almost everything else with brain injury, these truths are magnified ten-fold. For the brain injured community, the holiday season is often a stark reminder of what we are NOT able to do yet. Things we used to be able to do with ease become a colossal battle. Shopping is nearly impossible because the broken brain gets overwhelmed with all the visual stimuli and loud department store music. Neurofatigue makes the task of decorating our homes simply exhausting, like running a marathon. Holiday baking taxes our brains in a way we never thought possible. How can following a recipe used for over 30 years be so cognitively draining?!

Coping Strategies

It took over three years, but I am now able to bake my traditional arsenal of holiday cookies with relative ease. I can even sing along with favorite Christmas songs as I stir the dough. I have never enjoyed singing and baking more! Until I reached this point, however, I had to adjust my plan. When I didn’t have the cognitive energy to decorate the house, I asked for help. When I couldn’t shop at the noisy stores, I shopped on line. When I couldn’t bake and sing, I just baked a little and took long breaks to recharge. I didn’t like making these adjustments, but I did them. Mostly to prove to myself and the world that I was still in here somewhere and I was not giving up.

Finding Peace

It is now much easier for me to enjoy the holidays since I have danced (cha-cha), clawed, and cried my way out of the concussion rabbit hole. I still must be mindful of not getting over tired. But in all phases of brain injury recovery, peace can be found. It is found when we accept our circumstances, make temporary adjustments as needed, and remain hopeful that it won’t always be this hard. Don’t give up... it won’t always be this hard. It gets better. Look for the Light. It’s there if you remain open to it.

Peace,

Sharon