Restoring Cognitive Function

[shatter eyes]

@berlinda thank you for saying that. I really enjoy those moments and hope to take more pics.

@shatter eyes Yeah, I call it being disconnected from my feelings and often my body. Not eating-no signals for hunger-not sleeping-body has a signal when it's time to sleep, feeling in a fog-disconnected from the real world, and that gazing thing you speak of....a classic place for me when I'm not feeling safe =dissociation. I use cold to ground, and I send myself the message that I'm safe....also getting more oxygen to the brain is helpful.....breathe in....slow out and I use hand movements (palms up for breathing in and palms down...much more slowly in breathing out, and I distract myself as well. Good luck there.

I wonder how the glazing looks like. Does our eyes really look different like shiny marbles? I never thought of this as a signal for feeling unsafe.
Been told by friends that i have a "warm up" period after i exit the house before i am more like the person they know. Takes about 1 hour before i start responding to conversations smoothly. Thinking of those times i do feel disconnected and airy, awkward to move, try to stay still, aware of my awkward silence to those around me. It feels like where am i... where am i going... whats going on? Foggy dumb slow numb mode switches on when i leave the house or when someone shows up ringing doorbell or knocking spooks me. It would be nice to have bird song doorbell. So its like leave house, glaze on, warm up, glaze off, then i am hello whats up how are you?

For grounding i have also learned to use temperature, cold to ground, 5 senses, paired muscles clench relax, belly breathing.

I willl be going to look into glazing responses. Thank you

 

[Dire Parsnip]

I know a few things that help:
- journaling
- talking aloud to myself, narrating what I'm doing
- playing rhyming games
- learning and reciting poems
- writing to do lists
- dealing with the underlying dissociation by eating, sleeping, and grounding well

Rhyming never occurred to me. That's a great idea.

 

[One step at a time]

Thanks to all. :hug:
A minor update: for me, things have shifted.

I can't claim it's all due to using the strategies and coping skills listed here. My work schedule changed since I posted, and I have had more time to recover from my stressful spring. But using a mishmash of things from this thread helped a lot.

New habits:
- playing rhyming games (out loud, if I'm alone) when verbal skills are low
- regular practice recalling (or reconstructing, detective-style) the events of the past day or two
- playing with watercolor paint
- narrating my actions
- summarizing to myself the book or article or brochure or cereal box I just read. After I've run out of things I remember about it, I look back at it and see what I forgot or missed


Things that have gotten better:
- word recall, unless I'm lacking sleep or food
- ability to remember what I'm doing and why
- ability to write more complex paragraphs
- ability to retain and recall instructions and to-do lists

 

[TruthSeeker]

I'm so proud of you! Awesome positive steps! Keep up the good work. I have found that when I look back at my worst symptomatic time, and doing just the things you said you did, help ground.....and makes our memory function-I recall being dissociated so much- and the point? Because I didn't want to remember. So, I think making an actual effort to remember, and doing positive things to support memory and reduce stress, helps the brain to move in a direction of recalling the world around us better. Practice makes lots of improvements. Thanks for the update.

 

[shatter eyes]

word recall, unless I'm lacking sleep or food
- ability to remember what I'm doing and why
- ability to write more complex paragraphs

Thanks for update. It is great to hear that you got some recovery time for yourself. I agree rhyming is fun and really gets the right brain working being creative.

I use an app called Elevate and paid for lifetime membership. The founders are really great and you can email them for promo too. Try to free version first. This app helped me alot rebuilding and accessing my vocabulary and word recall. Its very fun too and thats how the brain learns...by having fun.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Thanks for update. It is great to hear that you got some recovery time for yourself. I agree rhyming is fun and really gets the right brain working being creative.

I use an app called Elevate and paid for lifetime membership. The founders are really great and you can email them for promo too. Try to free version first. This app helped me alot rebuilding and accessing my vocabulary and word recall. Its very fun too and thats how the brain learns...by having fun.

Sounds interesting, thanks for mentioning it...I'll check it out!

Thank you so much for writing in depth about the different memories functions.
I have TBI also and wonder at times if it is PTSd, accumulated stressors from previous days....etc.

My pain doc told me to play or do something i like so i doodled before leaving the clinic.

At the DBT doc the other day i cried and disociated mega after she had me ice (T.I.P section of distress tolerance module). I was so fogged out cognitively her words didnt make sense and i tried hard to follow. it was like as if i was behind a plastic curtain.
I felt really dumb.

For a while, I do better, and then something would happen, and it would seem like it knocked it all down.....but it doesn't. It's taken a while to get into the swing of new routines, using new strategies, and I find now, when things fall apart.....I fall apart much less because the house isn't a wreck, I'm behind on the bills, and I got no clean underware. So, I think keeping up with everything is important.

 

[shatter eyes]

Sounds interesting, thanks for mentioning it...I'll check it out!



For a while, I do better, and then something would happen, and it would seem like it knocked it all down.....but it doesn't. It's taken a while to get into the swing of new routines, using new strategies, and I find now, when things fall apart.....I fall apart much less because the house isn't a wreck, I'm behind on the bills, and I got no clean underware. So, I think keeping up with everything is important.

You are not alone and thanks for reminding me to "try" wash my undies. Recycle and reuse i took it literally ?. Sometimes, many times, just keeping up with bills and chores seems impossible when cognition, pain, head space, etc is not well.

 

[TruthSeeker]

You are not alone and thanks for reminding me to "try" wash my undies. Recycle and reuse i took it literally ?. Sometimes, many times, just keeping up with bills and chores seems impossible when cognition, pain, head space, etc is not well.

Now I'll wear pants and tops and pjs multiple times, but smell your underware.......nope.....I'll buy more at Walmart before I reuse them...?