Each one us has our own unique path through brain injury recovery - let’s talk about finding yours and never giving up!

In this episode, Cristabelle interviews Patti Shutt, a NeuroCognitive Program Instructor at Success Rehabilitation, Inc., who shares from her 12 years of experience working with brain injury survivors. Patti brings uplifting energy, emphasizing the importance of self-acceptance, kindness, and the necessity of recognizing one's own progress, no matter how small. Patti shares inspiring stories of individuals who have overcome significant challenges, highlighting the importance of support, patience, and the ability to adapt. She concludes with a message of hope, encouraging listeners to keep pushing forward and to remember that they are not alone in their struggles.

There are a lot of layers when it comes to brain injury symptoms. In the middle of it, how do you even begin to start to tackle your symptoms in order to move forward? Some days are up, some days are down. It can be overwhelming and emotional when you are just trying to get through each day.

This week on Hope Survives® | Brain Injury Podcast, Natalie Mackenzie joins Cristabelle to discuss advice on managing symptoms, identifying triggers, how to cope, and work towards a plan to improve over time. There is always hope!

Overstimulation and brain fog can be frustrating both for the survivor and for the people around them. This week on Hope Survives® | Brain Injury Podcast, Taryn Barlow is here to teach us some tools on how to evaluate our environment, lifestyle, and symptoms to figure out the source of overstimulation. We talk about practicing Sensory Awareness, how to have a "battle plan" of strategies to help, and the importance of being patient with yourself.

A major part of living with brain injury can become the doctors appointments, therapies, and healthcare system - but it doesn't have to be overwhelming.

Communication is so important to our world, but it can be drastically affected for brain injury survivors. Difficulties include word finding, forming ideas, expressing oneself, understanding nonverbal cues, and more… so let’s work to understand this deeper and talk about some tips that can help!

This week on Hope Survives® | Brain Injury Podcast, we are diving into the connection between communication and cognition, and how this can be affected after brain injury. Katherine Noyes is a Speech Language Pathologist who is here to guide us in learning tools for improvement for executive functioning and communication. We also discuss tips for family/caregivers to help the survivor get their goal of communication across, as well as the non-verbal side of social cues, difficulty understanding sarcasm, and more.

Something often overlooked in brain injury recovery is the effect of trauma or PTSD on the survivor. Trauma symptoms can have a lot of overlap with brain injury symptoms, as both stimulate the Autonomic Nervous System. Dr. Jen Blanchette helps us to uncover what this overlap can mean, and explains how addressing trauma can often be a missing piece that can really help to further along brain injury recovery.

Dr. Roy Wilkins is an expert in sleep medicine - and a brain injury survivor himself! This week on Hope Survives® | Brain Injury Podcast, we discuss some specifics on how to sleep better after a brain injury. Dr. Wilkins also shares important information on sleep hygiene, what a sleep study will do, and hope that there is help available.

This is Part 2 - check out last week’s episode to hear an introduction on how sleep affects the brain and sleep disturbances after brain injury, along with more of Dr. Wilkins personal journey with TBI.

What does it mean to have a creative mindset - and how can it help brain injury recovery? Let’s talk about it!

This week on Hope Survives® | Brain Injury Podcast, Cristabelle is joined by fellow survivor Ali Rheaume to discuss the benefits of creativity, and how having a creative mindset can aid in adaptability.

The Holidays are upon us - and that can be overwhelming for brain injury survivors! In this episode, Cristabelle will walk us through some strategies and practical tips to manage symptoms and get the most out of your holiday gatherings.

Listen below or on your mobile device by subscribing on podcast platforms!

After a brain injury, fatigue can become one of the most draining and difficult parts of getting through the day or week.

Today we going to talk about some strategies and tips on how to manage that fatigue with Natalie Mackenzie, who has worked in the field of Neuro Rehabilitation for 20 years. Part of this is learning about what Natalie calls the 3 P’s: Planning, Prioritization, and Pacing.

Let’s talk about brain health after sustaining a brain injury with Dr. Jeremy Schmoe.

These are some simple strategies that you can begin to incorporate into your routine to help optimize your brain for healing.

If you've ever been overwhelmed or overstimulated with brain injury symptoms, you are not alone. Today, Natasha Wilch is here to share some ways to help us calm down symptoms. We discuss some simple strategies along with encouragement for survivors.

Did you know that the foods we eat can have a huge impact on improvement and healing after a brain injury?

Today, nutrition expert Brigid Titgemeier (@beingbrigid) is here to share all about the relationship between food and brain health. Specifically, we are going to be talking about the brain/gut connection, how the food we eat can actually help to improve brain injury symptoms, and some simple meal ideas and tips on how to incorporate brain healthy foods into your routine.