We’re back and ready to kick off Season 3 of Hope Survives® | Brain Injury Podcast with some special episodes for Brain Injury Awareness month! Join our host Cristabelle and guest Ali Rheaume for an inspiring and honest conversation about the challenges on the brain injury journey. You are not alone!

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

You can't see it on the outside, but every day living with a concussion / brain injury brings an internal struggle. You're constantly fighting what you want to do, what you used to be able to do, and what your brain will allow you to do. There's the physical toll- the fatigue, the headaches, the balance issues... There's also the emotional toll- the grief, the depression, the loss of identity... and more.

This week on Hope Survives® | Brain Injury Podcast, we wrap up Season 2 with an uplifting episode. Cristabelle opens with an encouraging reminder to be kind to yourself, and then we hear some empowering words of hope from brain injury professionals. You are not alone - and there is always hope!

This week on Hope Survives® | Brain Injury Podcast, Cristabelle shares reflections and encouragement from her 15 year traumatic brain injury anniversary, along with powerful "Words of Hope" from survivors. You are NOT alone!

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!

When your head is in pain, everything else feels harder. After a brain injury, headaches can be a major symptom that decreases quality of life for survivors.

This week on Hope Survives® | Brain Injury Podcast, Dr. Thompson Maesaka is here to help us understand all things post-injury headaches, including hidden causes. We will also discuss the difference between post-concussion headaches and "true migraine," neurologists, and medication. When you can identify the cause behind WHY your head is in pain, it will help you to treat it effectively.

Friends, dating, family, co-workers, and more... social communication can be a struggle for brain injury survivors! Let's break down some of the common difficulties in interpreting social cues from others, as well as how symptoms affect the way we communicate. 

This week on Hope Survives® | Brain Injury Podcast, Cristabelle has invited Speech Language Pathologist Katherine Noyes to join for all things relationships and social communication after TBI. Some topics include: nonverbal cues, tone of voice, repeating yourself, memory loss, interrupting, texting/social media, and more. We'll also discuss maintaining friendships and navigating dating relationships.

This episode is helpful for survivors but also will provide value for caregivers, friends and family to understand why some of these breakdowns in communication may happen. It would be a good one to share with your loved ones!

It is common to feel a loss of self after a concussion when you lose so many things you used to be able to do - but there is hope.

This week, Cristabelle speaks with Silvie from The Concussion Community. Silvie struggled for years to find the right help and understand what was going on with her. Her concussion was even misdiagnosed as anxiety. The regular doctors she visited couldn’t address her symptoms, so she wasn’t getting help from them. Eventually, Silvie found the right concussion treatments and she is here to share what she has learned from her journey, offering hope to listeners to know that rebuilding your life is possible.

If you have felt like something is “off” but you can’t quite pinpoint what it is, it is possible that you have a form of Dysautonomia (related to the Autonomic Nervous System). It is very common after brain injury. This week, Sonia Vovan, PT is here to help us understand the basics of dysautonomia - and beyond - as we discuss ways to help address symptoms.

October is Dysautonomia Awareness Month! 

The ups and downs of brain injury can be hard to navigate, and can often feel downright frustrating. This week we’re talking about these frustrations and what it means to learn to advocate for yourself, the journey of acceptance, how it affects relationships, and more.

Let's continue the discussion on how to keep your recovery moving forward - Dr. Michelle Eisenmann is back to help us understand the importance of a lifestyle that supports brain healing, and what to look for in a practitioner.

Do you ever feel "stuck" in not knowing how to move forward with your recovery? Today, Dr. Michelle Eisenmann is here in part 1 of a 2 part series to help us understand some things we can do to to keep our brain injury recovery on track. This week we will touch on the importance of finding the right practitioner (more on that next week!) and some tips on how to define your recovery goals. Most importantly, you will be encouraged to move forward with confidence, grace, and grit.

For brain injury survivors, having some sort of self-awareness when it comes to symptoms is key to moving forward in recovery. When we are able to learn our brain & body's "tells" or when a symptom flare-up is beginning to happen, we are better able to assess if we need to rest, or if we can push through. It also helps us to know what types of treatment to seek out - especially because it's invisible, so others can't see your symptoms on the outside. However, self-awareness after brain injury doesn't always come easy due to feeling disconnected from yourself, the constant fatigue, or even just headache pain. Today, Cristabelle walks us through how to grow in self-awareness so that we can become better advocates for our own recovery. Caregivers will also learn how to support their survivor in growing in this area.

Symptom flare-ups and hard days will happen when recovering from a brain injury / concussion - and it can be exhausting and disheartening. But there are actually things we can do to help, if we learn the right things to check and respond to our brain & body’s signals. Our nervous system is more adaptable than we may think! Dr. Jeremy Schmoe is here to teach us exactly how to help ourselves feel better on those hard days. 

Concussion symptoms and mental health can be very interconnected, especially when you can't see the symptoms on the outside. Today, Cristabelle interviews Bella Paige (founder of Post Concussion Inc) on her journey with 10+ concussions and trying to hide her symptoms at first and pretending like nothing was wrong. This led to depression, which Bella openly shares with us today in a candid and inspiring conversation.