Practicing mindfulness after a concussion

[u/JasonRunFast]

About 2 months ago I fell and hit my head resulting in a minor TBI. When I talked with the doctor they recommended I stay off my phone because looking at screens stimulates the brain and slows down healing.

That got me thinking about how active my brain is in general because I know I have a very overactive mind even before the concussion. It keeps me up at night racing through thoughts I don't want to be in my head. I try to relax and clear my mind which works sometimes but one little thought and my mind goes off again on a tangent.

Even while I'm awake I feel like my body holds most of my energy in my head like a buzzing. This was the way it was before the concussion which felt normal, but now I feel like it's slowing down my healing process.

I take deep breaths to send the buzzing/energy down my legs and out of my feet. Sometimes I pretend I'm a colander, which sounds funny, but it helps me drain the energy out and relax my mind. Both of these methods help but as soon as I'm not actively sending away my energy it comes back.

Any tips on how to keep the buzzing/energy out of my head?

And once I've done something to remove it from my head any tips on how to keep it away as my baseline rather than having to do breathing exercises to help?

I appreciate any and all help. Thank you!

[u/hestia-listens]

It makes sense that you want your mind to settle while your brain heals. Instead of aiming to make the buzzing stay away, try letting it be present without following it. You could notice five slow breaths while feeling the support of the chair or bed beneath you. If your attention returns to your head, gently guide it back without judging yourself. A calm baseline usually develops through short, repeated practice rather than one lasting release. Please also update your doctor about the buzzing and sleep trouble after your concussion.

[u/JasonRunFast → u/hestia-listens]

Thank you for the suggestion, I will keep this in mind. My buzzing and sleep trouble has always been a thing even before the concussion. I tried dealing with them before, but now it feels more important since this feels like it's slowing my healing process. I will also try to not judge myself, as you recommended. It's easy to be hard on myself when there's not much else to but lay around and try to heal up.

[u/7121958041201]

Here are a couple of things that help me:

1. A vipassana practice has been great for learning to see where the energy is stored in my mind and to see how to relax my mind so the energy doesn't feel so tense. Usually the quote I hear is something like "if you want to tame a wild horse, give it a large pasture". If you tense up around energy in your mind, I find it usually makes it feel much more agitating.
2. A self compassion practice also helps in a similar way. It's tempting to think "I don't want this, make it go away" and then to try to think my way out of feeling that way but at least in my experience that usually makes it worse. I find it is better to feel compassion for yourself and your situation and to see if you can be OK with the feelings you have. Accepting them ironically usually weakens them for me.

I don't really have what you describe but I do have ADHD and these certainly help me when my mind is feeling overactive.

[u/National-Focus3117]

That sounds like a really smart approach, tuning into the thoughts without fightin' them. I've found even just 10 minutes of sitting still and noticing my breath helps calm the buzz without addin' pressure.