a father learning to speak after a traumatic brain injury

Finding Your Voice Again: Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury is getting more notoriety these days now that we know more about the brain, concussions and the risk of such injuries. In recent years, there were close to 3 million emergency room cases related to brain injuries.

If you happen to suffer one of these injuries, it’s important that you work hard to heal up and get your full cognitive function back. In this regard, you will want to use the tips below to guide you.

Get Speech Therapy After a Traumatic Brain Injury

One of the biggest dangers of traumatic brain injury is the fact that your speech and communication capability may start to slip.

You may deal with some clarity issues or temporarily lose your ability to communicate as a whole. In order to bounce back from such an injury, speech therapy might be just what the doctor ordered.

This can help you not only formulate words and conversations, but also formulate thought.

After dealing with an injury, you may have trouble finding the right words or getting them out. You might also have some difficulty following conversations or understanding what others are talking about.

When you get full speech therapy, you’ll gain these faculties back, in addition to working on your reading, writing and listening skills.

Practice Mindfulness Meditation

Since a traumatic brain injury makes it difficult to focus and formulate thought, you should look into mindfulness meditation.

You will be able to build cognitive function and create neural pathways by regularly engaging in meditation each day. There are lots of different ways to meditate, so do your due diligence to make sure that you are able to find the practice of meditation that works for you.

For instance, some forms of meditation include simply focusing on your breathing, while others require you to feel into your body and make note of sensations as they come and go.

This is an incredible exercise for your brain that you can carry out each and every day. It will also help you to promote a sense of calm and allow you to get the most out of your recovery as a whole.

Further, meditation can also help to build faith and inspiration, which will be necessary on your road to recovery.

Do Some Jaw Exercises Regularly

Jaw, tongue and lip exercises are incredibly important for your recovery.

When you rebuild this muscle memory and motor skill, you will be in a great position to communicate. This is necessary since many people even have trouble chewing and eating after dealing with an injury.

The sooner you are able to get these skills back on track, the sooner you will gain your full autonomy. There are lots of exercises that your speech therapist or physical therapist can help you with, so make sure that you acquire the tools and practice these exercises on a daily basis.

Add Yoga to Your Life

Practicing yoga after a brain injury will not only help you physically, it will also help your brain.

People that use yoga in their recovery build their body and their brain at the same time since the practice builds new connections and promotes balance. You will be better able to get back on your feet and also sharpen your thinking skills.

You can take advantage of some yoga therapy that is specifically catered to recovering from a brain injury to make sure that you are on the path for a full recovery.

Continuously Challenge Your Brain

The best thing you can do after a brain injury is exercise your brain day in and day out.

When you give yourself daily brain challenges, it’ll sharpen your mind and build your reflexes and cognitive thinking. This is why so many people incorporate chess into their recovery while they are going through rehab.

Practicing chess every day will help you with neurorehabilitation and will let you bridge the gap in your thinking process. This is a life skill that will carry you far since games like chess are also great for long-term cognitive thought.

Build Your Body to Full Health

Simply put, when you work your body, it is great for your mind.

If your body isn’t healthy, it’ll be difficult for your brain to fire on all cylinders. Get a physical therapist that will work you out, while protecting your safety and making sure that you are constantly pushing yourself.

Exercise is great for the brain because it produces endorphins and can help you think more clearly as a whole.

Fix Your Nutrition as You Heal

Taking the time to get your nutrition under control will help with your recovery.

Eat healthy brain foods, like green vegetables and mushrooms, so that you can think clearly and avoid brain fog. You should also drink lots of water since a dehydrated brain isn’t a functioning brain.

Make sure that you are also avoiding sugary foods, processed food, and high fructose corn syrup. It adversely affects your brain health and will also dampen your recovery efforts.

Bounce Back From Your Traumatic Brain Injury

So there you have it. If you suffered a traumatic brain injury, all is definitely not lost.

You simply need a recovery plan that works, and you can start by using the tips above. We’d love to help.

To learn more about our speech therapy services and how they can help with your traumatic brain injury recovery, click here to get started today.

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