PEACE

A brain injury can impair the "sensory gating" system, making it difficult to filter out unnecessary sounds, lights, and other stimuli. This can lead to feeling overwhelmed in busy environments, so creating a tranquil space by using headphones, sunglasses, hoodies, or dimming lights is an effective way to reduce the neurological burden.

To avoid becoming overwhelmed during a difficult conversation, it's helpful to have de-escalation strategies like politely asking to pause the topic, shifting the focus to a neutral subject, or using a shared positive memory as a pivot point. Confrontations and emotionally charged situations can flood the system with stress hormones, making symptoms like headaches, brain fog, and fatigue significantly worse.

A simple and powerful single-breath meditation involves focusing entirely on the path of a single inhalation and exhalation. Follow the breath all the way in through the nose, down the windpipe, into the lungs, and back out through the mouth. This exercise can create moments of “cranial silence,” providing a much-needed rest from the constant internal noise and racing thoughts that often accompany brain injuries.

Visual clutter requires the brain to constantly process and filter information, which uses up valuable cognitive energy. Actively decluttering and organizing living and work spaces creates a visually calm environment that reduces distractions and stress.

This exercise involves mentally scanning through the entire body, from head to toe, to notice any physical sensations without judgment. The goal is to acknowledge any feelings of tension, warmth, or coolness, which helps to ground the mind in the present moment and release stored physical stress.

This exercise involves bringing a focused awareness to simple, everyday movements, such as walking. By paying close attention to the sensation of the feet on the ground or the rhythm of breathing while in motion, it turns a routine activity into a meditative practice that calms the nervous system and reduces anxiety.

This silly little visualization exercise helps create distance from racing or anxious thoughts when performed without self-judgment or ridicule, only acknowledgment. By imagining each thought as a cloud drifting across the sky, it becomes possible to observe them without getting emotionally attached, allowing them to pass by and creating a sense of inner calm. Imagine wind, rain, or a violent storm moving the clouds away.