Recently, I've come to realise that what might help many recovering from a TBI is to think of themselves as Sherlock Holmes. In this blog post, I described the idea that a TBI is like a fingerprint: every one is different! Other recoverers sometimes asked me if I've experienced an issue they're facing. Most of the time, I have to admit that I haven't. However, I still think I can say something useful: recoverers should think of themselves as being Sherlock Holmes.
When I say this, I mean recoverers have to become an expert on deducing what causes or contributes to their issue. Is it more severe when they're fatigued than when they're feeling rested? Does it come on after certain activities, like eating particular foods or drinking alcohol? To recover better, we need to be gurus about ourselves, we need to be Sherlock Holmes.
A part of being Sherlock Holmes and being very familiar with research on the issues we face: read heaps on the Internet or in books (although keep your sceptical mind when doing so); talk through the options with the right people; try different ideas of things we think might help us, just to see if they work.
In this post I wrote last year, I describe one issue I worked out how to deal better with only through a Sherlock Holmes approach. I worked out how to help my right quad muscle cope with my running by exercising/strengthening my right gluteus maximus. Learning this only happened through a Sherlock Holmes approach of thinking about it and trying different things until something worked.
Good luck with being Sherlock Holmes.
Cheers,
Mike
