Latest / Holding It Together (Kinda) / #9 Companion A Brain Injury Survivor’s Guide To Pacing And Preemptive Rest
Transcript
- 0:00Michael Mackniak: Hi everybody, welcome to this midweek unpack for holding it together kinda.
- 0:05Michael Mackniak: I'm Michael Maknaak.
- 0:08Michael Mackniak: I love this episode because I got to talk to a guy that I really respect, um Matt Galati, who basically is uh living proof of the power that we all have within us to overcome and to pick ourselves up.
- 0:25Michael Mackniak: Matt was involved in a car accident while he was in med school, suffered a severe uh brain injury, and has overcome.
- 0:35Michael Mackniak: In this episode, Why Your Brain Watson Jelly Beans, Matt gets into um a description of cognitive fatigue, um, the importance of preemptive rest, his six pillars of brain health, and how to protect and really honor realistic hope.
- 0:58Michael Mackniak: So if you've been with us for a while, you know that this conversation really hit home.
- 1:03Michael Mackniak: It was very touching, moving, but it was also exciting because I really like Matt.
- 1:08Michael Mackniak: He's a good guy and he and he's you know he's an inspiration.
- 1:13Michael Mackniak: I just really enjoyed the the idea that a short clinical appointment rarely kind of reflects what's actually uh going on to a person and what would actually cost a person to complete ordinary tasks at home.
- 1:32Michael Mackniak: So Matt described how difficult things are for somebody who has a brain injury to process even the simplest events.
- 1:41Michael Mackniak: And as I say, we didn't have these companions ready at the time that the episode aired.
- 1:46Michael Mackniak: So I invite you to go back and check out the episode again with this companion.
- 1:51Michael Mackniak: Uh, it's not supposed to be homework, it's not supposed to be just another thing for you to do, it's supposed to uh be a supplement to help you to process some of the points that we make, you know.
- 2:04Michael Mackniak: So, right out of the gate, we talk about a cognitive fatigue map to track early warning signals before exhaustion turns into full-blown crisis, you know, and and this can go for not only folks with brain injury, but also the caregivers who are feeling that burnout.
- 2:23Michael Mackniak: It also focuses a bit on pacing before the crash.
- 2:27Michael Mackniak: How do we preemptively make sure that we have rest periods instead of panicking and waiting to get into sort of an emergency recovery mode?
- 2:39Michael Mackniak: We talk about appointments and clinical, you know, visits and things along those lines.
- 2:44Michael Mackniak: But we also talk about that pace.
- 2:49Michael Mackniak: The uh the idea of being proactive really is what it comes down to.
- 2:53Michael Mackniak: Because when we're proactive, it's it's it's so much more efficient and effective than trying to be reactive to every crisis that comes across our desk.
- 3:07Michael Mackniak: So we built these companions to help you, to give you um ways to take out, okay, your next steps, make this plan, take this idea of rest and take this idea of brain health.
- 3:21Michael Mackniak: And it doesn't just apply to folks with brain injury, it applies to all of us, right?
- 3:26Michael Mackniak: What are the three daily life facts and one recovery goal you can do or you can bring to the care team?
- 3:33Michael Mackniak: Things like that.
- 3:35Michael Mackniak: So, while your brain watched jelly beans was was a great episode.
- 3:38Michael Mackniak: I enjoyed it, I enjoyed doing it.
- 3:41Michael Mackniak: I want you to take the um the podcast companion with you and check it out.
- 3:47Michael Mackniak: And until next time, as always, keep on holding it together, even if it's just kinda.