Top 5 Takeaways from Concussion #3
Talia got concussed again and She Is. Not. Amused. This time it was only a mild concussion, sparked by a few tumbles and burst into being by someone on the commuter rail who was carrying a duffel bag big enough to hide a body and, from the sensation Talia felt when it made contact with the back of her head, filled with bricks.
In any case, even though she is ostensibly cleared to go back to work on a computer, screens still make her sick if she looks at them for longer than ten minutes, and since all her work for her job is done remotely, that’s where the priorities lie in allocated screen time. As such, she wrote this blog post out by hand and had Annie type it up for her. (Shout out to Annie for working from home to take care of Talia, a.k.a. bring her food and watch her sleep. But, like, not in a creepy way. Just in a ‘look how cute she is nested on the couch with too many throw pillows and stuffed owls under that fluffy blanket’ way.)
In any case, here are Talia’s top 5 concussion takeaways based on her extensive and unwanted experience:
1. Imagine Dragons are soothing as all get out.
This is her favorite band, so she’s a little biased, but in Talia’s opinion Imagine Dragons has the ideal balance of upbeat yet smooth tuneage for a concussed brain, specifically on their newest album, Origins. ‘Cool Out’, ‘Bad Liar’, ‘Birds’, ‘Burn Out’, and ‘Stuck’ are particular favorites.
2. Coloring books are most entertaining when one goes outside the norm.
One of the sucky things about brain rest is all the things the injured person is forbidden from doing. Among these are reading and writing, which are Talia’s bread and butter.The idea is to not strain the brain, which is absolutely essential for recovery, which is why Talia didn’t start writing this post until her brain rest was over. All the same, this makes things incredibly boring, which is why Talia turned to coloring books, and these ultra fabulous rainbow dementors. Traditional color schemes as seen in the Hedwig picture are also acceptable, but it’s where things get funky that they get the most fun.
3. Podcasts & Audiobooks are your friends!
Not being allowed to read is, again, a horror for someone who adores books as much as Talia does. The best alternative is thus audiobooks and podcasts about books. During her previous concussion in 2016 she made it through all 7 Harry Potter books, but for this one, she contented herself with just listening to the Harry Potter and the Sacred Text podcast.
4. Have someone read to you.
This is another shout out to Annie, who, after she’s done with her work day and has made dinner, has been reading aloud from World Ain’t Ready, one of the greatest fanfictions of all time. The reading doesn’t have to be from a fanfic, of course; it’s just what we happened to do. But the one good thing about concussions forcing people away from screens is the increase in human connection, and the closeness of being read to can be incredibly sweet. (Also, in the case of World Ain’t Ready, incredibly hilarious.) (A Les Mis fanfic set in the early Aughts as a LGBTQ+ romance of fake boyfriends for real justice.)
5. SLEEP!
Tbh the #1 gift of concussions is sleep. As a grad student, and before that a college student, sleep is not something Talia often gets regularly or healthily. This concussion shut her body down and the sweet slumber is nice, even if the pile of homework waiting for her afterwards is not.
And there we have it, folks. Don’t get concussed if you can help it; Talia can attest to the fact that it sucks. But if you ever do, have someone with an uninjured brain read you this post so that we can have a bonding experience, or something like that. Idk how to properly sign off on this, my head hurts too much. 🤷🏽♀️
Cheers,
Talia (And Annie!)
