Hi friends!
Today, I want to share some thoughts on handling overstimulating social engagements.
This is a common concern for people dealing with post concussion syndrome (and for plenty of people without it…).
Conversations can feel overwhelming and overstimulating, especially when there are other conversations happening around you or the environment is loud or visually stimulating.
The hard thing is, you may desperately want to be there, to be connecting with these people, to feel normal and pretend like nothing’s wrong… but you know that you’ve reached your max and you may have to deal with increased symptoms later.
Or, perhaps, you don’t realize it in the moment, and you won’t know until later that you’d pushed too hard.
Here are some quick thoughts on how to handle these types of situations:
- Plan ahead!
- Rest ahead of time to give yourself as much capacity as possible
- Identify right away a quiet spot that you can retreat to if needed (ie: your car, a room in the house, a place outside)
- Bring supplies to help on your rest breaks as needed (headphones, eye mask, water, snacks)
- Ask a friend or family member to politely pull you out of the conversation after a certain amount of time socializing
- Let your host or a friend know ahead of time that you may need to leave early, so it’s not unexpected and is easier for you to leave without your internal mental drama
- Set a timer on your phone to remind you to check in with yourself and see if you need a break
- Do some self-coaching
- Remind yourself that it’s ok to be wherever you are in your recovery, and that taking care of yourself by leaving early or taking a break in the middle will help you in that recovery so you can work towards increasing your capacity in the future
- Be nice to yourself – this is hard for so many reasons. Be proud of yourself for showing up at all, and for showing up for yourself by leaving if needed.
These thoughts were inspired by the recent podcast with my friend and former client, Emily Waechtler. You should absolutely listen to the conversation we had – she’s a gem!
I’d love to hear any other ways you’ve found to handle challenging social engagements!
Cheers,
Bethany Lewis, OTR/L
The Concussion Coach