As a long time therapist working specifically with patients battling chronic illness, conditions, and pain; I often see an identity that is attached to being “sick.” Just this week, someone shared with me their fear of getting better, for “fear of being pushed to return to my old schedule.” She admitted she has enjoyed the quieter pace of “doing it all.”

In 2012, my daughter was meeting with a pediatric neuropsychologist at a Children’s Hospital, to complete full testing following 3 years of brain-based cancer treatment. As a result of long-term chemo & radiation treatment, tumor resection, remitting-relapsing hydrocephalus, and tissue damage from heavy necrosis, her doctors needed a baseline of cognitive functioning…

As a result of my passion and curiosity to better understand the actual neuroscience of brain injury + stimulants, I went on a quest for deeper understanding…  

Stimulant medications are known to calm an overactive nervous system by increasing the body’s ability to create fluid connection on the dopaminergic receptors. Without proper dopamine production or flawed passage and utilization of dopamine; mood, energy, pleasure, attention, and motivation are all affected. Dopamine is an anticipatory molecule. Humans find themselves seeking and looking for dopamine to feel satisfied…

Grief is often compared to water; especially ocean waves. It comes and goes. Grief requires us to be flexible. It requires us to flow with it. However, it scares the hell out of us so much, we are afraid we might drown. I’ve often been known to say: grief is the single strongest human emotion there is. It seems to be the one emotion we can’t run or hide from. It finds us, no matter where we go or what we do.