I still remember the first day I went to see my neuropsychologist. My husband drove, and I sat in the car with sunglasses and a cap, trying to shut everything out. I had become light-sensitive and needed to block out all the movements from the surroundings because I felt nauseous when a car passed us. All my normal filters were torn down, and the brain reacted to everything. It was quite extreme.
I think I emptied my neuropsychologist’s tissue box that day. Both because I was deeply unhappy and afraid of “what would become of me,” but also tears of relief – relief at being understood. My neuropsychologist Stine would prove to become one of the most important people on my journey back to life.
I remember that during one of our conversations, she drew an empty battery on the whiteboard. Story of my life. I was drained. I couldn’t understand how I could be so drained – I wasn’t doing anything. I was on sick leave, and my husband took care of everything at home. It was in my sessions with her, that I began to learn about red, yellow, and green activities and how much energy they take/give.
When you are where I was – in terms of battery power – the majority of the things I did had to be green activities. Because my battery was close to empty. Preferably no more than 1-2 red activities per week and very few yellow ones. Conversations with a psychologist, shopping, eye training, treatments, doctor visits, conversations with the municipality, conversations with acquaintances, and family gatherings are all examples of red activities. And the green ones are, for example, gentle meditative activities, a couple of restorative yoga exercises at home, a short walk, and light gardening. The yellow ones were the “in-between” activities, such as emptying a dishwasher.
Energy management and the use of the above helped me a lot. It helped me feel what charged my battery or what drained it. Remember to sense how many percentages are left in your brain battery. Be aware of what depletes the battery and what fills it up. Remember to take care of yourself.
