♥️♥️🧠 Love Love Brain

Living with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) has changed my life in ways I never imagined.

One of the biggest challenges is dealing with overwhelming emotions. 😔 Sometimes sadness, anxiety, frustration, or even too much excitement can overload my injured brain.

When that happens, I can experience derealization (sometimes called a non-epileptic seizure). Before I had my psychiatric service dog, I could suddenly collapse without warning.

💔 Since my brain injury, I’ve:
🦷 Broken three teeth from falls.
🤕 Collected more bruises than I can count.
🩼 Even worried I had torn my meniscus after a bad fall (thankfully, my MRI showed I hadn’t).

These episodes can be scary-and dangerous.

🐕❤️ That’s where my amazing service dog comes in.

He notices the smallest changes before I do. Whether it’s my body language, the tone of my voice, or my emotions, he steps in before everything becomes overwhelming.

His job is to interrupt the spiral, bring me back to the present, and help prevent a serious fall.

✨ He’s not just giving me comfort.
He’s performing a life-changing medical task.

❤️ The best part?

Recovery is happening.

Through cognitive rehabilitation, socializing, solving puzzles, and continually challenging my brain to learn new things, I’m slowly becoming more resilient. 🧩📚🌱

As I’ve healed, I’ve noticed I don’t need his help as often as I did in the beginning.

That gives me so much hope. 💗✨

🐾 He still goes everywhere with me because I never know when I might need him. Just knowing he’s by my side gives me the confidence to live my life instead of hiding from it.

🌸 My biggest dream is that one day…

He won’t have to work anymore.

One day, I hope he’ll simply get to be my dog instead of my service dog. ❤️🐶

Until then, I’m grateful every single day for his loyalty, his intuition, and the independence he helps give me.

❤️ Psychiatric service dogs truly can change lives.

📝 Note: Everyone’s brain injury is different. This is my personal experience and isn’t meant to replace medical advice. If you’re experiencing similar symptoms, please speak with your healthcare provider.