♥️♥️🧠 Love Love Brain

Brain injury can change so much.

🧠 Memory can change.

🧠 Thinking can change.

💭 Emotions can feel different.

🔋 Everyday tasks can suddenly take enormous energy.

🤝 Things we once did independently may now require support.

And sometimes, abilities we once took for granted are no longer available in the same way.

But there is another part of the brain injury story that does not get talked about enough.

✨ The gifts we discover along the way.

In this deeply personal conversation, Adeline and Dr. Eric talk openly about life after brain injury and what can happen when we begin looking at recovery through a different lens.

Not pretending that the losses don’t matter.

Not pretending that suffering is easy.

But asking a different question:

💗 What is still here?

🧠 When Your Brain Changes, Your Understanding of Yourself Can Change Too

One of the most powerful parts of this conversation is recognizing that brain injury can change how we understand ourselves.

Adeline talks about abilities she once had that became much more difficult after her injury.

She describes challenges with:

🧠 Short-term memory

🧠 Mental visualization

🧠 Calculations

🧠 Cooking

🧠 Remembering events

🧠 Managing everyday responsibilities

At the same time, she discovered that some abilities remained.

💗 She could still connect with people.

💗 She could still teach.

💗 She could still mentor.

💗 She could still make people laugh.

💗 She could still encourage others.

And she began to recognize that some of the things she once considered ordinary were actually gifts.

That realization can be incredibly important after brain injury.

Because recovery is not always about becoming exactly who you were before.

Sometimes recovery is about discovering:

🌱 Who am I now?

🔋 The Things We Used to Do Automatically

Many brain injury survivors understand this experience deeply.

People may see you successfully doing something and assume everything is fine.

But they don’t see how much work went into making that moment possible.

Before brain injury, you may have been able to:

📚 Remember information easily

🧮 Perform complicated calculations mentally

🍳 Cook without thinking about every individual step

💳 Manage bills automatically

📅 Keep track of appointments and schedules

🏠 Handle household responsibilities

💼 Work without needing frequent breaks

After brain injury, those same tasks can become much more complicated.

Something as simple as remembering whether you already added an ingredient can become a genuine challenge.

Something as ordinary as paying a bill may require checking and rechecking.

And sometimes, an ability can remain strong in one area while becoming much harder in another.

You might be able to do something incredibly complex while struggling with something that appears incredibly simple to someone else.

💗 That doesn’t make you lazy.

💗 It doesn’t make you unintelligent.

💗 And it doesn’t make you less valuable.

It means your brain may be working differently.

💗 You Can Lose an Ability Without Losing Your Gifts

This is one of the messages I hope survivors take away from this conversation.

Brain injury can take things from us.

But it does not take everything.

You may lose one ability and discover another.

You may need more time.

You may need different strategies.

You may need someone beside you.

You may need to write things down instead of keeping them in your head.

📝 You may need visual reminders.

😴 You may need rest.

🤝 You may need caregivers.

🧑‍⚕️ You may need therapy.

👥 You may need community.

Needing support does not erase your gifts.

In fact, sometimes accepting support is what allows those gifts to become visible again.

🤝 Why Peer Support Matters

Adeline also talks about the importance of being around people who understand brain injury.

There is something powerful about entering a room where you don’t have to explain every little thing.

You don’t have to explain:

😴 Why you’re tired.

😢 Why your emotions suddenly feel overwhelming.

🧠 Why remembering something can be difficult.

💬 Why communicating can sometimes feel exhausting.

👀 Why an invisible injury is still a real injury.

Someone else simply understands.

Peer support can create a different kind of empathy.

It can remind us:

💗 I’m not the only one.

And sometimes, that realization can be healing in itself.

🌿 Faith, Gratitude, and Finding a Greater Why

Another major theme throughout the conversation is spirituality.

Adeline and Dr. Eric talk about:

🙏 Faith

🙏 Prayer

🌱 Acceptance

💗 Gratitude

🤝 Generosity

✨ Purpose

💗 Finding meaning

There is an important distinction here.

Finding meaning does not mean saying that everything that happened was good.

It does not mean suffering should be minimized.

It does not mean trauma should be romanticized.

It means that, with time and support, we may begin asking:

What can I do with the life I have now?

For Adeline, part of that answer has been helping others.

📣 Sharing resources.

🤝 Mentoring other people with brain injuries.

📚 Teaching.

🙏 Volunteering.

💗 Creating Love Brain.

🌱 Using her own experiences to help someone else feel less alone.

That can become a meaningful part of recovery.

📖 Why Adeline Created Love Brain

The conversation also introduces Love Brain, Adeline’s workbook.

Rather than being a traditional novel, Love Brain combines parts of her story with prompts, reflections, and practical “love supports” for difficult moments.

One example discussed in the conversation is experiencing shaking or internal tremors.

Instead of immediately becoming frightened by the sensation, the workbook encourages the reader to pause and explore supportive strategies such as:

🌬️ Slow breathing

🛏️ Sitting or lying somewhere safe

🧣 Wrapping yourself in warmth

👀 Focusing on one object nearby

🎵 Listening to calming sounds

⏳ Giving your body time to settle

📝 Writing down your own strategies and observations

The goal is not to tell every survivor exactly what to do.

It is to create a safe place to:

Pause.

Reflect.

Notice.

Discover what helps you.

🌱 Your recovery is yours.

🧩 Your Brain May Work Differently, Not Wrongly

The conversation also explores something many survivors experience but may have difficulty explaining.

You can be highly capable in one area and struggle significantly in another.

You may remember something from years ago but forget what someone just told you.

You may understand complicated concepts but struggle to follow a simple recipe.

You may be able to teach, work, create, or play a game while needing help with everyday tasks.

You may have strong long-term memories while struggling with short-term memory.

You may need to write down a process that you once performed automatically.

🧠 This is not a contradiction.

Brain injury can change how different cognitive abilities work together.

And learning these differences can help us replace shame with understanding.

🌱 Recovery Is Not a Straight Line

This conversation reminds us that recovery can be complicated.

There can be progress. 📈

There can be setbacks. 🌧️

There can be grief. 💔

There can be unexpected laughter. 😂

There can be fear. 😟

There can be faith. 🙏

There can be moments when something that once seemed impossible suddenly becomes possible again. ✨

And there can also be moments when something remains difficult.

💗 Both can be true.

You can be grateful and frustrated.

Hopeful and exhausted.

Strong and vulnerable.

Independent and in need of help.

None of these things cancel each other out.

✨ Look for What Is Still Possible

Perhaps one of the most beautiful ideas in this conversation is the importance of looking for what remains.

Ask yourself:

💭 What can I still do?

💗 What brings me joy?

😂 What makes me laugh?

📚 What can I teach someone else?

🤝 What have I learned that might help another survivor?

🌱 What kind of person am I becoming?

✨ What gifts were always inside me?

🌻 What gifts are beginning to emerge because my life took an unexpected turn?

You don’t have to answer all of these questions today.

Sometimes recovery begins with just one.

What is still possible?

And then another:

What can I build from here?

🎙️ Listen to the Conversation

We invite you to watch this powerful conversation with Adeline and Dr. Eric as they speak openly about:

🧠 Brain injury

🌱 Recovery

💭 Cognitive changes

🙏 Spirituality and faith

💗 Emotional healing

🤝 Peer support

✨ Purpose

🌻 Gratitude

🕊️ Finding meaning

🌱 The unexpected gifts that can emerge along the way

📚 About Love Brain

Love Love Brain is Adeline’s workbook, created from her lived experience with brain injury.

It offers reflections, prompts, and practical “love supports” designed to help readers slow down, process difficult moments, and develop their own personal tools for navigating recovery.

It is a reminder that healing does not have to look perfect.

Sometimes healing looks like taking one breath.

One pause.

One small step.

One moment of asking for help.

And one moment of realizing:

💗 There is still so much of me here.

🎥 Watch the conversation on YouTube

If this conversation resonates with you, share it with a survivor, caregiver, family member, therapist, coach, or healthcare professional who may benefit from hearing these perspectives.

Sometimes the most healing thing we can hear is:

💗 “I understand. You’re not alone.”

Note: Every brain injury is different. These personal experiences are not medical advice or a substitute for professional care. If you have new or concerning symptoms, seek appropriate medical attention.