I am a 44 year old woman who is divorced and has a 14 year old son. I'm a Kindergarten Reading Specialist. I have been a Reading Specialist in this distrcit for the last 18 years. I have taught grades K-12 ranging from teaching Greek and Latin word roots before my Traumatic Brain Injury to the alphabetic principle and early reading concepts. I am extremely greatful for my career and it was the root of how I knewhow to compensate and survive this trauma.

I was hit by a drunk driver in 2014 and had years of rehabiliatation including neurofeedback for one and a half years in order to continue to succedd in my career and health. I have overcome multiple traumas that followed this accident as well. I am a co-author with Peter Bedard in his upcoming book Cultivating Joy when Happiness is Work: A Guide to Healing Depression. The date is still to be announced. I am beyond excited about this opportunity that came to me. The way that this opportunity came to me will end up being a speaking point.

Keeping your stress at bay is vital (none of us are able to eliminate it completely because we are humans) to remain in the healthiest form physically possible. We want the best sleep and mental clarity. Low stress levels can lower your risk for health conditions such as heart disease, obesity, and high blood pressure. Keeping stress levels down will also help us remain in the happiest and best emotional state possible. We want a good overall level of happiness in our relationships. Stress can impact the relationship that you are in so keeping it at minimum is best for all involved. While healing from my Traumatic Brain Injury, PTSD and sleep were a key focus to regain mental clarity. Cortisol levels from the fight of flight response had to be carefully monitored for optimal health.

In the chapter that I wrote for the book I talk about Reiki healing which I started when I refused to accept that there may not be further healing while I desperately tried to get my life back. I dove deep into the world of energy healing. I happen to be a gifted Empath. I knew this from an early age. After my accident I did spiritual work and I have had a Shaman for 7.5 years now. I trained with her how to keep my energy clear and strong while also being protected. We did clearings of traumas and instilled gifts. She is also a person who suffered a traumatic brain injury and is certified in cranial sacral stillpoint. Homeopathy is another "outside of the box" way of healing. It took me 2-3 years to be able to stop taking the heavy hitting drugs prescribed for the level of pain and injury I suffered: Percocet, Flexeril, and Xanax were a few. I saw a homeopathic doctor named Glen Finely from the New Leaf in Kingston, NY and he gave me a specified regiment of natural supplements/vitamins to help me remain healthy and get rid of all those unwanted prescriptions.