Ann G. Transcript

Hi, I’d like to introduce myself to this Concussion Box interview about my own personal experience with concussions.

So first of all, you should maybe know me as a human. I’m Ann Green, and I am really interesting enough a neurologic exercise physiologist. So, brain health and the optimizing of brain health has been something that has been a very important part of my life for a very long time and continues to be so and so with every concussion experience that I’ve had, because I’ve unfortunately had too many of them. I have learned an incredible amount more of work and ways of both being a person who’s a thriver, through minor traumatic brain injury, and living with persistent concussion syndrome, as well as treating people with that and supporting humans with that. So, clinically, it’s been really neat, because I’m living my work. Not meaning to, but I am. And from the very passionate, compassionate experiential side of everything, I am a person who can maybe better understand a little bit of what’s going on because of going through so many things.

So, I’m a former athlete. I still am an athlete in my heart and mind and body, but former competitive athlete for many years, and have had the opportunity to represent Canada. So some of my concussions came because of sport, some of my concussions came because of life.

And the most recent one is the one that I’ll talk to it was, by far, what I would consider to be the most devastating and life-changing. I still am in persistent concussion syndrome, with many symptoms still recognized in my being, and I’m not my symptoms. And I am not my concussion. I am who I am.

So, I’m a professor at university. And I own an integrative medicine space, where I utilize holistic concepts of very many different modes of support, to recognize, to become aware, to unlearn, and to step into our truth about how our healing is going. And that includes lots of wonderful things, from things like lymphatic work, to muscular assessment, to yoga therapy, to movement education, and breath work, as well as experiences in cold plunging and warmth. As well as understanding IV therapy, psychotherapy, and therapeutic exercise somatics. All of these things work together really well for what I do. And I’ve been able to and blessed even through persistent concussion syndrome, to be able to continue this with a great team of people around me.

I think one of the things that really leaves me with constancy throughout my concussion experiences, has been the construct of feeling quite alone, and that people don’t understand me or think that I’m different and not the same Ann. So it’s rude, I believe, to talk to a person as though as your symptoms start to be navigated more diligently or effectively for yourself, people start to say things like, “Oh, there’s the old Ann back!”

I would never want to remain without change. I think change is inevitable, and change is the actual consistency of our own growth and our manifestation of our best self and elevation of our highest frequencies. And so I would not want to remain the same human that I was five or six years ago, and my most devastating concussion was about six years ago. When approximately, from just five feet above my head, 200 pounds fell on top of me. And it left me unconscious for what we believe to be about 40 or 45 minutes. And it left me incapable of walking, speaking, and understanding my world for quite some time. Within about two months, I was more capable of constructing or making it look like I could keep a– carry on, carry on a conversation both in telecommunications and as well, just person-to-person, but what has never left is this underlying residual awareness that I definitely speak and think differently than other people. And I kind of have to tone myself so that other people can comprehend, or change how I would say something so it’s available for others to understand me. And that’s always a continued difficulty.

I think what also has happened is that my truth is very solid and strong, and I speak it well. I speak it softly and kindly, but I do speak it. And I encourage you to do that: to ask people to just listen a little bit more for you to be heard, even if it takes a little longer. And even if you repeat yourself. Find the ways of communication that work for you. Maybe it’s writing something out, maybe it’s making lists, maybe it is showing people a picture of what you mean, so that you can better comprehend in their eyesight, and then their mind-sight what it is that you’re referring to.

But I know that, you know, our brain is magnificent and constantly changing. And I’ve been a believer and a studier of neuroplasticity for almost my whole life. And I see just the magnificence of moving past this mediocre belief that you are where you are at. And that’s going to stay that way. That’s just not true. Every day, you’re going to change by, you know, minor percents to massive percents, like 30%, 40%, 50% a day. And I really believe that the consistency of effort, of seeing something new and fresh is a beautiful opportunity. Instead of unknown, it’s more of a thing of “Wow, look at what I get to learn.” So there is that opportunity of changing your own languaging from your own inside mindset, and moving forward.

I guess to conclude a little bit of my concussion stories that I know that for me, they’re kind of some pretty important essentials, and I’m a person who is very much a believer of infusing myself in nature. And in getting past some of the more difficult aspects at first of the capacities that were taken from me in the last concussion experience, I found myself immersing in nature, floating in water, taking in different lights at different times of the day, that made a very succulent change in my body to the very core, and really continued to bring me back to who I am.

So nature is my nature. And I wish for you the force of nature for your healing. And to everyday see the sunlight.
Look for it, even when it seems clouded. Every day, nourish yourself with great food, but also great people, and great positivity. Kindness is highest intelligence. Every day, make sure that you are fueled with a passion of deep rest. And deep sleep comes with that. So work diligently on excellent natural rituals for sleep and sleep-care. And then make sure that you’re also, you know, talking and around people that are part of that environment that control the greatness and the magnitude of your magnificence. And then I would love also for you to recognize not only daily sunlight and daily nourishment and daily nature and daily good environment of less toxicity is possible, but take that time for solitude, and quiet. And if you can’t journal yet, pen or pencil to paper, just checking off boxes of things that are important that another person helped you make a list might be a really great thing for you to see. And just opening your eyes to the magnificence of this very now.

So thanks for your time to listen to me today. I hope that I’ve provided some insight, some relief, a teeny tiny bit about my own story– which is my story– and obviously if you’d like to talk with me a little bit more, I’m available in many different capacities. One of the easiest ways to get a hold of me is through my Instagram account @shineologist.

I want to thank the Concussion Box for supporting my opportunity to share my story because I know that as we share, we care, and we see each other. And that is so important that you are seen.

I hear you. I appreciate you. And I see you.

Thank you for your time with me today.