How to Unf**k Your Brain

uncover and explore who you are through creative writing prompts with the pursuit of Wonder guided Journal all the ways things could go the link is in the description it wasn't clear if Anastasia was going to make it her brain had been deprived of oxygen for almost 6 minutes if she hadn't been found by her roommate reached by the paramedics and rushed to the hospital and placed on life support when she had she would have certainly already been dead but now there was still hope Anastasia's mother Susan and her brother Tyler sat in the hospital room across from her comos body tubes and wires extended off her face arms and hands connected to life support machines on the other side Tyler anxiously scrolled on his phone Susan stared blankly at her daughter's face together they waited and hoped that Anastasia would wake up from her coma okay able to continue on in life and see everything through each minute that passed felt like a short lifetime the combination of dread and hope pulled time in both directions longing for things to go well and be over with and dreading things going poorly and not wanting to face the future together these feelings made it feel like time was almost standing still Susan watched as the second hand struggled on the clock on the wall tick tick a rustle Susan looked at the bed Anastasia's eyes were now open oh my God baby Susan cried out as she rushed over to the bed followed by Tyler Anastasia blinked uncomfortably Susan rushed out of the room and down the hallway she returned with a nurse who proceeded to check Anastasia's vitals run some tests and adjust various medical equipment a few moments later Anastasia's doctor entered the room Anastasia looked at everyone the same way confused and disconnected the doctor proceeded to run several more tests and evaluations which continued throughout the day in the several days that followed Anastasia was going to make it even more miraculous it appeared that she was likely going to make more or less a full recovery except one thing one thing appeared irreparably damaged her memory because she suffered significant brain damage due to respiratory depression or the slowing and shallowing of her breath according to the doctor Anastasia appeared to have developed a condition known as retrograde amnesia as a result of this at least for the foreseeable future Anastasia could no longer Access Memories prior to the incident however her regular language comprehension motor skills intellect ual capacity General temperament and ability to form new memories would likely remain normal and intact after several days in the ICU followed by the general Ward Anastasia was discharged from the hospital on the way home she stared out the backseat window of her mother's car Tyler sitting in the passenger seat as Susan drove Anastasia had moved out of her childhood home several years ago and now lived with three roommates in a fairly small apartment she hadn't spent much time with her family in a while she had spend much time doing much of anything in a while she worked in the service industry and her life was mostly comprised of working going out for drinks and sleeping for obvious reasons now she was going to spend the foreseeable future living at home with her mother and brother Tyler still being in college and living at home Anastasia hadn't spoken much since she awoke from the coma between all the tests evaluations and conversations with the doctor in combination with her memory impaired disorientation there hadn't been much of an opportunity for any sort of attempt at a normal conversation she still didn't even really remember her mother or brother not really she had a faint sense of who they were with a feeling of familiarity and Affinity toward them but she couldn't track the feelings to anything explicit it was as if she had forgotten about some of the most important people in her life like she forgot she was loved and cared so deeply about I still don't really understand Anastasia suddenly said matter ofly cutting through the silence in the car she continued looking out the backseat window at the passing trees what honey Susan quickly responded concerned what happened to me Susan quickly and nervously looked over at Tyler Tyler reciprocated a similar look only moving his eyes toward his mother with his head down and his mouth clenched you you um you took medications honey and it affected your brain it caused oxygen to stop no I get that part Anastasia quickly interrupted but why why what Susan responded reluctantly what were the medications for let's not worry about that right now honey let's just get you home okay okay Anastasia said continuing to watch the trees pass after they arrived home they directed Anastasia into her childhood bedroom they gave her some space and left her alone for a little while leaving the door open so they could hear her from the living room just slightly down the hall Anastasia lay on her bed looking around at all the walls window sills nightstands and bureaus scattered around the room were photos of Anastasia her friend friends and her family drawings posters of music artists movies and TV shows stuffed animals books Sports trophies and other General memorabilia she didn't recognize any of it she understood what they were as in she understood that they were objects from her past framings of special moments and people symbols of achievements statements of things she liked but none of it meant anything to her she didn't feel anything looking at them Tyler Anastasia called out down the hall Tyler stopped what he was doing and looked at his mother as if to say should I go or you she looked back at him as if to say it's okay I'm right here if you need anything Tyler returned to Anastasia's room hey what's going on he said in a tone similar to what he would use talking to a child can I ask you something Anastasia said of course what's up these photos and the stuff and everything they're all mine right Tyler looked around yeah this is all your stuff all this stuff you left behind at least you you have more at your apartment too Anastasia looked around again can you tell me about it sure what do you want to know is this the stuff that I like yeah it's some of the stuff you like at least from when you were a little younger I think you still like a lot of the same things though can you tell me about what I like sure um well I know you love music you always have headphones on you know like the most songs and artists out of anyone I've ever met you're like a human Shazam or something we could be at a store bar restaurant wherever and if someone is like hey anyone know what song this is you would know it do I have a favorite artist Anastasia interjected um probably MC Miller if I had to guess Tyler pointed at a poster on the wall that had an image of a man with a double exposure overlay effect in one layer the Man's eyes were closed in the other they were open at the top text read circles do you know what I like about it um probably how it makes you feel music can cut through the surface and expose those deeper feelings that most things can't Tyler looked back at the poster that album is really sad but it's beautiful I think it probably makes you feel connected with life and the artist like even if life feels sad it can still be beautiful hm Anastasia mumbled before pausing for a moment and continuing to scan around the room what's that one she said po pointing at another poster it was another portrait of a man with a double exposure effect True Detective Tyler replied it's one of your favorite TV shows you love TV shows what's it about it's like a detective show but super dark and like philosophical the main character is a nihilist or pessimist whichever when means he thinks life is mostly pointless and impossible but I think it sort of works out at the end of the show not to spoil it for you I guess you can kind of watch everything again without knowing what else Anastasia asked abruptly what else what what else do I like oh um a lot of stuff you love food you love going out to eat getting drinks do I have a favorite meal yeah a few Tyler replied with a humorous assuredness and a slight laugh pasta pizza burritos steak what do I like about them Anastasia responded eagerly H it's hard for me to say I mean I like them too so if I had to say for myself they almost make you feel warm comforted connected with the moment with life with the people that you share the meals with it's weird it's so simple it's just something you need to survive yet it can be so incredible and we can make it taste so good H Anastasia murmured with her eyes closed do I like anything else or is that it no you like more stuff drawing you love to draw Reading Writing sunsets the beach hanging out with your friends going shopping help for several more minutes Tyler continued describing to Anastasia all the various things that she liked that she had forgotten about he explained to her and at least in so far as he knew why she liked those particular things although the explicit memories did not return to Anastasia slowly but surely these little otherwise mundane and simple details began to paint a picture of her life for her with each new insight in detail Anastasia found herself falling more and more in love with the idea of her life the possibility ities of her life it was as if she was a child rediscovering the possibility of things so I have a great life Anastasia said with a somewhat confused tone Tyler hesitated and looked down yeah I think so life can be pretty shitty I know that as much as anyone but there's a lot to like life is made of those little things you like I think if you have a few friends good music entertainment a couple things you like to do I think that's a good life he looked back up at her everybody sees things differently though I suppose everything okay in here Susan suddenly said poking her head into Anastasia's room yeah Tyler said unconvincingly why don't you go grab some stuff from the car Tyler Susan said sure Tyler said leaving the room Susan looked at her daughter laying there confused Anastasia slowly looked up at her mother then she said why did I do what I did Susan's eyes began to tear up she wasn't sure if Anastasia had fully put all the pieces together yet though it seemed like by now she probably had I don't know honey but it's okay you're going to be okay it sounded like Susan was trying to convince herself as much as Anastasia am I doomed Anastasia asked my life sounds nice like there's a lot to like but if I didn't enjoy it before how will I enjoy it now Susan breathed in deeply she cleared a tear from her cheek honey anyone can start new in any moment the past is gone let it go you don't need it it doesn't need you don't try and replicate who you've been or what you've thought just for the sake of consistency become who you want to be and see the world how you see best fit you are not what has happened you are not what you've done and how you've seen things you are you right now for the first time and for the first time in every moment to come you can decorate your world in any way you want you could put the music on the TV on pile up all the best books invite all the best people order your favorite foods do the things that make you feel okay and you could choose to pay attention to these things as they work together to form a tapestry of your life simple little details can build into something beautiful you just have to look Susan paused for a moment she pointed behind Anastasia's bed at a large tapestry that hung from the wall Anastasia turned her head toward it she stood up on on her bed and put her face right up against it her nose nearly touching the fabric then she walked to the end of the bed and looked at it again from a few feet away then she smiled I see it she said thank you so much for watching one of the most important things we can do in life is pay attention to what we pay attention to we must understand ourselves and what makes our life feel meaningful and worthwhile this can of course be extremely difficult and unclear but with the right tools time and effort we can get a bit closer to some semblance of clarity about who we are and what we care about I created a guided Journal designed to help with this process called all the ways things could go it uses creative writing and drawing prompts that help you explore your subconscious mind and arrive at new and improved ways of thinking about life and yourself rather than starting with a blank page with this guided Journal you're given thought-provoking prompts designed to stir your creativity and coax out inner thoughts and feelings that might otherwise be hard to access for example on page five you're given the prompt write about how your day was today but how it would have been if you just recently lost one of your senses your choice which sense this is intended to challenge you to consider your experiences from a different condition in this case with the limitation on your perception almost tricking yourself into discovering the things you value paying attention to and realizing how incredible a simple sensory experience can truly be it gets you out of the way so you can better see what you care about it's available in both both hard cover and digital formats if you're interested the link is in the description below and of course as always thank you so much for watching in general and see you next video

Channel: Pursuit of Wonder

Views: 99,579

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Id: aiQgpy0lvUE

Length: 13min 44sec (824 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 03 2024