July 22, 2025 • 42 mins
Dr. Brody Miller, PhD, is a 2x best selling, author, researcher, speaker, and pioneer in brain health recovery. Having recovered from severe brain trauma, drug and epileptic seizures, he created a unique, and holistic approach, called the REBOUND method (TM) with his Mind Gym Starter Course. He focuses on helping high-level, heart led, athletes and leaders from all around the world overcome brain injuries so that they can get back to their life's mission.
The invisible nature of brain injuries creates a unique kind of suffering. When Dr. Brody Miller was knocked unconscious in a street fight, his life spiraled into seizures, medication side effects, and cognitive challenges that left him feeling broken and hopeless. But what followed was a remarkable transformation that defies conventional wisdom about brain injury recovery.
From the depths of this struggle emerged a profound journey of healing through neuroplasticity—the brain's ability to reorganize and form new neural connections. Dr. Miller takes us through his evolution from "seven-year dropout senior" to PhD neuroscientist specializing in traumatic brain injury recovery, now completely free from medications and seizures that once plagued his daily life.
This conversation unveils practical, accessible strategies anyone can implement to enhance brain function and recovery. From the surprising benefits of juggling to simple "mind gym" finger exercises that stimulate the motor cortex, Dr. Miller offers tools that cost nothing but yield profound results. His emphasis on breathwork—particularly nitric oxide breathing through the nose—reveals how something as fundamental as how we breathe can strengthen neural pathways and boost healing.
Dr. Brody:
Website: https://dr-bro.com
Dr. Brody's Mind Gym: https://dr-bro.com/mindgym2025
Podcast on Spotify: Rebound Your Brain Podcast ~ Dr. Brody Miller
Book: Brain Rescue: A 90 Day Blueprint to Reclaim Your Memory After a Brain Injury or Concussion
YouTube: @drbrodymiller
Instagram: @drbrodymiller
TikTok: @drbrodymiller
Get 20% off your first order of Puori protein with code LIFEAFTERIMPACT by following this link.
Dr. Wolf's book Concussion Breakthrough: Discover the Missing Pieces of Concussion Recovery is now available on Amazon!
What topics do you want to hear more about? What questions do you have? Email us at lifeafterimpact@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram @lifeafterimpact
Website: lifeafterimpact.com
Medical disclaimer: this video or podcast is for general informational purposes only, and does not constitute the practice of medicine or other professional healthcare services, including the giving of medical advice. No doctor patient relationship is formed. The use of this information and materials included is at the user's own risk. The content of this video or podcast is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice diagnosis or treatment. Consumers of this information should seek the advice of a medical professional for any and all health related issues.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Mm, hmm, I want to talk about, you know, isolation,
because it feels as you know,people just don't get it.
You know, people just don't getbecause they can't see what's
going on inside your brain.
They can't see the injury likethey could if you got a big, bad
cut or you know you hadshoulder surgery.
(00:21):
But just know like it's, it isan isolating process.
But isolation, there's adifference between, you know,
isolation and solitude.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Welcome to Life After Impact, the concussion recovery
podcast.
I'm Dr Ayla Wolfe and I'll behosting today's episode, where
we help you navigate the oftenconfusing, frustrating and
overwhelming journey ofconcussion and brain injury
recovery.
This podcast is your go-toresource for actionable
information, whether you'redealing with a recent concussion
(00:54):
, struggling withpost-concussion syndrome or just
feeling stuck in your healingprocess.
In each episode, we dive deepinto the symptoms, testing,
treatments and neurologicalinsights that can help you move
forward with clarity andconfidence.
We bring you leading experts inthe world of brain health,
functional neurology andrehabilitation to share their
(01:15):
wisdom and strategies.
So if you're feeling lost,hopeless or like no one
understands what you're goingthrough, know that you are not
alone.
This podcast can be your guideand partner in recovery, helping
you build a better life afterimpact.
All right, dr Brody Miller,welcome to the Life After Impact
(01:36):
podcast.
I'm so excited to talk to you.
You've got such a fascinatingstory.
You are a best-selling author,you're a researcher, a speaker,
and you've developed a reallyamazing online community for
people who have been strugglingwith traumatic brain injuries.
You're doing so much for thatcommunity.
So thanks for being on the showand I can't wait to hear your
(01:58):
story.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Thank you, it's awesome to be here.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Yeah, talk to me a little bit about how you got
your traumatic brain injuriesand kind of the different
insights that you've had inhindsight, looking back in terms
of how that affected your life,but then also how you were able
to overcome that and get a PhDin neuroscience and get into all
the amazing things you're doingnow get into all the amazing
(02:25):
things you're doing now.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Sure, so I'm very open and transparent about this
part of my life because it didput me where I am today.
So I'm very grateful for that.
But a long story short is, Iwas at my hometown, asheville,
north Carolina, and at that timein my life I was kind of a bit
of a train wreck, to be honest,and I was really into heavy into
drugs and alcohol.
I was actually a six yeardropout senior at that time and
(02:57):
kind of was directionless and soI was doing all kinds of crazy
stuff at that time and I wasoutside of a nightclub one night
it's called Scully's Scully'sin Asheville it's no longer
there and I decided to fight abouncer I was blackout drunk in
(03:18):
the middle of the street.
I don't like to be too graphic,but I have to tell it like it
was that um, I got in a fightwith a guy he was about 350
pounds, about six, five Um andand he knocked me out in the
middle of the street and so,unfortunately, um news TV
stations got ahold of thevideotape, somebody videotaped
(03:40):
it and, um, more than over ahundred thousand people saw me
really at my worst moment.
It was like an insult to injurymoment.
So he knocked me out, my head,hit the pavement.
I was unconscious for a goodfive to seven minutes before
they got me moving.
I went to the hospital thatnight and I don't remember much.
(04:03):
My memory was really poor atthat time and I just remember
kind of sitting and in my darkroom, very depressed, very
guilty, very shameful.
My family had to go through allthis with me and a few years
later it actually got worsebecause I developed a brain
(04:25):
bleed.
As you know, they call this acavernous malformation.
It's basically, for thelisteners, a benign brain tumor.
And when it was leaking bloodinto the rest of my brain and it
was in the frontal lobe becauseI had a seizure, they
discovered that.
They discovered that and, tomake matters worse, I ended up
(04:51):
having neurosurgery because theysaid this is going to fix it.
We'll put you on seizuremedications.
You'll have, you'll remove thislittle tiny brain tissue that's
about the size of a cranberryin your left frontal lobe and
you're going to be seizure free.
So I was like hooray, you know,like this is the and you're
going to be seizure free.
So I was like hooray, you know,like, this is the fix, I'm
going to start feeling better,but no, I continue to have about
three grand mal seizures amonth and when you have a grand
(05:13):
mal seizure you loseconsciousness, you fall and I
was experiencing moreconcussions.
So that didn't really helpthings.
Help things.
I was on Keppra, I was onDepakote, I was on all kinds of
antidepressants, antipsychoticmedications.
(05:36):
It was really rough because allthe side effects and I
developed chronic neuropathy inboth of my forearms.
So I was really ill, bad memoryloss.
My impulsiveness was worse thanever before.
It was already pretty high.
It was like I was aseven-year-old child in an
adult's body who just could notstop blurting out words and
(05:56):
couldn't stop himself from doingthings, and I didn't know why.
I thought am I a bad person?
It's kind of like I was indepression.
I felt like I I a bad person iskind of like I was in
depression.
I felt like I was a bad personor bad human being.
But here's where it getsawesome and here's where the
story completely turns around isI was watching a YouTube video
(06:18):
with Tom Bilyeu from ImpactTheory and he was talking to Dr
Joe Dispenza and Dr Joe istalking about how we have all of
these thoughts.
And then these thoughts, 60,000to 70,000 thoughts, and most of
them repeat on a day-to-daybasis.
But luckily he introduced me tothe idea that the brain can
(06:42):
change, heal and adapt, which Icall it's neuroplasticity the
fancy way of saying it orlearning, or being able to
rewire your brain, and thatreally blessed me with the gift
of hope again.
And so things really didn'tchange overnight, but with time,
with meditation, withaffirmations, with visualization
(07:05):
, with exercise, with nutrition,with all of these little tiny
natural tips that you can do torewire your brain, I started to
get better, I started to feelbetter and eventually I learned
how to learn, which they don'treally teach you in school.
(07:26):
When you just think about it,it's two brain cells making new
connections, essentially likefriends, and so I became
passionate about learning.
I got into speed reading, um,eventually got back into school
and really kind of poweredthrough in about seven years,
going all the way fromtransferring my bachelor credits
(07:48):
in to my master's, to mydoctorate and then my PhD
research, which I did on TBI andhow mindfulness meditation can
help people with TBIs heal theirbrains.
And so it's been a long journey.
And you know, I recently becamean author and I just kind of
(08:09):
I'm amazed at how much changethere's been.
Sometimes change can be painfulit still is but it's a
beautiful process at the end ofthe day.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Yeah, are you still on all those medications or were
you able to take some of thoseout as you got better?
Speaker 1 (08:26):
I'm so fortunate to say I'm completely off of
medications and I'm nowcompletely, 100 percent, seizure
free.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Wow, because I know once people get put on things
like Keppra, doctors really wantto keep them on that for life.
So was that?
Speaker 1 (08:51):
a bit of a struggle for you, or you know what.
What was the decision makinginto that piece of it in terms
of the seizures and the seizuremedications?
Really I felt that itexacerbated my symptoms.
It didn't stop the seizurefrequency at all and it had
these bad side effects, kepra Iwas actually an alcohol and drug
recovery center when I was onKeppra and it it like infuriate.
I got infuriated, like I turnedinto the Hulk, like when I was
(09:14):
on that.
It had weird, weird sideeffects and Depakote made me
feel like sloggy and tired andif it wasn't helping me in the
first place, you know, I had tobe like mama.
I'm not taking this anymore, youknow, and and luckily I got off
of it and does it?
Does medication have its timeand its place?
(09:36):
Yeah, but only, I would say,for two to 5% of the people
actually is.
Is it going to be helpful?
For the rest?
You know I'm very biased, but,but that's my perspective that
most, most medications um can bevery detrimental and actually,
you know, hurt the nervoussystem in the brain yeah, I mean
(09:59):
, that was um.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
one of the reasons why I wanted to write my book
was to also present people withnon-pharmaceutical options that
are out there, because a lot oftimes you know people's doctors
aren't really talking aboutnon-pharmaceutical options.
I'm always surprised when youstart to recognize that a lot of
pharmaceuticals they don't evenfully understand their
mechanisms of action.
And then it's like theyobviously come with their big,
(10:24):
long list of side effects, likeyou experienced.
And it's like you said there'scertainly a place for them.
There's a place and there's atime, and for some people
they're absolutely life changing.
But when they're not workingfor you, then, yeah, time to
look at other options.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Yeah, totally.
And you know, we all seen thosecommercials like they'll be
taught.
The guy, the doctor, will betalking and then all of a sudden
it's just this long list ofside effects.
It comes with that seizures andall these things, and you're
just like, huh, I don't.
I don't know if taking amedication is worth risking
death.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Right but because there are people dancing in the
street?
You're supposed to pay moreattention to them than the side
effects.
Yeah, yeah, for sure had kind oflike a lack of interest in
(11:26):
school and in learning and thenonce they really just get
interested in a topic, then allof a sudden they find that joy
in learning.
And it sounds like you reallydid, like you found the thing
that was very interesting foryou, which was how do I heal my
own brain, and that allowed youto actually like put in the
seven years of work.
That's incredible.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Yeah, yeah, I think that it showed me what my
passion was.
I didn't even know I.
My passion found me really isis just the magnificence of
what's actually going on inbetween, you know, our two years
.
I was just like I can learnabout this endlessly and it the
(12:05):
things are changing every singleday.
The most magnificent piece ofarchitecture in the entire
universe.
Perhaps you know right here, inbetween our two years.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Yeah, absolutely.
Have you met Joe Dispenza inperson.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
I've met him.
We haven't had like a longconversation, but I've met him.
Um, we, we haven't had like along conversation, but um, I, I
have met him and and he seems hehe's a, an inspirational guy
because of what happened withhim and his spine um being able
to regenerate that and he's beenable to influence so many
people in a positive way and Ireally respect that.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Yeah, I had downloaded one of his meditation
apps once and it was so funnybecause every time I'd start
listening to it I'd startlaughing, because it starts out
with him being like sit upstraight.
And it's like whoa, whoa okay,okay, here we go yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
It's kind of like a drill sergeant in a way, you
know.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Exactly that's how it felt.
Yeah, yep, you wrote your book.
Tell me a little bit about theprocess of writing that.
Did you start writing it whenyou were still in school or when
you were working on your PhD?
Did you think you would write abook, or how did that develop?
Speaker 1 (13:16):
I always knew that, while it was all transpiring
that I wanted to write a book, Ialways knew I just didn't know
what it was going to be aboutand I think brain injury,
research and all of that choseme.
It's really funny because Ifinished my PhD and then I
really wanted to help peoplewith stress.
But then, like you know, thingshappen and they're like, why
(13:40):
don't you do brain injuries, youknow, why don't you focus on
that?
And I'm like, well, I don'tknow, am I really passionate
about that?
But long story short, I ended upgetting back into brain injury
and concussion research and thebook was hard to write because
you really have to sit down andbe focused and really kind of
(14:05):
make it digestible as possible.
And that's really what I wantedit to be was just a book for me
at that stage in my life when Ididn't really have that hope,
and so everything that I wrotewas just like to an old version
of me who could really have usedthat and the tools, and I tried
to make it as digestible andrelatable as I possibly could,
(14:27):
kind of taking out the medicalspeak and making it to where
anybody a loved one could use itsomebody who's actually
struggling with brain injurysymptoms could use it, or just
somebody who wants to educatethemselves more on the topic.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
Yeah, well, I think you accomplished that goal.
It's very readable and ittotally reminded me of like,
probably like 15 years ago therewas a I'm forgetting his name,
but there was a guy who used tolike.
He was like writing like thepunk rock versions of Buddhism
and like making Buddhism reallyaccessible from this you know,
like alt rock perspective and Iwas like reading your book and
(15:07):
I'm like this is like the altrock version of neuroscience,
right here.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Yeah, absolutely Like I just tried.
I tried to be as transparent asI possibly could and you know,
I unfortunately I think doctorsget this kind of God complex
sometimes.
I don't know if it happenssubconsciously or what, but
we're all human beings here andwe all have feelings, emotions,
(15:36):
doubts, aspirations and goals.
And I just wanted it to be.
I talk about the brain, but Itried to write it from the heart
, basically.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
Yeah, your book is called Brain Rescue a 90 day
blueprint to reclaim your memoryafter a brain injury or
concussion.
Are you doing any consultingright now or outside of writing
your book?
It sounds like your goal wasreally to give people again
these like little digestiblethings that they can do on a
daily basis to really try toimprove brain function.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Right now I'm helping people in group settings as
well as one-on-one, and I'veworked with people all across
the spectrum.
You know, I've worked withboxers who are concerned with
neuroprotection and thelong-term effects of combat
sports on the brain, all the waydown to people with very, very
(16:32):
severe cases like diffuse axonalinjury, which is a tough, a
tough one, and so really, myultimate goal is to educate and
then help them, give them thetools that they need, cause I
really think that the brain andI know that you'll appreciate
this analogy is it's kind oflike a big house that got hit
(16:54):
with a tornado, or got hit witha hurricane or even multiple
tornadoes, and so what do youneed to do?
You need to slowly rebuild that, step by step, and you're going
to need an architect, which isyou.
You're the CEO of your own life.
You're going to need tools andsupplies, and that's going to be
the nutrition and the hydrationand the supplements.
But you're're going to needtools and supplies, and that's
going to be the nutrition andthe hydration and the
(17:15):
supplements, but you're alsogoing to need those dedicated
workers, which I think are likethe brain retraining exercises
that we all can learn to rewireour brain.
Does it happen in one night?
Usually not.
It takes time, energy andresources and belief not, it
takes time, energy and resourcesand belief.
A plan is how I see things.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Yeah, I mean, I went into my doctorate program fully
in the throes of post-concussionsyndrome and I felt like it
took me five times as long to dothe work that I was assigned.
But as the years passed, Icould look back and say like,
wow, I mean, what I'm doing nowis 100 times easier than it was,
you know, three years ago.
And so I really feel like thatspeaks to the power of of
(18:06):
learning new things and, likeyou said, you know, creating the
new synapses and building thoseconnections and it might feel
hard and challenging, but reallyforcing the brain to learn new
information, I think is one ofthe most powerful ways that we
can help the brain to to workbetter.
You know, I used to not havevery good auditory like.
(18:28):
I feel like my auditory learningwas was weak compared to my
kinesthetic learning.
If you show me how to dosomething, I got it right, um,
but if I have to listen tosomebody explain something, that
wasn't very good.
But then podcasting came aroundand all of a sudden I was like
listening to podcasts every dayand just by doing that, and then
I'm one of those obnoxiouspeople that's like okay, so I
(18:51):
was listening to this podcastand then.
But what that was doing was,you know, my brain was learning
new information from an auditoryangle and then remembering it
and then repeating it tosomebody else.
And by repeating it to somebodyelse, I was continuing to
memorize it right, and so Ideveloped the ability to learn
(19:12):
more using my auditory system asopposed to my kinesthetic, and
so it's like I can look back inhindsight and recognize how
different learning strategieshave helped me over time.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
That's so fascinating because it's some of the things
I'm so passionate about is likewhy do we not treat the brain
like the body?
You know, if we go to the gymand we'll do our squats, we'll
do our have leg day, you knowchest day but why?
Why with the brain, did we?
We suddenly think it'sdifferent to where?
(19:46):
Okay, well, I'll listen to apodcast and that's going to
rewire a different section ofthe brain and a different
functionality of the brain.
Ok, I'm visual the same thingand it's like a full brain
exercise and I think it justmakes sense that that gives
better results.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
Yeah, absolutely.
What are some of your favoriteexercises?
As far as things that you do,it sounds like meditation is a
big one.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Yeah, I love meditation and one of my
favorites is just differentstyles of breathing.
One of my favorites is nitricoxide breathing, which is just
through the nose because ournasal cavities have a very high
concentration of nitric oxide.
It's kind of obnoxious, butit's like or or they can.
(20:38):
You can call a Ujjayi breathingis another, another one which
is like the yogis have beendoing centuries.
It just kind of sounds likethis, like I mean, your dog will
even do that If you have a dog,he's always going but it like
brings this inner heat and andlike it strengthens, uh, neural
(20:59):
pathways.
It's boosting oxygen and bloodflow, just like this simple
thing.
Who would have thoughtbreathing was good for you,
right?
Speaker 2 (21:07):
yeah, and all the different ways that you can
breathe and whether it's, youknow, through your mouth or
through your nose, or how longyou hold it, how long you exhale
it's, it's very powerful.
It is, I think it's you know,through your mouth or through
your nose, or how long you holdit, how long you exhale.
It's very powerful.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
It is.
I think it's one of the fastestways of like really changing
the brain and, you know,boosting neuroplasticity, the
breath holds and the you know,the inhalations, these simple
God given tools that we've beengiven.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Right, that are free.
Awesome.
What else do you do on a dailybasis just to kind of keep your
brain healthy at this point?
Speaker 1 (21:42):
There's a lot of different things.
I fell in love with jugglingJust because I heard how
interest it's helpful for somany different neural pathways,
like communication between theleft and right brain and your
motor functioning, and it's justa fun activity.
I get relaxed and I just startto juggle and it's just a fun
(22:04):
thing you can do.
And of course, exercise, ofcourse hydration and movement,
weightlifting and eating healthy.
I also teach people theselittle tiny finger movements
that they can make.
I call them mind gym exercisesand basically all you're doing
is stimulating the motor cortexof your brain and it looks.
(22:26):
It looks, you know, easy, butreally it's kind of hard and
it's just a simple trick you cando to activate neuroplasticity
in your brain and really justalso kids love it too.
It's a fun exercise that we allcan do and just have fun with.
So I think learning is alsoshould be fun.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Yeah, I think I saw an Instagram video where you
were doing you were making atriangle with one hand and a
square with the other hand and Iwas like, oh my gosh, I cannot
do that.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
I was like I was trying to do it.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
I was like, oh boy, I got to practice this one.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Yeah, totally it's.
Uh, it's just all.
With practice you can getbetter at like literally
anything under the sun you knowwith within some, you know
circumstances, because somepeople are going to love math
and they're going to love youknow logic and all of these
things.
Some people really aren't.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
So I mean, really find the things that are good
for you, that you enjoy doingyeah, absolutely, you have to be
, have some kind of amount ofinterest in it, otherwise it
just feels you dread doing itand then you won't do it.
It's kind of the same thingwith actually.
Yeah, I mean, it's hard as aclinician.
You want to encourage people toexercise and then you have
(23:45):
those people who are like I havezero interest in exercising and
it's like, well, that's goingto make it really hard.
But it's like if you can findsomething that allows you to
move your body, that you'reinterested in, yeah, obviously
very helpful.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Movement, yeah, movement, like we were made to
move.
We were made to move.
And when you're stagnated andsitting at a desk and scrolling
social media and eating friedchicken and and scrolling social
media and eating fried chickenand you know bad foods and stuff
like that, no wonder you knowwe weren't built for that.
We were built to be out innature and exploring and
(24:23):
adventure and hunting for foodand challenging ourself.
So no wonder depression is, youknow, really high these days.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Yeah, absolutely Well , and you said you live in
Colorado, so you've got accessto some of the best outdoors
around.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Yeah, yeah, I'm lucky for that, for sure.
Not everybody is so so lucky tobe, but but, like you know, do
your best to your currentsituation.
You know, like, even if you'rein New York City or something,
make sure that you're going tothe park or make sure you take a
drive on the weekends to getaway from the city, and stuff
like that.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
Yeah, yeah, I think being out in nature is so
important, Even from a visualperspective.
I think people's wholephysiology changes when they're
able to kind of take in ascenery and they're actually
focusing on more of likedivergence type eye movements.
You know they're not juststaring at a computer screen but
(25:25):
they're actually looking offthe distance and seeing
three-dimensional.
And I'm very lucky I live outin the country and, like right
now at nighttime in my backyard,the lightning bugs are all over
, and so it's like you kind oflike see the lightning bugs in
the country and like, right nowat nighttime in my backyard, the
lightning bugs are all over,and so it's like you kind of
like see the lightning bugs inthe grass and then the field and
then deep into the forest andit's almost like wow, like you
just have this crazy amount ofdepth perception that's being
(25:47):
like illuminated with lightningbugs.
I love it.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
Yeah, I love.
I grew up with lightning bugsand where I'm from in North
Carolina and they're, they'rebeautiful.
You know, nature is beautiful.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Yeah, and my dog likes to chase him, so, oh,
awesome.
So tell me about the classesthat you have or the, the
communities, what?
What does that structure looklike?
Speaker 1 (26:12):
Yeah, I have the what I call is the rebound recovery
community, and we meet everyTuesday at 11 am, eastern center
time, and I just go over tinysteps either from the rebound
method or, like an adjunct tothat, something that they can
add on to that.
You know, just these tiny,bite-sized lessons.
(26:35):
We breathe together, wemeditate.
You know we'll talk aboutthings that are going on, that
are hard and things that we'reovercoming, but ultimately, I
just want to build an upliftingcommunity where we all can pick
one up and up instead of puttingeach other down like we're
uplifting and helping one otherget up.
(26:56):
And some of these people that Iwork with are, I mean, just
some of the most amazingresilient people I've ever met
in my entire life.
So that's a gift.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Yeah, incredible.
And then you also have apodcast, or you said it's more
of a YouTube channel.
You've been doing that for acouple of years.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Yeah, so you can find it.
Dr Brody Miller is my YouTubechannel, dr Brody Miller, but I
also have the Rebound your Brainpodcast on Spotify.
But, like I told you, I need toget on that and transfer the
audio files into into Spotify.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
Gotcha, you need, you need some technical assistance.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
I'm going to do that for you, yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Awesome, awesome.
Well, I'll put all that in theshow notes.
Is there anything else that youwanted to talk about?
I know that, with the work thatyou do, that the emotional and
the psychological effects ofconcussions and TBI are near and
dear to your heart and itsounds like, with your community
, you're really focusing on thatpiece of it.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
I want to talk about, you know, isolation because it
feels as you know people justdon't get it.
You know people just don't getbecause they can't see what's
going on inside your brain.
They can't see the injury likethey could if you got a big, bad
cut or you know you hadshoulder surgery.
But just know like it's.
(28:27):
It is an isolating process.
But isolation there's adifference between you know and
solitude, and that really hithome for me recently is
isolation is like feeling likeyou know your.
It's a brutal, painful feeling,but I think it actually gives
the opportunity for solitude,which is coming back inside and
(28:51):
getting in connection with yourbody, getting back in connection
with your mind and yourheartbeat.
Solitude is like going intothat internal universe you know
of this amazing body that we'vebeen gifted with, and finding
really who you are and diggingdeep.
So I think that's something Ijust want people to know that
(29:12):
may feel isolated is it is anopportunity to redirect your
life and come back better andsharper than ever before.
I missing.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
It was really more about recognizing like how do I
become my own solar battery,right?
Like, how do I just help tolike recharge myself so that I'm
(29:43):
this self sufficient wholebeing that doesn't feel like
they have to constantly be likesearching for something to make
me whole?
And that mind shift was sohelpful in, like how do I just
become my own solar battery?
What do I need to do?
You know, to just feel good inthe moment.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely Like finding that
peace in that presence nowbecause it is there.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
And I know you had mentionedwhen you were going through all
this that you you didn't havegood impulse control.
You mentioned when you weregoing through all this that you
(30:31):
didn't have good impulse controland then you also kind of like
felt, am I a bad person becauseof that?
And it's, I think, one of thebrain that inhibits your
emotions isn't firing on allcylinders, and so now all of a
sudden your limbic system getsto be in control and in the
driver's seat, and for somepeople that's such a hard thing
to even understand.
And I think that thateducational piece is so
(30:51):
important, because once peopledo understand what's happening,
well then they don't blamethemselves, right, they're not
kind of like turning that onthemselves.
But then also they can start torecognize okay, well, if I
start to actually work on thecognitive piece and kind of
bring more energy and activityto the frontal lobe and
strengthen that prefrontalcortex, well then it can start
(31:13):
to do its job of inhibiting thelimbic system and kind of, you
know, rebalancing that whole,that whole connectivity.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
Yeah, exactly, and that was my quote.
Unquote get out of jail freecard was like oh wow, I'm not a
bad person.
This is just.
This is a brain health issue,and not only that.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
It can change and get better than it ever was before
If you put the time and energyinto facilitating that of making
(31:57):
that connection and what kindsof kind of cognitive games and
exercises they can do to justhelp bring more to that
prefrontal cortex so that it canwork better and they feel more
in control of their emotions.
And do you see that workingwith the community that you have
?
Speaker 1 (32:08):
Absolutely.
I think that that's one of themost empowering things that we
can do, because the front as Iknew that so well on such a deep
level, because that was myissue.
So if I just teach people thesame things that work for me,
it's just replicable to someextent, that you just have to
boost blood flow.
(32:28):
It's all a game of blood flowand oxygenation.
Imagine, you know,visualization, all these things
that the frontal lobe is knownfor, and I mean it improves your
decision making, improves yourfocus, your concentration, your
inhibition ability to inhibitbehavior and stop.
So it's about what we do, butalso the things that we stop
(32:51):
doing in our lives that are soimportant.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
Yeah, and I think having that self-compassion
piece is so important too interms of I hear people report to
me that every time they forgetsomething or maybe they have a
moment of where they just kindof aren't in control of their
emotions and they they yell attheir kid or whatever, that they
immediately start beatingthemselves up and I, I, or they
(33:16):
immediately start beatingthemselves up and I, I or they
say oh well, that's my braininjury, so that's just another
sign that I'm, I'm still broken.
Speaker 1 (33:23):
I am not healing.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
And I think that, um, for me, I had to really just
stop that, uh, stop thatself-talk.
And so now, uh, the reality isI have a hundred thousand things
happening in my life.
I'm spread super thin, I workseven days a week, and so now
the reality is I have 100,000things happening in my life.
I'm spread super thin, I workseven days a week, and so, yes,
I am forgetful and I do makemistakes, but I don't use that
(33:43):
as an opportunity to say, ohwell, my brain is injured, or I
don't use it even as an excuse,If anything.
It's more of a reminder of, hey, maybe you need to slow down,
Maybe you need to have bettersystems in place, Maybe you need
to not be spread so thin.
But I use it more.
I'm so much more compassionatethan I used to be towards myself
(34:04):
.
I'm not saying, oh well, I, I,I misplaced my wallet again
because, oh look, I'm still, I'mstill concussed.
You know, it's like I don'teven use that language anymore
because I don't think it'shelpful to beat myself up or to
try to constantly have it serveas a reminder of the fact that
I've had concussions.
It's more of just a okay, let'sbe nice to ourselves and figure
(34:27):
out how to do it better thenext time.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
Yeah, that's.
That's such a such a relevantand important point is like we
talk, talk to ourselves likewe're our own worst enemies.
We're so self.
No, you wouldn't say thosethings that you're saying to
yourself.
So why do you say them to yourbest friend yourself, like why
(35:03):
would you do that?
So know that.
That's those, that icky voicein your mind.
You can calm it down and youcan change it.
I mean, at first, just startswith being aware of what you're
saying.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
I mean, at first, just starts with being aware of
what you're saying.
If you need to journal outthose negative things that you
say, because they really canmake or break your recovery.
No-transcript, yeah, yeah,absolutely.
That's another great way ofthinking about that For me too.
(35:41):
I often pay attention with mypatients on trying to touch in
with to that concept of, like,what is your self-talk?
You know what are you tellingyourself?
And if people are beatingthemselves up all the time, I
think it's important to knowthat and to address that for
sure.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
Yeah, and I mean it is an ongoing battle too.
You know like I still strugglesometimes with being too harsh
on myself and too critical onmyself, but I know it, I know
now it's a journey, that it'sit's not, it's not a destination
.
It's always going to besomething that's there and
something I constantly want totry to improve.
(36:19):
And listening to tapes has beenvery helpful for me.
They call them subconsciousmind reprogramming tapes that
you listen to and, believe it ornot, it does change that inner
voice.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
Yeah.
Is there anything that Ihaven't asked you, that you
wanted to touch on today?
Speaker 1 (36:40):
Yeah, maybe we can really quickly like jump into
like epilepsy.
That's another passion of mine,like helping people.
I'd love to talk about it justbecause I think that a lot of
seizures are caused from thisincoherent signal.
Basically I really equate itall down to at least for me in
(37:05):
my own seizure recovery isthere's this electrical signal
that happens, that's disruptive,whether it's a brain leak or
whether it's justmiscommunication between the
brain.
And I just believe that if youcontinuously quote, unquote,
interrupt that signal, that it,that signal can change over time
(37:25):
into something that's morecoherent and peaceful.
And and so I, I just I think mysecond book perhaps may be on
seizure recovery and a naturalway to do so, because it just is
so devastating.
I think everybody can relate toa panic attack.
That's what a seizure feelslike.
It's like all your walls areclosing in.
(37:48):
It feels like this big sense ofdoom that all your walls are
closing in and your body's aboutto take control.
But just know like a panicattack can be changed.
Seizures can improve in thefrequency and intensity, just
like a panic attack in some ways.
Speaker 2 (38:06):
How many years have you been seizure free at this
point?
Speaker 1 (38:10):
Going on a year and a half and that's the longest
it's ever been for me, so by farit's a miracle to me, honestly.
Speaker 2 (38:21):
And did you use CBD as part of that at all?
Speaker 1 (38:37):
helpful, but I'd say the most impactful thing for me
is a Vegas nerve was a Vegasnerve stimulator that I started
to use about two years ago andit's been.
It's been incredibly helpfulbecause I was on that pathway of
becoming seizure free but itdid just keep happening and I
think that was like the tip ofthe iceberg that kind of helped
me get past all of it.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
Which one do you use?
Speaker 1 (39:00):
It's called the Truvaga T-R-U-V-A-G-A.
I met the CEO of the company,his name's JP Errico, and just
such a brilliant and gifted guyand helpful'm in helpful guy and
I'm not affiliated with them.
I just I've had such amazingresults myself that I just want
(39:22):
to shout it from the rooftop,kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
Yeah, amazing, I do, and that is a transcutaneous one
Like you.
Hold it to your neck.
Speaker 1 (39:32):
Yeah, so.
So it's non-invasivestipulation.
Speaker 2 (39:36):
Yeah, excellent, that's incredible.
I love that they're coming outmore with these non-invasive,
non-surgically implanted devicesthat people can try before just
immediately jumping to somekind of invasive surgical device
.
Speaker 1 (39:52):
Yeah, yeah, I'm, I'm all for that.
I think that our, our body andour mind have the natural
ability to heal, change andadapt.
Sometimes we just have to findthe way of facilitating that and
help helping that, helping itdo what it what it was designed
to do.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, thanks so much for comingon the show.
Totally, it was awesome to behere.
Speaker 1 (40:12):
Well, thanks so much for coming on the show.
Speaker 2 (40:12):
Totally, it was awesome to be here.
Medical disclaimer.
This video or podcast is forgeneral informational purposes
only and does not constitute thepractice of medicine or other
professional health careservices, including the giving
of medical advice.
No doctor-patient relationshipis formed.
(40:34):
The use of this information andmaterials included is at the
user's own risk.
The content of this video orpodcast is not intended to be a
substitute for medical advice,diagnosis or treatment, and
consumers of this informationshould seek the advice of a
medical professional for any andall health-related issues.
A link to our full medicaldisclaimer is available in the
(40:57):
notes.
Mm, hmm, I want to talk about, you know, isolation,
because it feels as you know,people just don't get it.
You know, people just don't getbecause they can't see what's
going on inside your brain.
They can't see the injury likethey could if you got a big, bad
cut or you know you hadshoulder surgery.
(00:21):
But just know like it's, it isan isolating process.
But isolation, there's adifference between, you know,
isolation and solitude.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Welcome to Life After Impact, the concussion recovery
podcast.
I'm Dr Ayla Wolfe and I'll behosting today's episode, where
we help you navigate the oftenconfusing, frustrating and
overwhelming journey ofconcussion and brain injury
recovery.
This podcast is your go-toresource for actionable
information, whether you'redealing with a recent concussion
(00:54):
, struggling withpost-concussion syndrome or just
feeling stuck in your healingprocess.
In each episode, we dive deepinto the symptoms, testing,
treatments and neurologicalinsights that can help you move
forward with clarity andconfidence.
We bring you leading experts inthe world of brain health,
functional neurology andrehabilitation to share their
(01:15):
wisdom and strategies.
So if you're feeling lost,hopeless or like no one
understands what you're goingthrough, know that you are not
alone.
This podcast can be your guideand partner in recovery, helping
you build a better life afterimpact.
All right, dr Brody Miller,welcome to the Life After Impact
(01:36):
podcast.
I'm so excited to talk to you.
You've got such a fascinatingstory.
You are a best-selling author,you're a researcher, a speaker,
and you've developed a reallyamazing online community for
people who have been strugglingwith traumatic brain injuries.
You're doing so much for thatcommunity.
So thanks for being on the showand I can't wait to hear your
(01:58):
story.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Thank you, it's awesome to be here.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Yeah, talk to me a little bit about how you got
your traumatic brain injuriesand kind of the different
insights that you've had inhindsight, looking back in terms
of how that affected your life,but then also how you were able
to overcome that and get a PhDin neuroscience and get into all
the amazing things you're doingnow get into all the amazing
(02:25):
things you're doing now.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Sure, so I'm very open and transparent about this
part of my life because it didput me where I am today.
So I'm very grateful for that.
But a long story short is, Iwas at my hometown, asheville,
north Carolina, and at that timein my life I was kind of a bit
of a train wreck, to be honest,and I was really into heavy into
drugs and alcohol.
I was actually a six yeardropout senior at that time and
(02:57):
kind of was directionless and soI was doing all kinds of crazy
stuff at that time and I wasoutside of a nightclub one night
it's called Scully's Scully'sin Asheville it's no longer
there and I decided to fight abouncer I was blackout drunk in
(03:18):
the middle of the street.
I don't like to be too graphic,but I have to tell it like it
was that um, I got in a fightwith a guy he was about 350
pounds, about six, five Um andand he knocked me out in the
middle of the street and so,unfortunately, um news TV
stations got ahold of thevideotape, somebody videotaped
(03:40):
it and, um, more than over ahundred thousand people saw me
really at my worst moment.
It was like an insult to injurymoment.
So he knocked me out, my head,hit the pavement.
I was unconscious for a goodfive to seven minutes before
they got me moving.
I went to the hospital thatnight and I don't remember much.
(04:03):
My memory was really poor atthat time and I just remember
kind of sitting and in my darkroom, very depressed, very
guilty, very shameful.
My family had to go through allthis with me and a few years
later it actually got worsebecause I developed a brain
(04:25):
bleed.
As you know, they call this acavernous malformation.
It's basically, for thelisteners, a benign brain tumor.
And when it was leaking bloodinto the rest of my brain and it
was in the frontal lobe becauseI had a seizure, they
discovered that.
They discovered that and, tomake matters worse, I ended up
(04:51):
having neurosurgery because theysaid this is going to fix it.
We'll put you on seizuremedications.
You'll have, you'll remove thislittle tiny brain tissue that's
about the size of a cranberryin your left frontal lobe and
you're going to be seizure free.
So I was like hooray, you know,like this is the and you're
going to be seizure free.
So I was like hooray, you know,like, this is the fix, I'm
going to start feeling better,but no, I continue to have about
three grand mal seizures amonth and when you have a grand
(05:13):
mal seizure you loseconsciousness, you fall and I
was experiencing moreconcussions.
So that didn't really helpthings.
Help things.
I was on Keppra, I was onDepakote, I was on all kinds of
antidepressants, antipsychoticmedications.
(05:36):
It was really rough because allthe side effects and I
developed chronic neuropathy inboth of my forearms.
So I was really ill, bad memoryloss.
My impulsiveness was worse thanever before.
It was already pretty high.
It was like I was aseven-year-old child in an
adult's body who just could notstop blurting out words and
(05:56):
couldn't stop himself from doingthings, and I didn't know why.
I thought am I a bad person?
It's kind of like I was indepression.
I felt like I I a bad person iskind of like I was in
depression.
I felt like I was a bad personor bad human being.
But here's where it getsawesome and here's where the
story completely turns around isI was watching a YouTube video
(06:18):
with Tom Bilyeu from ImpactTheory and he was talking to Dr
Joe Dispenza and Dr Joe istalking about how we have all of
these thoughts.
And then these thoughts, 60,000to 70,000 thoughts, and most of
them repeat on a day-to-daybasis.
But luckily he introduced me tothe idea that the brain can
(06:42):
change, heal and adapt, which Icall it's neuroplasticity the
fancy way of saying it orlearning, or being able to
rewire your brain, and thatreally blessed me with the gift
of hope again.
And so things really didn'tchange overnight, but with time,
with meditation, withaffirmations, with visualization
(07:05):
, with exercise, with nutrition,with all of these little tiny
natural tips that you can do torewire your brain, I started to
get better, I started to feelbetter and eventually I learned
how to learn, which they don'treally teach you in school.
(07:26):
When you just think about it,it's two brain cells making new
connections, essentially likefriends, and so I became
passionate about learning.
I got into speed reading, um,eventually got back into school
and really kind of poweredthrough in about seven years,
going all the way fromtransferring my bachelor credits
(07:48):
in to my master's, to mydoctorate and then my PhD
research, which I did on TBI andhow mindfulness meditation can
help people with TBIs heal theirbrains.
And so it's been a long journey.
And you know, I recently becamean author and I just kind of
(08:09):
I'm amazed at how much changethere's been.
Sometimes change can be painfulit still is but it's a
beautiful process at the end ofthe day.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Yeah, are you still on all those medications or were
you able to take some of thoseout as you got better?
Speaker 1 (08:26):
I'm so fortunate to say I'm completely off of
medications and I'm nowcompletely, 100 percent, seizure
free.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Wow, because I know once people get put on things
like Keppra, doctors really wantto keep them on that for life.
So was that?
Speaker 1 (08:51):
a bit of a struggle for you, or you know what.
What was the decision makinginto that piece of it in terms
of the seizures and the seizuremedications?
Really I felt that itexacerbated my symptoms.
It didn't stop the seizurefrequency at all and it had
these bad side effects, kepra Iwas actually an alcohol and drug
recovery center when I was onKeppra and it it like infuriate.
I got infuriated, like I turnedinto the Hulk, like when I was
(09:14):
on that.
It had weird, weird sideeffects and Depakote made me
feel like sloggy and tired andif it wasn't helping me in the
first place, you know, I had tobe like mama.
I'm not taking this anymore, youknow, and and luckily I got off
of it and does it?
Does medication have its timeand its place?
(09:36):
Yeah, but only, I would say,for two to 5% of the people
actually is.
Is it going to be helpful?
For the rest?
You know I'm very biased, but,but that's my perspective that
most, most medications um can bevery detrimental and actually,
you know, hurt the nervoussystem in the brain yeah, I mean
(09:59):
, that was um.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
one of the reasons why I wanted to write my book
was to also present people withnon-pharmaceutical options that
are out there, because a lot oftimes you know people's doctors
aren't really talking aboutnon-pharmaceutical options.
I'm always surprised when youstart to recognize that a lot of
pharmaceuticals they don't evenfully understand their
mechanisms of action.
And then it's like theyobviously come with their big,
(10:24):
long list of side effects, likeyou experienced.
And it's like you said there'scertainly a place for them.
There's a place and there's atime, and for some people
they're absolutely life changing.
But when they're not workingfor you, then, yeah, time to
look at other options.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Yeah, totally.
And you know, we all seen thosecommercials like they'll be
taught.
The guy, the doctor, will betalking and then all of a sudden
it's just this long list ofside effects.
It comes with that seizures andall these things, and you're
just like, huh, I don't.
I don't know if taking amedication is worth risking
death.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Right but because there are people dancing in the
street?
You're supposed to pay moreattention to them than the side
effects.
Yeah, yeah, for sure had kind oflike a lack of interest in
(11:26):
school and in learning and thenonce they really just get
interested in a topic, then allof a sudden they find that joy
in learning.
And it sounds like you reallydid, like you found the thing
that was very interesting foryou, which was how do I heal my
own brain, and that allowed youto actually like put in the
seven years of work.
That's incredible.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Yeah, yeah, I think that it showed me what my
passion was.
I didn't even know I.
My passion found me really isis just the magnificence of
what's actually going on inbetween, you know, our two years
.
I was just like I can learnabout this endlessly and it the
(12:05):
things are changing every singleday.
The most magnificent piece ofarchitecture in the entire
universe.
Perhaps you know right here, inbetween our two years.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Yeah, absolutely.
Have you met Joe Dispenza inperson.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
I've met him.
We haven't had like a longconversation, but I've met him.
Um, we, we haven't had like along conversation, but um, I, I
have met him and and he seems hehe's a, an inspirational guy
because of what happened withhim and his spine um being able
to regenerate that and he's beenable to influence so many
people in a positive way and Ireally respect that.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Yeah, I had downloaded one of his meditation
apps once and it was so funnybecause every time I'd start
listening to it I'd startlaughing, because it starts out
with him being like sit upstraight.
And it's like whoa, whoa okay,okay, here we go yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
It's kind of like a drill sergeant in a way, you
know.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Exactly that's how it felt.
Yeah, yep, you wrote your book.
Tell me a little bit about theprocess of writing that.
Did you start writing it whenyou were still in school or when
you were working on your PhD?
Did you think you would write abook, or how did that develop?
Speaker 1 (13:16):
I always knew that, while it was all transpiring
that I wanted to write a book, Ialways knew I just didn't know
what it was going to be aboutand I think brain injury,
research and all of that choseme.
It's really funny because Ifinished my PhD and then I
really wanted to help peoplewith stress.
But then, like you know, thingshappen and they're like, why
(13:40):
don't you do brain injuries, youknow, why don't you focus on
that?
And I'm like, well, I don'tknow, am I really passionate
about that?
But long story short, I ended upgetting back into brain injury
and concussion research and thebook was hard to write because
you really have to sit down andbe focused and really kind of
(14:05):
make it digestible as possible.
And that's really what I wantedit to be was just a book for me
at that stage in my life when Ididn't really have that hope,
and so everything that I wrotewas just like to an old version
of me who could really have usedthat and the tools, and I tried
to make it as digestible andrelatable as I possibly could,
(14:27):
kind of taking out the medicalspeak and making it to where
anybody a loved one could use itsomebody who's actually
struggling with brain injurysymptoms could use it, or just
somebody who wants to educatethemselves more on the topic.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
Yeah, well, I think you accomplished that goal.
It's very readable and ittotally reminded me of like,
probably like 15 years ago therewas a I'm forgetting his name,
but there was a guy who used tolike.
He was like writing like thepunk rock versions of Buddhism
and like making Buddhism reallyaccessible from this you know,
like alt rock perspective and Iwas like reading your book and
(15:07):
I'm like this is like the altrock version of neuroscience,
right here.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Yeah, absolutely Like I just tried.
I tried to be as transparent asI possibly could and you know,
I unfortunately I think doctorsget this kind of God complex
sometimes.
I don't know if it happenssubconsciously or what, but
we're all human beings here andwe all have feelings, emotions,
(15:36):
doubts, aspirations and goals.
And I just wanted it to be.
I talk about the brain, but Itried to write it from the heart
, basically.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
Yeah, your book is called Brain Rescue a 90 day
blueprint to reclaim your memoryafter a brain injury or
concussion.
Are you doing any consultingright now or outside of writing
your book?
It sounds like your goal wasreally to give people again
these like little digestiblethings that they can do on a
daily basis to really try toimprove brain function.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Right now I'm helping people in group settings as
well as one-on-one, and I'veworked with people all across
the spectrum.
You know, I've worked withboxers who are concerned with
neuroprotection and thelong-term effects of combat
sports on the brain, all the waydown to people with very, very
(16:32):
severe cases like diffuse axonalinjury, which is a tough, a
tough one, and so really, myultimate goal is to educate and
then help them, give them thetools that they need, cause I
really think that the brain andI know that you'll appreciate
this analogy is it's kind oflike a big house that got hit
(16:54):
with a tornado, or got hit witha hurricane or even multiple
tornadoes, and so what do youneed to do?
You need to slowly rebuild that, step by step, and you're going
to need an architect, which isyou.
You're the CEO of your own life.
You're going to need tools andsupplies, and that's going to be
the nutrition and the hydrationand the supplements.
But you're're going to needtools and supplies, and that's
going to be the nutrition andthe hydration and the
(17:15):
supplements, but you're alsogoing to need those dedicated
workers, which I think are likethe brain retraining exercises
that we all can learn to rewireour brain.
Does it happen in one night?
Usually not.
It takes time, energy andresources and belief not, it
takes time, energy and resourcesand belief.
A plan is how I see things.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Yeah, I mean, I went into my doctorate program fully
in the throes of post-concussionsyndrome and I felt like it
took me five times as long to dothe work that I was assigned.
But as the years passed, Icould look back and say like,
wow, I mean, what I'm doing nowis 100 times easier than it was,
you know, three years ago.
And so I really feel like thatspeaks to the power of of
(18:06):
learning new things and, likeyou said, you know, creating the
new synapses and building thoseconnections and it might feel
hard and challenging, but reallyforcing the brain to learn new
information, I think is one ofthe most powerful ways that we
can help the brain to to workbetter.
You know, I used to not havevery good auditory like.
(18:28):
I feel like my auditory learningwas was weak compared to my
kinesthetic learning.
If you show me how to dosomething, I got it right, um,
but if I have to listen tosomebody explain something, that
wasn't very good.
But then podcasting came aroundand all of a sudden I was like
listening to podcasts every dayand just by doing that, and then
I'm one of those obnoxiouspeople that's like okay, so I
(18:51):
was listening to this podcastand then.
But what that was doing was,you know, my brain was learning
new information from an auditoryangle and then remembering it
and then repeating it tosomebody else.
And by repeating it to somebodyelse, I was continuing to
memorize it right, and so Ideveloped the ability to learn
(19:12):
more using my auditory system asopposed to my kinesthetic, and
so it's like I can look back inhindsight and recognize how
different learning strategieshave helped me over time.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
That's so fascinating because it's some of the things
I'm so passionate about is likewhy do we not treat the brain
like the body?
You know, if we go to the gymand we'll do our squats, we'll
do our have leg day, you knowchest day but why?
Why with the brain, did we?
We suddenly think it'sdifferent to where?
(19:46):
Okay, well, I'll listen to apodcast and that's going to
rewire a different section ofthe brain and a different
functionality of the brain.
Ok, I'm visual the same thingand it's like a full brain
exercise and I think it justmakes sense that that gives
better results.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
Yeah, absolutely.
What are some of your favoriteexercises?
As far as things that you do,it sounds like meditation is a
big one.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Yeah, I love meditation and one of my
favorites is just differentstyles of breathing.
One of my favorites is nitricoxide breathing, which is just
through the nose because ournasal cavities have a very high
concentration of nitric oxide.
It's kind of obnoxious, butit's like or or they can.
(20:38):
You can call a Ujjayi breathingis another, another one which
is like the yogis have beendoing centuries.
It just kind of sounds likethis, like I mean, your dog will
even do that If you have a dog,he's always going but it like
brings this inner heat and andlike it strengthens, uh, neural
(20:59):
pathways.
It's boosting oxygen and bloodflow, just like this simple
thing.
Who would have thoughtbreathing was good for you,
right?
Speaker 2 (21:07):
yeah, and all the different ways that you can
breathe and whether it's, youknow, through your mouth or
through your nose, or how longyou hold it, how long you exhale
it's, it's very powerful.
It is, I think it's you know,through your mouth or through
your nose, or how long you holdit, how long you exhale.
It's very powerful.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
It is.
I think it's one of the fastestways of like really changing
the brain and, you know,boosting neuroplasticity, the
breath holds and the you know,the inhalations, these simple
God given tools that we've beengiven.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Right, that are free.
Awesome.
What else do you do on a dailybasis just to kind of keep your
brain healthy at this point?
Speaker 1 (21:42):
There's a lot of different things.
I fell in love with jugglingJust because I heard how
interest it's helpful for somany different neural pathways,
like communication between theleft and right brain and your
motor functioning, and it's justa fun activity.
I get relaxed and I just startto juggle and it's just a fun
(22:04):
thing you can do.
And of course, exercise, ofcourse hydration and movement,
weightlifting and eating healthy.
I also teach people theselittle tiny finger movements
that they can make.
I call them mind gym exercisesand basically all you're doing
is stimulating the motor cortexof your brain and it looks.
(22:26):
It looks, you know, easy, butreally it's kind of hard and
it's just a simple trick you cando to activate neuroplasticity
in your brain and really justalso kids love it too.
It's a fun exercise that we allcan do and just have fun with.
So I think learning is alsoshould be fun.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Yeah, I think I saw an Instagram video where you
were doing you were making atriangle with one hand and a
square with the other hand and Iwas like, oh my gosh, I cannot
do that.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
I was like I was trying to do it.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
I was like, oh boy, I got to practice this one.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Yeah, totally it's.
Uh, it's just all.
With practice you can getbetter at like literally
anything under the sun you knowwith within some, you know
circumstances, because somepeople are going to love math
and they're going to love youknow logic and all of these
things.
Some people really aren't.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
So I mean, really find the things that are good
for you, that you enjoy doingyeah, absolutely, you have to be
, have some kind of amount ofinterest in it, otherwise it
just feels you dread doing itand then you won't do it.
It's kind of the same thingwith actually.
Yeah, I mean, it's hard as aclinician.
You want to encourage people toexercise and then you have
(23:45):
those people who are like I havezero interest in exercising and
it's like, well, that's goingto make it really hard.
But it's like if you can findsomething that allows you to
move your body, that you'reinterested in, yeah, obviously
very helpful.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Movement, yeah, movement, like we were made to
move.
We were made to move.
And when you're stagnated andsitting at a desk and scrolling
social media and eating friedchicken and and scrolling social
media and eating fried chickenand you know bad foods and stuff
like that, no wonder you knowwe weren't built for that.
We were built to be out innature and exploring and
(24:23):
adventure and hunting for foodand challenging ourself.
So no wonder depression is, youknow, really high these days.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Yeah, absolutely Well , and you said you live in
Colorado, so you've got accessto some of the best outdoors
around.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Yeah, yeah, I'm lucky for that, for sure.
Not everybody is so so lucky tobe, but but, like you know, do
your best to your currentsituation.
You know, like, even if you'rein New York City or something,
make sure that you're going tothe park or make sure you take a
drive on the weekends to getaway from the city, and stuff
like that.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
Yeah, yeah, I think being out in nature is so
important, Even from a visualperspective.
I think people's wholephysiology changes when they're
able to kind of take in ascenery and they're actually
focusing on more of likedivergence type eye movements.
You know they're not juststaring at a computer screen but
(25:25):
they're actually looking offthe distance and seeing
three-dimensional.
And I'm very lucky I live outin the country and, like right
now at nighttime in my backyard,the lightning bugs are all over
, and so it's like you kind oflike see the lightning bugs in
the country and like, right nowat nighttime in my backyard, the
lightning bugs are all over,and so it's like you kind of
like see the lightning bugs inthe grass and then the field and
then deep into the forest andit's almost like wow, like you
just have this crazy amount ofdepth perception that's being
(25:47):
like illuminated with lightningbugs.
I love it.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
Yeah, I love.
I grew up with lightning bugsand where I'm from in North
Carolina and they're, they'rebeautiful.
You know, nature is beautiful.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Yeah, and my dog likes to chase him, so, oh,
awesome.
So tell me about the classesthat you have or the, the
communities, what?
What does that structure looklike?
Speaker 1 (26:12):
Yeah, I have the what I call is the rebound recovery
community, and we meet everyTuesday at 11 am, eastern center
time, and I just go over tinysteps either from the rebound
method or, like an adjunct tothat, something that they can
add on to that.
You know, just these tiny,bite-sized lessons.
(26:35):
We breathe together, wemeditate.
You know we'll talk aboutthings that are going on, that
are hard and things that we'reovercoming, but ultimately, I
just want to build an upliftingcommunity where we all can pick
one up and up instead of puttingeach other down like we're
uplifting and helping one otherget up.
(26:56):
And some of these people that Iwork with are, I mean, just
some of the most amazingresilient people I've ever met
in my entire life.
So that's a gift.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Yeah, incredible.
And then you also have apodcast, or you said it's more
of a YouTube channel.
You've been doing that for acouple of years.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Yeah, so you can find it.
Dr Brody Miller is my YouTubechannel, dr Brody Miller, but I
also have the Rebound your Brainpodcast on Spotify.
But, like I told you, I need toget on that and transfer the
audio files into into Spotify.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
Gotcha, you need, you need some technical assistance.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
I'm going to do that for you, yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Awesome, awesome.
Well, I'll put all that in theshow notes.
Is there anything else that youwanted to talk about?
I know that, with the work thatyou do, that the emotional and
the psychological effects ofconcussions and TBI are near and
dear to your heart and itsounds like, with your community
, you're really focusing on thatpiece of it.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
I want to talk about, you know, isolation because it
feels as you know people justdon't get it.
You know people just don't getbecause they can't see what's
going on inside your brain.
They can't see the injury likethey could if you got a big, bad
cut or you know you hadshoulder surgery.
But just know like it's.
(28:27):
It is an isolating process.
But isolation there's adifference between you know and
solitude, and that really hithome for me recently is
isolation is like feeling likeyou know your.
It's a brutal, painful feeling,but I think it actually gives
the opportunity for solitude,which is coming back inside and
(28:51):
getting in connection with yourbody, getting back in connection
with your mind and yourheartbeat.
Solitude is like going intothat internal universe you know
of this amazing body that we'vebeen gifted with, and finding
really who you are and diggingdeep.
So I think that's something Ijust want people to know that
(29:12):
may feel isolated is it is anopportunity to redirect your
life and come back better andsharper than ever before.
I missing.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
It was really more about recognizing like how do I
become my own solar battery,right?
Like, how do I just help tolike recharge myself so that I'm
(29:43):
this self sufficient wholebeing that doesn't feel like
they have to constantly be likesearching for something to make
me whole?
And that mind shift was sohelpful in, like how do I just
become my own solar battery?
What do I need to do?
You know, to just feel good inthe moment.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely Like finding that
peace in that presence nowbecause it is there.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
And I know you had mentionedwhen you were going through all
this that you you didn't havegood impulse control.
You mentioned when you weregoing through all this that you
(30:31):
didn't have good impulse controland then you also kind of like
felt, am I a bad person becauseof that?
And it's, I think, one of thebrain that inhibits your
emotions isn't firing on allcylinders, and so now all of a
sudden your limbic system getsto be in control and in the
driver's seat, and for somepeople that's such a hard thing
to even understand.
And I think that thateducational piece is so
(30:51):
important, because once peopledo understand what's happening,
well then they don't blamethemselves, right, they're not
kind of like turning that onthemselves.
But then also they can start torecognize okay, well, if I
start to actually work on thecognitive piece and kind of
bring more energy and activityto the frontal lobe and
strengthen that prefrontalcortex, well then it can start
(31:13):
to do its job of inhibiting thelimbic system and kind of, you
know, rebalancing that whole,that whole connectivity.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
Yeah, exactly, and that was my quote.
Unquote get out of jail freecard was like oh wow, I'm not a
bad person.
This is just.
This is a brain health issue,and not only that.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
It can change and get better than it ever was before
If you put the time and energyinto facilitating that of making
(31:57):
that connection and what kindsof kind of cognitive games and
exercises they can do to justhelp bring more to that
prefrontal cortex so that it canwork better and they feel more
in control of their emotions.
And do you see that workingwith the community that you have
?
Speaker 1 (32:08):
Absolutely.
I think that that's one of themost empowering things that we
can do, because the front as Iknew that so well on such a deep
level, because that was myissue.
So if I just teach people thesame things that work for me,
it's just replicable to someextent, that you just have to
boost blood flow.
(32:28):
It's all a game of blood flowand oxygenation.
Imagine, you know,visualization, all these things
that the frontal lobe is knownfor, and I mean it improves your
decision making, improves yourfocus, your concentration, your
inhibition ability to inhibitbehavior and stop.
So it's about what we do, butalso the things that we stop
(32:51):
doing in our lives that are soimportant.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
Yeah, and I think having that self-compassion
piece is so important too interms of I hear people report to
me that every time they forgetsomething or maybe they have a
moment of where they just kindof aren't in control of their
emotions and they they yell attheir kid or whatever, that they
immediately start beatingthemselves up and I, I, or they
(33:16):
immediately start beatingthemselves up and I, I or they
say oh well, that's my braininjury, so that's just another
sign that I'm, I'm still broken.
Speaker 1 (33:23):
I am not healing.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
And I think that, um, for me, I had to really just
stop that, uh, stop thatself-talk.
And so now, uh, the reality isI have a hundred thousand things
happening in my life.
I'm spread super thin, I workseven days a week, and so now
the reality is I have 100,000things happening in my life.
I'm spread super thin, I workseven days a week, and so, yes,
I am forgetful and I do makemistakes, but I don't use that
(33:43):
as an opportunity to say, ohwell, my brain is injured, or I
don't use it even as an excuse,If anything.
It's more of a reminder of, hey, maybe you need to slow down,
Maybe you need to have bettersystems in place, Maybe you need
to not be spread so thin.
But I use it more.
I'm so much more compassionatethan I used to be towards myself
(34:04):
.
I'm not saying, oh well, I, I,I misplaced my wallet again
because, oh look, I'm still, I'mstill concussed.
You know, it's like I don'teven use that language anymore
because I don't think it'shelpful to beat myself up or to
try to constantly have it serveas a reminder of the fact that
I've had concussions.
It's more of just a okay, let'sbe nice to ourselves and figure
(34:27):
out how to do it better thenext time.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
Yeah, that's.
That's such a such a relevantand important point is like we
talk, talk to ourselves likewe're our own worst enemies.
We're so self.
No, you wouldn't say thosethings that you're saying to
yourself.
So why do you say them to yourbest friend yourself, like why
(35:03):
would you do that?
So know that.
That's those, that icky voicein your mind.
You can calm it down and youcan change it.
I mean, at first, just startswith being aware of what you're
saying.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
I mean, at first, just starts with being aware of
what you're saying.
If you need to journal outthose negative things that you
say, because they really canmake or break your recovery.
No-transcript, yeah, yeah,absolutely.
That's another great way ofthinking about that For me too.
(35:41):
I often pay attention with mypatients on trying to touch in
with to that concept of, like,what is your self-talk?
You know what are you tellingyourself?
And if people are beatingthemselves up all the time, I
think it's important to knowthat and to address that for
sure.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
Yeah, and I mean it is an ongoing battle too.
You know like I still strugglesometimes with being too harsh
on myself and too critical onmyself, but I know it, I know
now it's a journey, that it'sit's not, it's not a destination
.
It's always going to besomething that's there and
something I constantly want totry to improve.
(36:19):
And listening to tapes has beenvery helpful for me.
They call them subconsciousmind reprogramming tapes that
you listen to and, believe it ornot, it does change that inner
voice.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
Yeah.
Is there anything that Ihaven't asked you, that you
wanted to touch on today?
Speaker 1 (36:40):
Yeah, maybe we can really quickly like jump into
like epilepsy.
That's another passion of mine,like helping people.
I'd love to talk about it justbecause I think that a lot of
seizures are caused from thisincoherent signal.
Basically I really equate itall down to at least for me in
(37:05):
my own seizure recovery isthere's this electrical signal
that happens, that's disruptive,whether it's a brain leak or
whether it's justmiscommunication between the
brain.
And I just believe that if youcontinuously quote, unquote,
interrupt that signal, that it,that signal can change over time
(37:25):
into something that's morecoherent and peaceful.
And and so I, I just I think mysecond book perhaps may be on
seizure recovery and a naturalway to do so, because it just is
so devastating.
I think everybody can relate toa panic attack.
That's what a seizure feelslike.
It's like all your walls areclosing in.
(37:48):
It feels like this big sense ofdoom that all your walls are
closing in and your body's aboutto take control.
But just know like a panicattack can be changed.
Seizures can improve in thefrequency and intensity, just
like a panic attack in some ways.
Speaker 2 (38:06):
How many years have you been seizure free at this
point?
Speaker 1 (38:10):
Going on a year and a half and that's the longest
it's ever been for me, so by farit's a miracle to me, honestly.
Speaker 2 (38:21):
And did you use CBD as part of that at all?
Speaker 1 (38:37):
helpful, but I'd say the most impactful thing for me
is a Vegas nerve was a Vegasnerve stimulator that I started
to use about two years ago andit's been.
It's been incredibly helpfulbecause I was on that pathway of
becoming seizure free but itdid just keep happening and I
think that was like the tip ofthe iceberg that kind of helped
me get past all of it.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
Which one do you use?
Speaker 1 (39:00):
It's called the Truvaga T-R-U-V-A-G-A.
I met the CEO of the company,his name's JP Errico, and just
such a brilliant and gifted guyand helpful'm in helpful guy and
I'm not affiliated with them.
I just I've had such amazingresults myself that I just want
(39:22):
to shout it from the rooftop,kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
Yeah, amazing, I do, and that is a transcutaneous one
Like you.
Hold it to your neck.
Speaker 1 (39:32):
Yeah, so.
So it's non-invasivestipulation.
Speaker 2 (39:36):
Yeah, excellent, that's incredible.
I love that they're coming outmore with these non-invasive,
non-surgically implanted devicesthat people can try before just
immediately jumping to somekind of invasive surgical device
.
Speaker 1 (39:52):
Yeah, yeah, I'm, I'm all for that.
I think that our, our body andour mind have the natural
ability to heal, change andadapt.
Sometimes we just have to findthe way of facilitating that and
help helping that, helping itdo what it what it was designed
to do.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, thanks so much for comingon the show.
Totally, it was awesome to behere.
Speaker 1 (40:12):
Well, thanks so much for coming on the show.
Speaker 2 (40:12):
Totally, it was awesome to be here.
Medical disclaimer.
This video or podcast is forgeneral informational purposes
only and does not constitute thepractice of medicine or other
professional health careservices, including the giving
of medical advice.
No doctor-patient relationshipis formed.
(40:34):
The use of this information andmaterials included is at the
user's own risk.
The content of this video orpodcast is not intended to be a
substitute for medical advice,diagnosis or treatment, and
consumers of this informationshould seek the advice of a
medical professional for any andall health-related issues.
A link to our full medicaldisclaimer is available in the
(40:57):
notes.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.