Follow us: hu Improving life after brain injury Need to talk? 0808 800 2244 Donate Home About brain injury Individuals Brain injury and me Blue Mundane Monday Mi... Share your story Share your story with us to help others affected by brain injury Blu Mundane Monday Mix by Glen Stephenson My music and mixing are both therapeutic and stimulating. Glen Stephenson sustained a severe brain injury when an aneurysm 'the size of a giant strawberry' burst, leading to a sub-arachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). Here, Glen describes how he has used music to help relax and challenge himself after brain injury - and you can listen to his Blu Mundane Monday Mix for Headway using the Mixcloud player. Can you outline your creative works? I've always been a creative person so it's not something new to me, but I'm definitely mixing a lot more since my injury as I find it both relaxing and stimulating. My injury hasn't affected my cognitive abilities except for fatigue management, but my fatigue is very manageable. My brain injury has affected me physically, I have no energy, which has been the hardest thing to accept. Prior to my SAH I was quite active, mountain biking and long dog walks, neither of which I am able to do anymore if I want to enjoy a decent quality of life. How does mixing music help you? Personally, for me, my music and mixing are both therapeutic and stimulating. I find it relaxing but at the same time challenging. Each track I play is different and it's fun creating different sounds from mixing two tracks together. If the opportunity were to ever present itself then I would like to take it further, as I am no longer able to work full time, due to not having the physical capabilities to do so. If you could give advice to others affected by brain injury, what would it be? The one piece of advice I'd like to pass onto others is to listen to your body, don't overdo it, you have changed, you're not the person you were prior to your injury, that's the hardest thing to accept. Rest is key, there's no point trying to push through it as your body will eventually crash. You'll know you've done too much as you'll be so fatigued, you're incapable of doing even the simplest tasks, trust me, I'm speaking from experience. Meditation really helps, just go onto YouTube, there are plenty of guided meditations on there if you're struggling to do it yourself. Take each day as it comes, for me personally, each day is a new adventure. But don't try to do too much on the days you do feel great, as you'll feel it afterwards. Boom/bust cycle. Back to stories index Fatigue For many people after brain injury, fatigue may feel like overwhelming tiredness, which makes them unable to complete normal activities of daily living. Find out more Music after brain injury In this special feature, we look at how Headway groups and branches across the country use music to improve the lives of brain injury survivors. Find out more Creative Expression: Lucy Pugh "Being told you’ll never be the same again is the hardest thing, I have many ways of dealing with my stress/ hurt and anger, one of them is doing some drawings!" Find out more Friends of Headway Individual membership Join/Renew Contact Us t: 0115 924 0800 e: enquiries@headway.org.uk Help us improve life after brain injury. Donate Improving life after brain injury 0808 800 2244 Call our free helpline 9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday. Or email helpline@headway.org.uk Join our online Community 27k Likes 25k Followers 3k Subscribers Privacy policy Cookies Terms & Conditions Accessibility Contact Us Resource centre Find a Headway Approved care providers Charity shops Fundraising comments, feedback and complaints Vacancies Join our mailing list Headway - the brain injury association is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (Charity no. 1025852) and the Office of the Scottish Regulator (Charity no. SC 039992). Headway is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England no. 2346893. © Copyright Headway 2021 - Site designed and developed by MEDIAmaker By clicking 'Accept All Cookies’ you agree to the storing of cookies on your device. This will help us to offer the best possible experience and develop more of the information you need. Accept All Cookies Cookies Settings