In this instructional video, David Brimacombe, a long‑time concussion survivor, explains that chronic post‑concussion syndrome (PCS) symptoms are often maintained by learned neural pathways in the brain rather than ongoing structural damage. He describes how repeated pain‑associated experiences create deep‑groove neural circuits ("neurons that fire together wire together") that make the brain expect pain in certain movements or environments. Brimacombe emphasizes that such learned pain is reversible through neuroplasticity. He outlines a step‑by‑step recovery framework: (1) educate yourself about brain‑based pain and the work of Dr. Fannistall; (2) reduce mental clutter by recognizing and reframing ruminative thoughts; (3) use morning and evening affirmations to re‑program subconscious loops; (4) acknowledge intrusive thoughts without blocking them and replace them with positive self‑statements; (5) engage in graded exposure—gradually confronting feared activities in small, controlled doses to rebuild safety associations. Throughout, he stresses empowerment, the importance of belief in one’s ability to change, and the long‑term payoff of consistent, small steps. The tone is empathetic, instructional, and motivational, aiming to give viewers practical tools to rewire their brain and alleviate chronic PCS symptoms.
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I want to say something that might sound invalidating. All those symptoms, all that pain, it's all in your brain. And that might actually be the best news you could possibly hear. Hi and welcome to the PCS Resilience Collective. My name is David Brimacombe, and after 20 years and 7 concussions, I learned a lot about where— what the origin of pain and symptoms actually is. In this video, I want to talk about how all that pain that you have, that chronic symptoms that you're feeling, might actually be originated in your brain, not in your body, and why this is actually the best news you could possibly hear. Let's begin. Now, I know how it feels for someone to tell you it's all in your brain, it's all in your head. It makes it seem imaginary. It makes it seem like you are exaggerating All of the things that we all know so true to be plaguing you, to be a hard part of that recovery. Okay, that's not what I'm trying to say. What I am trying to say is that, that neural pathways in your brain, okay, are causing a lot of the symptoms, a lot of the pain that you might be feeling. Now stick with me for a while. Trust me. Again, when I heard this at first, I thought that that's crazy talk. You know what? I am not a crazy person. It is not, not all in my head. But that's not what I'm saying here, okay? Your neural pathways have what's called learned association, okay? You learn a distinct pattern. If I move a certain way or go into a certain environment, I'm going to feel something. It's a symptom, good or bad, okay? I'm going to feel something. Now, over time, repetition causes the, the deep grooves of that neural pathway. Again, that certain movement pattern, that certain environment is going to cause that same response. Neurons that fire together wire together. If you continually do the same act and get the same response, your body thinks that's permanent. Your body thinks that's the way it's going to be for the rest of your life. Now, I am here to tell you something. That pain that you feel— maybe you have pain in your head, in your neck, in other parts of your body, symptoms that flare when you do certain activities— it doesn't mean that those activities are actually causing you harm, like it's causing a great distress to your body. What it could mean, and what it likely means, is that that neural pathway that has been created, that learned association in your brain that has been created Has made that connection. When I do this, I feel this, and that is permanent. Okay, now the best part about this is that you can change this. You have the power over your mind, okay, in order to create change in the situation. Now the best part about this concept is that learned pain is reversible. That's the best thing you need to understand. The advances in neuroplasticity over the last decade has been substantial. Okay, people are learning more by the day about how the brain can rewire, can change thought patterns, and can change how we sense our body and sense how it relates to certain environments and certain movement patterns. This is huge. Okay, because this allows your body to have a new— at the same sensation But have a new feeling associated with it. So again, walking downstairs, maybe that causes you pain, but okay, what if we can make an association where we take a few steps, we don't feel pain, we increase the safety in our body, and therefore we're starting to create a connection? The connection is no longer stairs equal pain. Stairs now equals safety. And over time and slowly adding in more stairs, more movement, more of that positive association, you can completely rewire that connection. Stairs will no longer trigger, automatically trigger that sensation, that pain, that feeling in your body. It takes time. Okay. Um, Dr. Fannistil, I've watched a lot of his videos and he talks a lot about how any Symptoms that last longer than 6 months are typically things that we can change, things in the brain, these neural pathways that we can rewire. We can relearn an association. Okay? And that is great news. For the longest time, someone says to me, it's all in your head. I know doctors told me that. I went to countless specialists. It's all in your head. I can prescribe you an antidepressant. I can prescribe you something for anxiety. But guess what? I felt like that was them coming at me saying it's all in your head means it's all made up. There's a mental issue. It is not the PCS. Now, I'm not here saying that those symptoms you feel aren't real and aren't debilitating. Trust me, there was weeks on end where I could not leave my bed. I felt like I could not function as a human. But if I only knew this earlier, if I only knew the connection, how the brain has power to elicit the signal that there is pain in other parts of our body even when there is actually no structural damage there. So knowing all this, what are we going to do to solve this? How are we going to correct this behavior, this mental block? Okay, let's start with the basics. Okay, first thing we need to know You need to educate yourself. Now, by watching a video like this, okay, you are starting the process, understanding the power of the brain. Okay. I would suggest watching Dr. Fannistall's work. He goes into great detail about this, the concept of your power over your mind. Okay. I would go in and I would watch enough where you're now Actually of the belief that this is possible, that guess what, I could actually make these changes in my life and see the positive outcomes. Okay, so that's step 1, educate yourself. Step 2, I want you to reduce the mental clutter. All those thoughts that are ruminating in your mind, reminding yourself, when I go down those stairs, when I go into that environment, it's going to be bad. I'm going to get the dizziness, the irritability, whatever comes, I'm going to— it's going to come. Now, again, when you tell yourself something, it actually has a better potential of coming true. So this can work for you or against you. In this case, if you're constantly ruminating on what has happened in the past and using the past as your determiner for what will happen indefinitely, okay, that is not a good thing. Okay? Again, if I go into that store, I'm going to feel sick within 5 minutes. I'm going to have to leave within 10 minutes. Okay? Guess what? Within 5 minutes, you're not going to feel great. You've convinced yourself of that reality. Okay? So the first thing to do is to change what's going on in your mind. Change that subconscious loop that plays. 95% of your thoughts are of the subconscious. Okay? They're constantly— it's like an elevator track playing in the background, convincing your body, convincing yourself of things that in most cases aren't even true. You don't even agree with them, but they're playing in your mind, that background chatter that's causing you to do things or feel certain ways that you normally wouldn't. Okay? So you're educating yourself and then changing that mental chatter. Now, how do you do that? Now, they found that the 2 times that you're most susceptible to changing and rewiring your subconscious is as soon as you get up and right before you go to bed. That's when you have the brainwaves that are most susceptible to taking that new information, that new concept of who you are as a person, and eventually having that change that loop in your mind. Okay? So you're going to say before you go to bed, when you wake up, these are just symptoms. They're not part of who I am. Just because I feel sore, just because I feel achy when I do these activities, it doesn't mean that I'm broken. My body isn't broken. My brain isn't broken. I just need to rewire it. You're convincing yourself of that. In the moment when those thoughts come in, acknowledge them. Don't try to block them, okay? We're not trying to block these thoughts out. They're natural. We're trying to acknowledge them but remind ourselves not everything that you think is truly how you feel is not true. So if a thought circulates in your mind, it doesn't mean it's correct. It doesn't mean it actually aligns with who you are. It's just a thought. So acknowledge that thought, but remind yourself, that is, that is not, that is not me. That is not who I am. Okay? And then insert something that's more positive, that's more telling of who you are and who you want to become. Okay? And the very last thing is just exposing yourself to these situations in small doses. Again, if I can last 10 minutes in a store right now, I'm going to go 70 to 80% of that capacity. And I'm going to work on that for a while. I'm going to go to the store for 7 or 8 minutes. I'm going to leave. It's again instilling that safety in the body. That association is now of one that I can control my symptoms. I am not inherently going to have a symptom outburst when I go in this situation. Okay, I am safe. And the safety that you're gonna feel in your body, in your nervous system, is going to eventually limit those signals that it sends, that danger that it sends when you do those activities. Okay, this is not a quick fix. Like everything I talk about on this channel, this is not a quick fix, but it is a fix that you can make. I always say that the most empowering thing I learned on my recovery journey— I have a say in my recovery. As soon as I figured that out, that was like a light bulb. I can change my mind. I can change the way I associate with situations. And guess what? I feel differently. I can see the world through a different light. And it's amazing how powerful that is. Okay. And again, I would suggest looking more. I will put the link in the description about Dr. He's got some great videos on this topic. I've learned a lot from him. And again, I appreciate you staying to the end. I appreciate the patience that you're showing by watching these videos. These will pay off, okay? These small steps that you're making by watching these videos are gonna pay off in the long run. Small steps now, big recovery later. You got this. Have yourself a great day.
