In this informal, vehicle‑recorded video, David Brimacombe addresses individuals living with post‑concussion syndrome (PCS) and argues that waiting for a return to the pre‑injury life wastes a powerful opportunity for growth. He explains that the brain, though only 2 % of body mass, consumes 20 % of energy and relies on predictive pathways that reinforce habitual thoughts and behaviors. When a PCS sufferer dwells on past abilities and symptoms, they reinforce a negative neural pathway that hinders recovery. Brimacombe proposes adopting the mindset of an "architect" rather than a "builder": first establish a future‑oriented identity (the bedrock foundation), then systematically add lifestyle bricks—consistent sleep, anti‑inflammatory nutrition, positive mindset, and graded exercise—to strengthen that foundation. He contrasts this with a builder’s ad‑hoc approach of piling on supplements and therapies without a plan, which can exacerbate symptoms. To operationalize the shift, he introduces a simple T‑chart exercise: list old‑identity beliefs and actions on the left, new‑identity goals on the right, then daily visualize destroying the old list and affirming the new, leveraging the brain’s inability to distinguish vivid imagination from reality. He frames this as the first concrete step toward a structured recovery blueprint. Finally, he invites viewers to join the PCS Resilience Collective waitlist, a program designed to guide participants through mindset, stress, nutrition, sleep, and exercise changes. The video ends with encouragement and gratitude for viewers’ time.
Chapters
If you keep waiting for your old life to return to the way that it was prior to your concussion, you might be missing a huge opportunity to become stronger. Hi, my name is David Brimacombe, and yes, I'm recording in a vehicle. Not ideal, but this thought came to me and I thought I found the need that I wanted to record this video right away when it was top of mind. So in this video, I want to go through why you need to become the architect In your recovery, to be— to get to the place that you know you can get to. Let's begin. Now let's start this off by saying there is no shame in grieving the past you, grieving the situation that has become your reality. You're stuck in a system, in a body that you never thought this would be the case. You are reminiscing on what life used to be like. What I used to be able to do, who I used to hang out with, what I used to be able to feel without feeling just symptomatic all the time. Now, this is perfectly fine for a small portion of your recovery, but if you start sitting and stewing in the past, there is no way to become that best version, that future self that we know that you can become. Now, understand that the brain is 2% of your body mass, but it takes 20% of your energy. Now, one of the things that it does to conserve energy is it uses a prediction, a prediction of what's to come. So your thoughts that you're thinking, your actions that you've been taking, those experiences that you've had are all telling your brain, this is the path that we're going to walk down. Now, if it feels this is the path that we're going to walk down, If you deviate, if you do something different, add a system, add a protocol, go to therapy, and you start to feel those symptoms come up, it doesn't mean that that is actually wrong for you or that it is breaking your brain. What it is telling you is that is deviating from the path that you've been taking. It is something unusual. You are changing how you behave, how you think. But in the moment, The brain perceives this as a threat. Now, the brain's main job is to keep you alive. It's not to optimize your well-being or improve your quality of life. It is to keep you breathing, and it uses that prediction method to determine what is safe and what is potentially dangerous. So if I'm constantly thinking about my recovery, thinking about who I was, thinking about the way that life used to It feels pretty good in the moment, but what it's doing is it's rehearsing that thought through the brain. It's digging that neural pathway even deeper and wider to the point where that is how it perceives you to be, not only in the now but also in the future. Here's the biggest catch though. There is a way to change this. In this video, okay, I want to go through why you need to change How you think about yourself and your identity, and what is one simple thing you can do right now after watching this video that will start that process. So if your thoughts are constantly rooted in the past, your actions, your beliefs will all follow suit. Now again, as I mentioned, it is okay to once in a while grieve the past. But to move forward, you need to look in the future. Using the analogy of the architect, now, if we are thinking about the past all the time, thinking about our current highly symptomatic state, we are building a foundation on marshy, on swampy land. Anytime you try to add other scaled routines and supplements and protocols, it is all going to fall apart. You do not have the strength and the foundation to withhold, withstand many new systems that you're going to add. Now, conversely, if you set that foundation on bedrock based on who you are going to become, it is, I am this person. Again, it is using the present positive. So it is saying that I am this person. You are reaffirming to yourself that This is where I'm walking towards, creating safety. And you are actually digging that neural pathway away from that negative previous identity, and you're starting a new path. Over time, the more times you think this, the more overgrown that old path becomes, and the more well-worn and easy to access that new identity is. With that new identity, you have new hope and new belief that that is where I'm going. And I am going to get there. The part of this that was so profound to me when I was sitting in my bed, lying in my bed, hardly able to get up because I didn't have the capacity, didn't have the will, the desire. I honestly didn't have the understanding that what I did in that moment would impact my recovery later on. Is your environment shapes your recovery. So, if we think of the first step is setting that foundation, Having that identity that is focusing on where you are going. I am someone who is recovered. I am someone who is able to add systems, protocols, routines. Once you've established that identity, you start to veer away from constantly thinking in the past. You're now thinking about your future self. Your next step is, again, in my opinion, the most profound thing that you'll find in this journey. The things that you do every day You have to eat, you have to sleep, you have to breathe, and you have to think. All those things can be done in one of two ways. Your previous way, eating whatever you want whenever you want, sleeping when you're tired. Okay, what about that mindset, that belief, thinking about those negative thoughts, stewing in the symptoms? All those things can go the opposite direction. It might seem trivial to think that there's no way improving sleep, food, mindset, increasing your exercise tolerance, all those things are actually going to impact my symptoms. My symptoms are based in the brain. That is wrong. Your symptoms started in the brain. They disrupted all the systems in your body that can be regulated by you through lifestyle modifications. Now, you have to sleep, but if you slept more consistently, In a tighter window? You would be better. You have to eat, but what if you started to eat anti-inflammatory foods? Foods that were more basic, more natural, and less— with less preservatives and less packaging? Guess what? You would improve. What if my mindset, every thought that started to steer me away from that positive future self, I stopped it and I went the other direction? Again, Simple fix. All those things will stack up. It's like adding a brick on a brick on a brick on that new foundation. So that foundation on bedrock now has bricks upon bricks upon bricks that are going to change your recovery for the better, for the forever. This is something that has changed my life post-post-concussion. I am a better person today. I am a healthier, I am a more intrinsically motivated, I am a more intuitive person. today than I was before my first concussion. The things that I learned on my journey have carried forward and have created a lasting impact on me because I started with the foundation as an architect— solid bedrock, looking at the future, building scalable lifestyle modifications. Yeah, here's the, the last part. This is the part that you need to focus on. You need to come up with a plan. Now, a good architect is going to have a blueprint, a plan that they go by. See, the difference between an architect and a builder— a builder is simply just going to take the tools that they have and try to build. They're not going to think, how could I do this the most efficient way, the most effective way? They're simply going to build. In the initial phases of my recovery, I was a builder. I would look for every supplement, every therapy, every technique, and I would try to use every one of them. It got to the point where I was becoming so symptomatic from overstressing my system, I could not move. I was like, what is going on? How can these things that are supposed to heal me make me worse? It's because I was simply building, building without a plan. Now, an architect is going to come up with the plan. So once I have that foundation and once I start scaling those small lifestyle goals, I then know the next step. Okay, the next step is now expanding, having longer durations of my protocols and my systems. But this is all based on having a plan, a sequence that you need to follow. I want to help you become the architect of your recovery. Down below is the waitlist for the PCS Resilience Collective that is founded on changing things in your life. that, that you have an influence over. Changing your mindset, changing how you view stress, changing how you eat, you sleep, increasing your exercise tolerance. All those things are part of that program. I want to be the guide that gets you from where you are to where you know you can get to. I'd love to do that. So again, down below is the waitlist. Please join. The last thing I want to talk about is one simple thing that you can do right now. I find that if I listen to a video, read a book, and I don't apply its teachings Right now, I lose the power to actually make the change. So the last thing you're going to do after you're done watching this video and subscribing and reviewing— I appreciate it— is you're going to go ahead and you're going to make a T-chart. You're going to get an old-school piece of paper. You're going to put a line right down the center and then a horizontal line up top. On one side, you're going to put old identity. On the other, it's going to say new. Your old identity is going to have all the actions, all the beliefs, all the things that you used to believe. That could be things in the moment that you're trying to get rid of, or things in the past. I believe that my brain is broken. I believe that I cannot be healed. I believe that I'm an anxious person, that I can't go outside, I can't go in public. Whatever it is, you're going to make an exhaustive list on that left side. On the right side, with your new identity, these are all the things that you want to have and you know you're going to get. So you're going to list that. I am a patient person. I am a healthy person. I am able to work without symptom provocation. I'm able to hang out with my friends. Da da da da. Everything on the right, on the left. Then what you're going to do every morning for the next week or two is you're going to go ahead and visualize that list. On the left side, I want you to think of either ripping that list off and just crumpling it up, throwing it out. Or putting big red X's through each of those items. Again, you're telling your system, this is gone, this is my old self. What is this doing? This is influencing the brain. Again, your brain cannot tell the difference between what is vividly imagined and what has actually happened. You are then going ahead and vividly imagining crossing and crumpling all those old identity characteristics. Your brain thinks that's what What's happening. It's slowly changing that thought pattern from what you're going to be doing to create that new identity is dangerous to making it safe. You then go ahead and you're going to go look at that new identity, circle, highlight, whatever it is. But I want you to have some emotional connection. Cheer yourself on, give yourself a high five, but think about all the positive thoughts and beliefs and sayings that you're going to attach to that new identity. Okay, do that for a few weeks. See how you feel. That is now starting your new foundation of your recovery. It is not simple, but it is something that you are going to be able to do. I believe in you because I did this myself. It was tough at the beginning, but I did it for a few weeks and it became routine. It became like something I look forward to every single day. Okay. Again, I appreciate you listening to the end. I know someone with PCS, energy and capacities are limited. It is a scarce thing, and I appreciate you listening to the end. I hope you have yourself a great day, and I hope you were able to glean something from this episode. Thank you very much. See you later.
