In this solo motivational talk, David Brimacombe—who has lived through seven concussions over two decades—exposes a common mistake in post‑concussion syndrome (PCS) recovery: waiting until you feel better before taking any action. He explains how that waiting reinforces a perception of danger in the nervous system, keeping the individual stuck. Brimacombe argues that recovery must begin immediately, even when symptoms are severe, by adopting a mindset of safety, hope, and belief in neuroplasticity. He advises identifying a strong "why"—often an external motivator such as family—to spark initial effort. The core strategy is to start with tiny, repeatable actions (e.g., gratitude notes, brief breathwork, grounding, better nutrition) that can be performed once a week or every two weeks, building consistency and a new identity. He cites emerging research that habit formation takes roughly 67 days, after which the behavior becomes part of one's self‑concept, making it harder to abandon. Brimacombe stresses that symptoms are not signs of failure but signals of healing, and that embracing them while maintaining agency empowers the individual. The talk concludes with a call to comment on a first small step, reinforcing community accountability.
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One of the biggest mistakes I made in my PCS recovery wasn't pushing too hard. It was waiting till I felt better before I started my recovery, and it kept me stuck for years. Hi and welcome to the PCS Resilience Collective. My name is David Brimacombe, and after 7 concussions over 20 years, I know a lot about getting stuck. I know even more about getting unstuck. Let's begin. One of the biggest misnomers in PCS recovery is that you need to feel good before you start adding layers to your recovery. You need to feel like you have the energy, the motivation before you start. If that's the case, then it's going to be a long time waiting. You're going to be sitting Waiting, hoping for that day to come. And guess what? It might never come. Every time you wait, every time you sit in that bed, you think about what you want to do, you envision what you can do, but you sit and wait instead. You're reinforcing the fragility, the danger that exists out there in the world. Again, this doesn't have to be a conscious thought. Subconsciously, your nervous system is Taking your cues that you're giving it and using that as how it determines what is safe and what is dangerous. By sitting constantly in a dark room with the lights off, without any sound, tells it, this is how I stay safe. Now, again, I know what you're going to say. You're thinking, come on, man, I feel terrible. I can hardly move. Why am I going to start my PCS recovery when I have having The most difficult time in just existing, in just getting up, going to the bathroom, eating enough. Well, I'm going to tell you something, that yes, it will be tough to start, but what you shouldn't be waiting for is a miracle of one day feeling like the heavens have opened and everything is now easy. Because that easy time, that easy feeling, okay, isn't going to come. You need to make the small actions, and those small actions create the momentum which allow you to do bigger actions over time. That is how we start our recovery. So as I mentioned, recovery happens after you start laying the groundwork. Now, this doesn't imply that we need to go from 0 to 100, that you need to do everything all at once. One thing a week or one thing every 2 weeks is all you need to do and start small. Here's what I would suggest. For me, the biggest hurdle to start was my mindset, was my belief, was the thought that this was even possible. If you don't have that, then you won't even move because again, it's so painful, it's so difficult, it's so hard. I got you. If you don't have the belief, the hope that there is another side, that there is possibility of your recovery, you won't start. And I get you there. So I want you to do a few things. To increase that hope and that belief in your recovery. The first thing you're going to do is remind yourself, is tell yourself that you are safe, you are supported, the brain is malleable, neuroplasticity is a real thing. Okay? Again, we used to think that neuroplasticity only applied to young kids, young healthy kids. No longer the case. Any and everyone can change and can rewire their mind. It is completely possible. So just like you were a perfectly functioning person before your concussion, you can revert back to that same space, that same person. It may take time, but it is possible. So understanding that, having that hope and that belief is your starting space because that's going to give you a little urge, a little push in the right direction. The second thing I would implore you to do About changing that mindset is give yourself a why. Why are you doing this? What is your motivation? The further you can extend this why from yourself, I think the better it is. Typically, we say don't be externally motivated, be internally motivated. In this case, I think you need to be externally motivated. For me, it was my kids. It was being Well enough so that I could become the best father I could possibly be. At the state I was in, I was probably one of the worst. Okay, so I was trying to get to a point where I was able to function, where I was, I was able to be with them, to help them, to support them, to be the person I wanted to be. It was them. So on those days where I didn't want to get up, I wasn't doing it for me. Okay, and again, I could sleep all day if it's just for me. But if it's for them to be a better person, to be a better parent, that is my motivator. I'm going to get up and I'm going to do it, okay? Because it's going to help them in the future, and that is my motivator. The other thing about starting small is it creates consistency. You create a new identity after you do something for a while. Now, new research is coming out that it takes about 67 days to Actually formulate and make that new habit stick. But even after a few weeks, you start to feel like a different person. You start to feel like, if I don't do that small, simple thing I've added to my routine— maybe it's putting a gratitude sticky on the mirror, maybe it's doing 5 sets of breathwork when you get up, or even just grounding your feet when you, when you wake up and say, today is going to be a great day— whatever it is, After you do that for a while, once you stop, you notice it because your new identity has been formed. You understand that this, whatever I'm doing, whatever this routine, this small steps that I'm making in order to become a better person, it's part of who I am. When it becomes part of who you are, to pull it out is as painful as it was to put it in. So start small. Start at a point where you know you can consistently do this. This structure creates safety. This safety allows you to expand yourself, okay, to do more in the future. But again, don't do more too soon. Doing more too soon is going to create danger, and that danger is going to slow you down. The biggest takeaway I want you to take from this video is that you don't need to feel better to start your recovery. You need to start today, right now, okay? And you can put in the comments below what you're going to do today To start your recovery. Now, again, it's going to be harder when you don't feel great, but what's going to feel even worse is if you continue along this path. I sat in my bed for weeks, for months, and just waited. I don't know what I was waiting for. It's a miracle, some magic PCS health fairy that was going to come and cure me with some magic pixie dust. I have no idea what I was waiting for at that time. I was completely ignorant, but I was also scared. I, I could feel my life kind of slipping from my hands, and I didn't know what to do. You get to the point where you get so far down that road that you're like, this isn't working, but I don't know where to start. And anytime I start, I feel worse. And maybe you will feel off for a few days, but again, the more you do something, you reinforce to your body that it is okay. Again, feel those symptoms. It is okay. Remind yourself, I— this is not a sign that I'm broken. It is part of my healing. That is going to increase the safety. You're not letting your symptoms dictate your life. You are living it on your terms. You are responsible and you are able to be part of your recovery. And that is the most empowering thing you'll ever feel when you start to understand that you have a say in this, in this world, in this, in your life. And go and live it. Okay? It is not easy. I got you. It is not easy. But it is possible. I went through this twice. I went through the deep troughs of my PCS recovery twice when I felt— even that second time, I had the experience of the first and I was just like, is this it? Am I ever going to feel better? But it started with me making small changes. A gratitude sticky. Simple breathwork, eating better, that layered up. You can do it too. I believe in you if no one else does. Thanks for watching.
