Dr. Brody Miller  00:00

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 get because they can't see what's going on inside your brain. They can't see the injury like they could if you got a big, bad cut, or, you know, you had shoulder surgery, but just know, like it's it is an isolating process, but isolation, um, there's a difference between, you know, isolation and solitude.

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  00:32

Welcome to Life after impact, the concussion recovery Podcast. I'm Dr Ayla Wolf, and I will be hosting today's episode where we help you navigate the often confusing, frustrating and overwhelming journey of concussion and brain injury recovery. This podcast is your go to resource for actionable information, whether you're dealing with a recent concussion, struggling with post concussion syndrome, or just feeling stuck in your healing process. In each episode, we dive deep into the symptoms, testing, treatments and neurological insights that can help you move forward with clarity and confidence. We bring you leading experts in the world of brain health, functional neurology and rehabilitation to share their wisdom and strategies. So if you're feeling lost, hopeless or like no one understands what you're going through. Know that you are not alone. This podcast can be your guide and partner in recovery, helping you build a better life after impact.

 

All right. Dr Brody Miller, welcome to the life after impact Podcast. I'm so excited to talk to you. You've got such a fascinating story. You are a best selling author. You're a researcher, a speaker, and you've developed a really amazing online community for people who have been struggling with traumatic brain injuries. You're doing so much for for that community. So thanks for being on the show, and I can't wait to hear your story.

 

Dr. Brody Miller  01:58

Thank you. It's awesome to be here.

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  02:03

Yeah, talk to me a little bit about how you got your traumatic brain injuries and kind of the different insights that you've had in hindsight, looking back in terms of how that affected your life, but then also how you were able to overcome that and get a PhD in neuroscience and get into all the amazing things you're doing now,

 

Dr. Brody Miller  02:23

sure, so I'm very open and transparent about this part of my life, because it it did put me where I am today. So I'm very grateful for that. But a long story short is I was at my hometown, Asheville, North Carolina. And I, at that time in 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 year dropout senior at that time, and kind of was directionless. And so I was doing all kinds of crazy stuff at that time, and I was outside of a nightclub one night. It's called sculleys. Scullys in Asheville. It's no longer there, and I decided to fight a bouncer. I was blackout drunk in the middle of the street. I don't like to be too graphic, but I have to tell it like it was that I got in a fight with a guy. He was about 350 pounds, about six five, and he knocked me out in the middle of street. And so unfortunately, News TV stations got a hold of the videotape. Somebody videotaped it, and more than over 100,000 people saw me really at my worst moment. It was like an insult to injury moment. So he knocked me out on my head, hit the pavement. I was unconscious for a good five to seven minutes before they got me moving. I went to the hospital that night, and I don't remember much. My memory was really poor at that time, and I just remember kind of sitting and in my dark room, very depressed, very guilty, very shameful.

 

My family had to go through all this with me, and a few years later, it actually got worse, because I developed a brain bleed. As you know, they call this a cavernous malformation. I It's basically, for the listeners, a benign brain tumor. And when it was leaking blood into the rest of my brain, and it was in the frontal lobe, because I had a seizure, they discovered that. And to make matters worse, I ended up having neurosurgery because they they said, This is going to fix it. We'll put you on seizure medications. You'll have, you'll will remove this little, tiny brain, brain tissue that's about the size of a cranberry. And your left frontal lobe, and you're gonna be seizure free. So I was like, hooray, you know, like, this is the fix. I'm gonna start feeling better. But no, I continue to have about three grand mal seizures a month. And when you have a grand mal seizure, you lose consciousness, you fall and I was experiencing more concussions, so that didn't really help things. I was on Keppra, I was on Depakote. I was on all kinds of antidepressants, antipsychotic medications. It was really rough because all the side effects, and I developed chronic neuropathy in both of my forearms.

 

So I was really ill, bad memory loss, my impulsiveness was worse than ever before it was, it was already pretty high my I, it was like I was a seven year old child in an adult's body who just could not stop blurting out words and couldn't stop himself from doing things and I didn't know why I thought, am I a bad person? Is kind of like I was in depression. I felt like I was a bad person or a bad human being. But here's where it gets awesome, and here's where the story completely turns around is. I was watching a YouTube video with Tom bill you from Impact Theory, and he was talking to Dr Joe Dispenza. And Dr Joe is talking about how we have all of these thoughts, and then these thoughts 60,000 to 70,000 thoughts, and most of them repeat on a day to day basis. But luckily, he introduced me to the idea that the brain can change, heal and adapt, which I call is it's neuroplasticity. That's the fancy way of saying it, or learning, or being able to rewire your brain. And that really blessed me with the gift of hope again. A

 

nd so things really didn't change overnight. But, you know, with time, with meditation, with affirmations, with visualization, with exercise, with nutrition, with all of these little, tiny, natural tips that you can do to rewire your brain. I started to get better. I started to feel better, and eventually I started, I learned how to learn um, which they don't really teach you in school. When you just think about it, it's two brain cells making new connections, essentially like friends. And so I became passionate about learning. I got into speed reading um. Eventually got back into school, and really kind of powered through in about seven years, going all the way from transferring my bachelor credits in to my masters to my doctorate, and then my PhD research, which I did on TBI and how mindfulness Meditation can help people with TBI is heal their brains, and so it's been a long journey. And, you know, I recently became an author, and I just kind of, I'm amazed at how much change there's been. Sometimes change can be painful. It still is, but it's a beautiful process. At the end of the day,

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  08:19

yeah, are you still on all those medications? Or were you able to take some of those out? As you got better,

 

Dr. Brody Miller  08:26

I'm so fortunate to say I'm completely off of medications, and I'm now completely 100% seizure free.

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  08:35

Wow. because I know once people get put on things like Keppra, doctors really want to keep them on that for life. So was that a bit of a struggle for you? Or, you know what? What was the decision making in into in that piece of it, in terms of the seizures and the seizure medications.

 

Dr. Brody Miller  08:51

really, I felt that it exacerbated my symptoms. It didn't stop the seizure frequency at all, and it had these bad side effects Keppra. I was actually an alcohol and drug Recovery Center when I was on Keppra, and it it like infuriate. I got infuriated, like I turned into the Hulk, like when I was on that it had weird, weird side effects, and Depakote made me feel like sloggy and tired, and if it wasn't helping me in the first place, you know, I had to be like, Mama, I'm not taking this anymore, you know. And, yeah, and luckily, I got off of it. And does it? Does medication have its time in its place? 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 can be very detrimental, and actually, you know, hurt the nervous system in the brain.

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  09:58

Yeah. I mean, that was a one of the reasons why I wanted to write my book was to also present people with non pharmaceutical options that are out there. Because a lot of times, you know, people's doctors aren't really talking about non pharmaceutical options. You know, I'm always surprised when you start to recognize that a lot of the pharmaceuticals, they don't even fully understand their mechanisms of action and and then it's like, they obviously come with their big, long list of side effects like you experienced. And it's like you said, there's certainly a place for them, there's a place and there's a time. And for some people, they're absolutely life changing. But when they're not working for you, then, yeah, time to look at other options.

 

Dr. Brody Miller  10:39

Yeah, totally. And, you know, we all seen those commercials like they'll be taught, the guy, the Doctor, will be talking, and then all of a sudden, is just this long list of side effects. It comes with that, seizures and all these things. And you're just like, Huh? I don't, I don't know if taking a medication is worth risking death,

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  11:00

right? But because there are people dancing in the street, you're supposed to pay more attention to them than the side effects.

 

Dr. Brody Miller  11:07

Yeah, yeah, for sure,

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  11:10

yeah. Seriously, wow. Well, that's awesome. You were able to get off of those meds. And, you know, I've heard from a number of people how who have had kind of, like, a lack of interest in school and in learning, and then once they really just get interested in a topic, then all of a sudden they find that joy in learning. And it sounds like you really did, like you found the thing that was very interesting for you, which was, how do I heal my own brain? And that allowed you to actually, like, put in the seven years of work, that's incredible.

 

Dr. Brody Miller  11:42

Yeah, yeah, I think that it showed me what my passion was. I didn't even know I my passion found me really is, is just the magnificence of what's actually going on in between. You know, our two years, I was just like, I I can learn about this endlessly, and it the things are changing every single day. The most magnificent piece of architecture in the entire universe, perhaps, you know right here in between our two years,

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  12:15

Yep, absolutely. Have you met Joe Dispenza in person?

 

Dr. Brody Miller  12:20

I, I've met him. We haven't had, like, a long conversation, but I have met him, and he seems he's an inspirational guy because of what happened with him and his spine, being able to regenerate that, and he's been able to influence so many people in a positive way. And I really respect that.

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  12:41

Yeah, I had downloaded one of his meditation apps once, and it was so funny, because every time I start listening to it, I start laughing, because it starts out with him being like, sit up straight. Okay, okay, here we go.

 

Dr. Brody Miller  12:56

Yeah, it's kind of like a drill sergeant in a way, exactly.

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  13:00

That's how it sounds, how it felt, yeah, yep, you wrote your book. Tell me a little bit about, you know, the process of writing that. Did you start writing it when you were still in school, or when you were working on your PhD? Did you think you would write a book? Or how did that develop?

 

Dr. Brody Miller  13:16

I always knew that while this wall was all transpiring, that I wanted to write a book I always knew. I just didn't know what it was going to be about. And I think Brain Injury Research and all of that chose me. It's really funny, because I finished my PhD, and then I really wanted to help people with stress it, but then, like, you know, things happen and they're like, why don't you do brain injuries, you know, why don't you focus on that? And I'm like, Well, you know, I don't know. Like, am I really passionate about that? But long story short, I ended up getting back into brain injury and concussion research. And the book, the book was hard to write, because you really have to sit down and be focused and really kind of make it digestible as possible. And that's really what I wanted to be. Was just a book for me at that stage in my life when I didn't really have that hope. And so everything that I wrote was just like to an old version of me who could have really have used that and the tools, and I tried to make it as digestible and relatable as I possibly could, kind of taking out the medical speak and and making it to where anybody that you know, a loved one, could use it. You know, somebody who's actually struggling with brain injury symptoms could use it or or just any somebody who wants to educate themselves more on the topic,

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  14:44

yeah, well, I think you accomplished that goal. It's very readable, and it totally reminded me of, like, probably, like, 15 years ago, there was a, I'm forgetting his name, but there was a guy who used to, like, he was like, writing, like the punk rock versions of Buddhism and. Yeah, and, like, making Buddhism really accessible from this, you know, like alt rock perspective. And I was like, reading your book, and I'm like, this is, like, the alt rock version of neuroscience right here?

 

Dr. Brody Miller  15:12

Yeah, absolutely. Like, I just tried, I tried to be as transparent as I possibly could. And, you know, I, unfortunately, I think doctors get the this kind of god complex sometimes. I don't know if it happens subconsciously or what, but you know, we're all human beings here, and when we all, you know, have feelings, emotions, doubts, you know, aspirations and goals. And you know, I just wanted it to be I just I talk about the brain, but I tried to write it from the heart. Basically.

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  15:48

Yeah, your book is called Brain rescue, a 90 day blueprint to reclaim your memory after a brain injury or concussion. Are you doing any consulting right now or outside of writing your book sounds like your goal was really to give people again, these, like, little digestible things that they can do on a daily basis to really try to improve brain function.

 

Dr. Brody Miller  16:09

Right now, I'm helping people in group settings as well as one on one, and I've worked with people all across the spectrum. You know, I've worked with boxers who have who are concerned with neuroprotection and the long term effects of combat sports on the brain all the way down to people with very, very severe cases like diffuse axonal injury, which is a tough, a tough one. And so really, my ultimate goal is to educate and then help them, give them the tools that they need, because I really think that the brain, and I know that you'll appreciate this analogy is it's kind of like a big house that got hit with a tornado, or got hit with a hurricane, or even multiple tornadoes. And so what do you need to do? You need to slowly rebuild that step by step. And you're going to need an architect, which is you, you're the CEO of your own life. You're going to need tools and supplies, and that's going to be the nutrition and the hydration and the supplements. But you're also going to need those dedicated workers, which I think are like the brain retraining exercises that we all can learn to rewire our brain. Does it happen in one night? You know, usually not. Takes time, energy and resources and and belief a plan is how I see things.

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  17:38

Yeah. I mean, I went into my doctorate program fully in the throes of post concussion syndrome, and I felt like it took me five times as long to, you know, do the work that I was assigned. But within, like the as the years passed, I could look back and say, like, Wow. I mean, what I'm doing now is 100 times easier than it was, you know, three years ago. And so I really feel like that speaks to the power of of learning new things. And like you said, you know, creating the new synapses and building those connections. And it might feel hard and challenging, but really forcing the brain to learn new information, I think, is one of the most powerful ways that we can help the brain to to work better. You know, I used to not have very good auditory like, I feel like my auditory learning was was weak compared to my kinesthetic learning. If you show me how to do something, I got it right. But if I have to listen to somebody explain something that wasn't very good. But then podcasting came around, and all of a sudden I was, like, listening to podcasts every day, and just by doing that, and then I'm one of those obnoxious people that's like, okay, so I was listening to this podcast and but what that was doing was, you know, my brain was learning new information from an auditory angle, and then remembering it, and then repeating it to somebody else. And by repeating it to somebody else, I was continuing to memorize it, right? And so I developed the ability to learn more using my auditory system as opposed to my kinesthetic and so it's it's like I can look back in hindsight and recognize how different learning strategies have helped me over time.

 

Dr. Brody Miller  19:25

That's so fascinating, because it's some of the things I'm so passionate about is like, Why? Why do we not treat the brain like the body? You know, if we go to the gym and we'll do our squats, we'll do our have leg day, you know, chest day, but why? Why, with the brain, did we, we suddenly think it's different to where? Okay, well, I'll listen to a podcast, and that's going to rewire a different section of the brain in a different functionality of the brain. Okay, I'm visual, the same thing, and it's like a full brain. Exercise. And I think it just makes sense that that gives better results.

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  20:05

Yeah, absolutely. What are some of your favorite exercises, as far as things that you do, it sounds like meditation is a big one.

 

Dr. Brody Miller  20:15

Yeah, I love meditation. And one of my favorites is just different styles of breathing. One of my favorites is nitric oxide breathing, which is just through the nose, because our nasal cavities have a very high concentration of nitric oxide. It's kind of obnoxious, but it's like, or they can you can call uh Ujjayi breathing is another, another one, which is like the Yogis have been doing centuries. It just kind of sounds like this, like, I mean, your dog will even do that. If you have a dog, he's always but it like, brings this inner heat in, like it strengthens, uh, neural pathways. It's boosting oxygen and blood flow, just like this simple thing, who would have thought breathing was good for you, right?

 

Speaker 1  21:07

Yeah, and all the different ways that you can breathe, and whether it's, you know, through your mouth or through your nose, or how long you hold it, how long you exhale, it's very powerful.

 

Dr. Brody Miller  21:17

It is. I think it's one of the fastest ways 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 we've been given,

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  21:30

right, that are free. Yeah, awesome. What else do you do on a daily basis, though, just to kind of keep your brain healthy? At this point,

 

Dr. Brody Miller  21:42

there's a lot of different things. I fell in love with juggling, and just because I heard how interest, it's helpful for so many different neural pathways, like communication between the left and right brain and and your motor functioning. And it's just a fun activity. I get relaxed, and I just start to juggle, and it's just a fun thing you can do. And course, exercise, of course, hydration and movement, weight, lifting and eating healthy. I also teach people these little, tiny finger movements that they can make. I call them Mind Gym exercises. And basically all, all you're doing is stimulating the motor cortex of your brain. And it looks, it looks, you know, easy, but really it's kind of hard, and it's just a simple trick you can do to activate neuroplasticity in your brain. And really, just also, kids love it too. It's a fun exercise that we all can do and just have fun with. So I think learning is also should be fun.

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  22:48

Yeah, I think I saw an Instagram video where you were doing you were making a triangle with one hand and a square with the other hand. And I was like, Oh my gosh, I cannot do that. I was like, I was trying to do it. I was like, oh, boy, I got to practice this one.

 

Dr. Brody Miller  23:04

Yeah, totally. It's a it's just all With practice, you can get better, like, literally anything under the sun, we, you know, with within some, you know, circumstances, because some people are going to love math and they're going to love, you know, logic and all of these things. Some people really aren't. So, I mean, really find the things that are good for you that you enjoy doing.

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  23:31

Yeah, absolutely you have to be have some kind of amount of interest in it. Otherwise it just feels you dread doing it, and then you won't do it. It's kind of same thing with actually, yeah. I mean, it's hard. As a clinician, you want to encourage people to exercise, and then you have those people who are like, I have zero interest in exercising, and it's like, well, that's going to make it really hard to but if it's like, if you can find something that allows you to move your body that you're interested in, yeah?

 

Dr. Brody Miller  23:59

Obviously, very movement, yeah, movement like we were made to move. We were made to move. And when you're stagnated and sitting at a desk and scrolling social media and eating fried chicken and, you know, bad foods and stuff like that, no wonder. You know, we weren't built for that. We were built to be out in nature and exploring and adventure and hunting for food and challenging ourself. So no wonder depression is, you know, really high these days.

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  24:32

Yeah, absolutely well, and you said you live in Colorado, so you've got access to some of the best outdoors around,

 

Dr. Brody Miller  24:43

yeah, yeah, I'm lucky for that. For sure, not everybody is so, so lucky to be but, but like, you know, do your best to your current situation. You know, like, even if you're in New York City or something, make sure that you're going to the park or make sure you take a. Drive on the weekends to get away from the city and stuff like that.

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  25:04

Yeah, yeah. I think being out in nature is so important, even from a visual perspective. Think people's whole physiology changes when they're able to kind of take in a scenery, and they're actually focusing on more of like divergence type eye movements. You know, they're not just staring at a computer screen, but they're actually looking off in the distance and seeing three dimensional and I'm very lucky. I live out in the country, and, like, right now, at nighttime in my backyard, the lightning bugs are all over and so it's like, you kind of like, see the lightning bugs in the grass and then the field, and then deep into the forest, and it's almost like, wow, like, you just have this crazy amount of depth perception that's being, like, illuminated with lightning bugs. I love it. That's awesome. Yeah, yeah,

 

Dr. Brody Miller  25:52

yeah. I love I grew up with lightning bugs, and where I'm from in North Carolina, and they're beautiful. You know, nature is beautiful, yeah,

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  26:00

and my dog likes to chase them. So awesome. So tell me about the classes that you have or the the communities. What, what does that structure look like?

 

Dr. Brody Miller  26:12

Yeah, I have the, what I call is the rebound recovery community, and we meet every Tuesday at 11am Eastern, Standard Time. And I just go over tiny steps, either from the rebound method or like an adjunct to that, something that they can add on to that, you know, just these tiny bite size lessons. We breathe together, we meditate, you know, we'll, we'll talk about things that are going on that are hard and things that we're overcoming, but ultimately, I just want to build an uplifting community where we all can pick one up and up, instead of putting each other down like we're uplifting and helping one other get up. And some of these people that I work with are, I mean, just some of the most amazing, resilient people I've ever met in my entire life. So that's a gift, yeah?

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  27:06

Incredible. And then you also have a podcast, or you said it's more of a YouTube channel, and you've been doing that for a couple of years,

 

Dr. Brody Miller  27:14

yeah? So you can find it. Dr Brody Miller, is my YouTube channel. Dr Brody Miller, but I also have the rebound your brain podcast on Spotify. I but I like I told you, I'm I need to get on that and transfer the audio files into into Spotify.

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  27:35

Gotcha, you need some technical assistance for you. Yeah, awesome, awesome. Well, I'll put all that in the show notes. Is there anything else that you wanted to talk about? I know that with the work that you do, that the emotional and the psychological effects of concussions and TBI are near and dear to your heart, and it sounds like with your community, you're really focusing on that piece of it.

 

Dr. Brody Miller  28:04

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 get because they can't see what's going on inside your brain. They can't see the injury like they could if you got a big, bad cut, or, you know, you had shoulder surgery, but just know, like it's, it is an isolating process, but isolation, um, there's a difference between, you know, isolation and solitude. And that really hit home for me recently is isolation is like feeling like, you know you're It's a brutal, painful feeling, but I think it actually gives the opportunity for solitude, which is coming back inside and getting in connection with your body, getting back in connection with your mind and your heartbeat. Solitude is like fine going into that in internal universe. You know of this amazing body that we've been gifted with and finding really who you are and digging deep. So I think that's something I just want people to know that may feel isolated, is it is an opportunity to to redirect your life and come back better and sharper than ever before.

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  29:22

Yeah, I think for me, you know, one of those life lessons was, rather than constantly trying to, like, look outside of myself, to figure out what am I missing, it was really more about recognizing, like, how do I become my own solar battery, right? Like, how do I just help to, like, recharge myself so that I'm this self sufficient whole being that doesn't feel like they have to constantly be, like, searching for something to make me whole. And that mind shift was so helpful in like, how do I just become my own solar battery? What do I need to do, you know, to just feel good in the moment? Yeah. Yeah.

 

Dr. Brody Miller  29:59

Yeah, absolutely, like, finding that peace and that presence now because it is there,

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  30:07

yeah, yeah, absolutely. And I know you had mentioned, when you were going through all this that you you didn't have good impulse control, and then you also kind of like, felt, am I a bad person because of that? And it's, I think one of the things that people do really struggle with is that understanding of when the frontal lobe is impacted by a concussion, well, all of a sudden, the part of the brain that inhibits your emotions isn't firing on all cylinders, and so now all of a sudden, your limbic system gets to be in control and in the driver's seat. And for some people, that's such a hard thing to even understand. And I think that that educational piece is so important, because once people do understand what's happening, well then they don't blame themselves, right? They're not kind of like turning that on themselves. But then also they can start to recognize, okay, well, if I start to actually work on the cognitive piece and kind of bring more energy and activity to the frontal lobe and strengthen that prefrontal cortex, well then it can start to do its job of inhibiting the limbic system and kind of, you know, rebalancing that whole, that whole connectivity.

 

Dr. Brody Miller  31:21

Yeah, exactly. And that was my quote, unquote, get out of jail free card. Was like, Oh, wow, is I'm not a bad person. This is just, this is a brain health issue. And not only that, it can change and get better than it ever was before, if, if you put the time and energy into facilitating

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  31:41

that? Yeah, absolutely. And do you spend a lot of time kind of helping people figure that piece out in terms of making that connection, and what kinds of kind of cognitive games and exercises they can do to just help bring more to that prefrontal cortex so that it can work better, and they feel more in control of their emotions. And do you see that working with the community that you have?

 

Dr. Brody Miller  32:08

Absolutely I think that that's one of the most empowering things that we can do, because the front as I knew that so well on such a deep level, because that's was my issue. So if I just teach people the same things that work for me? Um, it's, it's just replicable in to some extent that you just have to boost blood flow. It's all a game of blood flow and oxygenation. Imagine, you know, visualization, all these things that the frontal lobe is known for. And I mean, it improves your decision making, improves your focus, your concentration, is your inhibition, ability to inhibit behavior and stop so it's about what we do, but also the things that we stop doing in our lives that are so important.

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  32:53

Yeah, and I think having that self compassion piece is so important too. In terms of I hear people report to me that every time they forget something, or maybe they have a moment of where they just kind of aren't in control of their emotions, and they they yell at their kid or whatever, that they immediately start beating themselves up. And I, I or they say, Oh, well, that's my brain injury. So that's just another sign that I'm I'm still broken, I am not healing, and I think that for me, I had to really just stop that, stop that self talk. And so now the reality is I have 100,000 things happening in my life. I'm spread super thin. I work seven days a week, and so yes, I am forgetful, and I do make mistakes, but I don't use that as an opportunity to say, Oh, well, I 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 better systems in place. Maybe you need to not be spread so thin. But I use it more like I'm so much more compassionate than I used to be towards myself. I'm not saying, Oh well, I misplaced my wallet again because, oh look, I'm still, I'm still concussed. You know, it's like, I don't even use that language anymore, because I don't think it's helpful to beat myself up or to try to constantly have it serve as a reminder of the fact that I've had concussions. It's more of just a, okay, let's be nice to ourselves and figure out how to do it better the next time.

 

Dr. Brody Miller  34:31

Yeah, that's that's such a such a relevant and important point is like we talk to ourselves like we're our own worst enemies. We're so self critical. And you know you that is another thing that you can change and rewire your own self talk. And I always make this analogy, would you say those same thing persons to somebody out if you were in the middle of street? No, you wouldn't say those things that you're saying to yourself. So why do you say. To your best friend yourself, like, why would you do that? So? So know that that's those that icky voice in your mind. You can calm it down and you can change it. I mean, at first, just starts with being aware of what you're saying. If you need to journal out those negative things that you say, because they really can make or break your recovery.

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  35:20

Yeah. Somebody once said to me, they're like, Well, if you wouldn't say it to a five year old, you shouldn't say it to yourself. That was like, a really stark like, oh yeah. If I wouldn't talk to a five year old this way, then I shouldn't talk to myself that same way.

 

Dr. Brody Miller  35:35

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. That's another great way of thinking about that

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  35:39

for me too, I often pay attention with, with my patients, on trying to touch in with to that concept of, like, what is your self talk? You know, what are you telling yourself? And if people are beating themselves up all the time, I think it's important to know that and to address that for sure.

 

Dr. Brody Miller  35:58

Yeah, and I mean, it is an ongoing battle too, you know, like I still struggle sometimes with being too harsh on myself and too critical on myself. But I know it. I know now it's a journey that it's it's not, it's not a destination. I'm always, it's always going to be something that's there and something I constantly want to try to improve. And you know, listening to tapes has been very helpful for me. Like listening to they call them subconscious mind reprogramming tapes that you listen to. And believe it or not, it does change, like that inner voice,

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  36:34

yeah. Is there anything that I haven't asked you that you wanted to touch on today? Yeah,

 

Dr. Brody Miller  36:39

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, just because I I think that a lot of seizures are caused from this incoherent signal. Basically, I really equate it all down to, at least for me in my own seizure recovery was, is, is there's this electrical signal that happens that's disruptive, whether it's a brain leak or whether it's just miscommunication between the brain. And I just believe that if you continuously, quote, unquote, interrupt that signal, that that signal can change over time into something that's more coherent and peaceful. And so I just, I think my second book perhaps may be on seizure recovery and a natural way to do so, because it just is so devastating. I think everybody can relate to a panic attack is that's what a seizure feels like. Is like all your walls are closing in. It feels like this big sense of doom that all your walls are closing in and your body's about to take control. But just know, like a panic attack can be changed. Seizures can improve in the frequency and intensity, just like a panic attack in some ways.

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  38:06

How many years have you been seizure free at this point,

 

Dr. Brody Miller  38:10

going on a year and a half, and that's the longest it's ever been for me. So by far it it's a miracle to me, honestly.

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  38:20

And did you use CBD as part of that at all?

 

Dr. Brody Miller  38:26

I did. I did use CBD, and I think it was helpful, but I'd say the most impactful thing for me is a vagus nerve. Was a vagus nerve stimulator that I started to use about two years ago, and it's been, it's been incredibly helpful, because I was on that pathway to becoming seizure free. But it did just keep happening, and I think that was like the the tip of the iceberg that kind of helped me get past all

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  38:57

of it. Which one do you use? Uh,

 

Dr. Brody Miller  39:00

it's called the truevaga, T, R, U, V, A, G, A, I met the CEO of the company. His name is JP Erico, and just such a brilliant and and gifted guy and helpful guy, and I'm not affiliated with him. I just I've had such amazing results myself that I just want to shout it from the rooftop kind of thing.

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  39:24

Yeah? Amazing I do. And that is a transcutaneous one, like you hold it to your neck,

 

Dr. Brody Miller  39:32

yeah? So it's non invasive stimulation.

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  39:36

yeah, excellent. That's incredible. I love that they're coming out more with these non invasive, non non surgically implanted devices that people can try before just immediately jumping to some kind of invasive surgical device.

 

Dr. Brody Miller  39:52

Yeah, yeah, I'm all for that. I think that our body and our mind have the natural ability to heal, change, engage, adapt. Sometimes we just have to find the way of facilitating that and help helping that, helping it do what it what it was designed to

 

Dr. Ayla Wolf  40:08

do. Yeah, absolutely. Well, thanks so much for coming on the show. Totally, it was awesome to be here. Medical disclaimer, this video or podcast is for general informational purposes only, and does not constitute the practice of medicine or other professional health care 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, and consumers of this information should seek the advice of a medical professional for any and all health related issues. A link to our full medical disclaimer is available in the notes you.