I need a 'not thinking' cap!
My ADD is incredibly apparent with this concussion. Since my brain is on the go all the time and I hear 'voices' narrating my life all the time, it is almost impossible to completely shut it down. They say doing so is very important in the critical period of 24 - 48 hours after the injury but it took me almost that long to figure out how to turn the 'brain dial' down (off isn't possible!) Lying down in a dark room with an eye mask helped but I listen to voices to get to sleep (specifically BBC announcers) and so had to have some sound on in order to shut out the voices in my head (and the 'vibration' in my body, I felt like I was a snow-globe that had been shaken and things were floating around randomly inside me.)
So while I always knew sound was a major distraction for me (as well as smell, and the obvious sight), I didn't realize how bad until I started to react with symptoms while just sitting on the balcony, doing nothing but drinking tea. Noise cancelling headphones and dark glasses reverse the symptoms (dizziness and nausea) with sound being the biggest issue.
The first night I said to dh that I couldn't manage reading while the radio was on because it was 3 inputs and at most I could handle 2. He asked what were the three and I said reading (sight and sound) plus the radio. The voice in my head that I 'hear' while reading was a full input to me! So from the beginning, I need to make sure if I'm reading anything, I'm blocking out all other sound.
Last night I was excited because I was handling 3 inputs (mopping, listening to a podcast and brain composing the email I had to write so the voice in my head was 'on' as well as the voice on the podcast.) It didn't make me sick so I am getting better.
Anyway, today isn't particularly good and at the moment there is live, amplified, music downstairs coming up to distract me. Even with the headphones, I can just barely hear it. So will have to give up trying to do anything and just lie down and close my eyes. Too many inputs, too much stimulation.
I had a hard time getting to sleep and was up 2x in the night. On the other hand, I had no symptoms this morning. They came on after about an hour (just like yesterday.) I got dressed after ds came by (he's sleeping here) and was back to bed at 9:30 after flipping his laundry. Got up at 10:30 and did our ironing and his plus folded and put away his laundry.
Aside from that, and emptying the dish drainer, I've done nothing today. Should make my lunch now.
Oooh, the music has stopped. I knew it wouldn't like last long since it was live. Dh offered to go downstairs to ask them to stop but to be honest this is the best time and they are not being inconsiderate at all.