Having experienced many of the services the Victorian disability sector has to offer, it has given me a powerful insight and increased passion to give back to the field.
I will discuss what wellbeing means for a person with ABI, and the importance of maintaining good wellbeing throughout a recovery process.
For me, well being isn’t a switch that you can turn on at Friday night, or any time. You’ve got to work at it. There is no silver bullet when it comes to wellbeing.
Q. What kind of running shoes are made from banana skins?
A. Slippers
A. Slippers
I believe that exercise and smart eating provides benefits to physical and mental well-being, playing an important role to a person’s mood. I never thought I’d start thinking like this but exercise is a fairly central part of my life these days. For a number of years now, I have frequently visited the Melbourne City Baths. Going for a swim has become a routine of mine/And that can’t be a bad thing, I’m yet to regret a trip to the pool. I’ve never come out after a swim and thought to myself ’gee, i wish I had never had not done that’.I like to think of myself as being on a lifelong rehabilitation program. I don’t have a six pack, but who’s counting? Exercise doesn’t tire me out from doing other things during the day, if anything I feel like it gives me more time to do other things, like read the paper, work or drink coffee. It can compliment other commitments.
A message without using words or pictures . They say that music soothes the savage beast. In many ways, it is true because music serves a variety of things that taps into minds and bodies. Studies in the area of music therapy demonstrate that music can promote feelings of health and wellbeing.
Music can ‘set the scene’. Take soothing classical music, it gives a venue the right mood when you step into an elegant hotel or a fancy restaurant. Techno or Dance music can increase your heart rate and cause you to do things faster, you often hear it when people are working out, in a gym. Rock music has defined entire generations by well known acts like Jimmy Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, the Dandy Warhols, or Sonic Youth. They can fuel emotions and define generations.
Being involved with music has always been an important influence on my wellbeing- pre and post accident. Thinking of lyrics and having an outlet where I can express feelings through an instrument can work as a channel for your thoughts.
I have played guitar from age 15 and never had aspirations of taking my music past the bedroom door. Playing along to recordings to my favourite bands made good opportunities to slip away from the daily bump and grind of being a teenager. I’m not an exceptional guitarist. I could happily spend an entire day learning a song and my rendition would still need a lot of work come day’s end.
Like many teenagers, all the parties, hot chips and chatter, came with it an incredible sense of struggle! Just like a teenage drama, my teenage years came with much of the humour and crazy meltdowns you might have once seen on a teenage drama. Looking back I did enjoy my teenage years, and I can now appreciate the relative simplicity that my life led. I think it was the time I spent listening and playing music that shaped the person I am today. I’d keep healthily busy whilst embracing more quiet, reflective moments by playing an instrument. And this has been important to maintain since sustaining an ABI.
Just prior to my accident, I started becoming involved with a live band. I loved being involved in a band from all aspects, from helping to organise band rehearsals to playing gigs on a Friday night. Transporting heavy equipment up and down stair cases, i didn’t enjoy so much. But like anything, you must take the good with the not so good. You stay positive and try your best to move forward!
Playing music came to an abrupt halt in 2003 when I hit the ground after a fall in Japan. My life was turned upside down. I couldn’t perform music like the way I did before. It was important for me to appreciate music in other ways, like writing lyrics or poetry. Discovering alternative ways to value music was fun. I-pods weren’t as popular back in 2003, and my CD player became one of my best friends.
I continued an involvement with the band post accident, although I couldn’t perform. I’d go to gigs, and help out with promotional material where I could. I even wrote a song for the band. I participated in music therapy when I was in Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre, music therapy formed an important part of my rehabilitation. Leanne Ardossi, my ‘Slow to Recover’ case worker could see the enjoyment and benefit I got through music therapy and I was fortunate to receive funding for this to continue throughout my ‘in house’rehabilitation when i returned back to my family home. I worked on my own songs, and Leanne also pointed me in the right direction to start performing these to a live audience as part of the ‘Mental Health Music Network’ . Being involved in these gigs was a lot of fun, they still hold gigs at the St. Kilda Bowls Club. It was a good chance to meet new people and developed friendships. The friendships I made during this period are important to me, many people shared a live experience of brain injury, or faced equally challenging circumstances. Even if we didn’t explicitly talk about the issues we were dealing with, I valued our common understandings on many things .
As I progressed through my rehabilitation, with the aid of Music therapy, I saw the world with clearer lenses. My independence increased and I started practicing with the band again! It was one of my great accomplishments! Whilst I could not play the guitar as I once did, I sung and performed various percussion instruments which the band had not experimented with before. I have since been involved in musical projects offered through the disability sector that use similar persussion instruments to make beautiful music! Two years after my accident the band had the opportunity to perform at the Reading and Leads festivals in the UK, these festivals are two of the biggest music festivals in Europe and it was great to be involved, onstage with the band for this - it was a fairly unique situation to be in. Especially so, 2 years following a catastrophic injury. I’d like to thank the support of my case workers and therapists, in particular, Leanne Ardossi from Arbias (who now works at ISIS Primary Care), and music therapist Janette Tamplin for getting me there which was as much a personal achievement as it was a success to the well structured disability program I received under the Slow to Recover Program.
A National Disability Insurance Scheme would give all Australians the same opportunities as I had.
So there you have it, there’s no silver bullet when it come to wellbeing. It comes through a mixture of things.
And the 4 horsemen of wellbeing:
· Healthy eating
· Outdoor exercise
· Having moments for reflection
· (perhaps most importantly) being aware that the lifestyles choices you lead can have an impact on your mood (I'm looking at you- cigarette).
Thankyou!
The Unofficial Ambassador of Healthy Living
