Traumatic Brain Injury

#for a while, my writing was just about me — my messy brain, my journey through traumatic brain injury. I called it Concussed CMO, a blog that was my way of making sense of a life suddenly fractured and upside down.

But over time, that story outgrew its container.

BestGuessistan isn’t just about brain injury anymore. It’s about rupture — any event or series of events that splits your life into “before” and “after.” It’s about the pieces we pick up, the selves we reckon with, and the uncertain, messy space in between.

BestGuessistan is a place to stop fighting the climb. It doesn’t ask you to rise to it — it rises to meet you where you are. There’s no need for explanations or apologies. Accommodations aren’t begged for; they’re built in.

It’s a sprawling, unruly place — a bit like a patchwork archipelago where volcanic peaks rise beside quiet beaches, and deserts bloom beneath orchards. It’s chaotic harmony, much like our fractured, searching lives.

There’s no Welcome Desk, just a bent sign and a bowl of mismatched keys. You might find yourself at the Rewirement Reserve where time slows, or the Soft Rock Café for those easily startled. The Library remembers you even if you’ve forgotten yourself. You can visit the Noticeboard of Lethargarians, drop by Club Lento where the vibe checks you, or stop at the Emotional Baggage Claim — where maybe you leave a little lighter, or just better held.

BestGuessistan never stands still. It learns and adapts, whispering the vital truth: it’s okay to not be okay. Recovery is a glorious, confusing mess. It’s okay — actually, it’s necessary — to start figuring out who you are now, not yesterday or then.

You don’t have to do this alone. There are fellow travelers here — caretakers, companions, and yes, even the odd yoga dog or two.

So here’s the invitation: lean in. Explore BestGuessistan and find your own path. No two journeys are the same, and that’s the point.

There’s much more to come — new places, new stories, new companions.

Hold tight. BestGuessistan meets you where you are — not where you were or where you hope to be. Where you are, now.

#BestGuessistan

#TBIRecovery

#BrainInjuryAwareness

#LifeAfterTBI

#HealingJourney

#RecoveryIsMessy

#MentalHealthMatters

#InvisibleDisability

#YouAreNotAlone

Anytime a word they put down triggers fear or upsetting memories. So i try my best to explain why but go emotional and sometimes overboard.. Others state i keep repeating it. Or they tell me get therapy; I would but cant afford it with a lot going on in personal life...

As growing up as a kid I was told to keep my thoughts to myself and if I was bullied or teased to avoid it.. I did tell the teachers or speech therapist but i was told it was wrong of me to tatall tail? I grown to fear adults amd making friends plus open up to my family. To a point i feared interaction with my family. I put on a mask act silly or polite or try to mimic helpful behaviors or likes from family or rare friends. I would later on draw a lot of hidden fears and emotions where family saw it as a future gift.( I may skip a bit)

When I was a teen I kept drawing and tried to use my art to gain friends but some just used me for homework art projects. There teasing or bullying kept at it when growing up. More rare friends i made would give out phone numbers or birthday parties invites (which i struggled to call or remember) some friends witnessed me having narcolepsy \ anxiety in class do to stress from home or school [i struggled with school work and my late mom dislike me being lazy a lot] some of my teachers allowed me ti cheat test of some answers and gave me a jr-job as Janitor( it help keep stress down) by college i still struggled in mathematics and english to history. But loved art.

After that i found out after my mom death from cancer she cheated on my dad with his friend.. Again I wasn't allowed to over exaduwight on things - but kept it bottled up.

After i got married i shared with my husband and he shared his struggles in life with I. But overtime we're still trying to mend. But i still get triggers with my past.. and I try hard to not say anything. Yet it like a childverson of me yelling Im here I saw I heard and Please hear me? #Anxiety #PanicAttacks #TBI #Fear #Narcolepsy

Anytime a word they put down triggers fear or upsetting memories. So i try my best to explain why but go emotional and sometimes overboard.. Others state i keep repeating it. Or they tell me get therapy; I would but cant afford it with a lot going on in personal life...

As growing up as a kid I was told to keep my thoughts to myself and if I was bullied or teased to avoid it.. I did tell the teachers or speech therapist but i was told it was wrong of me to tatall tail? I grown to fear adults amd making friends plus open up to my family. To a point i feared interaction with my family. I put on a mask act silly or polite or try to mimic helpful behaviors or likes from family or rare friends. I would later on draw a lot of hidden fears and emotions where family saw it as a future gift.( I may skip a bit)

When I was a teen I kept drawing and tried to use my art to gain friends but some just used me for homework art projects. There teasing or bullying kept at it when growing up. More rare friends i made would give out phone numbers or birthday parties invites (which i struggled to call or remember) some friends witnessed me having narcolepsy \ anxiety in class do to stress from home or school [i struggled with school work and my late mom dislike me being lazy a lot] some of my teachers allowed me ti cheat test of some answers and gave me a jr-job as Janitor( it help keep stress down) by college i still struggled in mathematics and english to history. But loved art.

After that i found out after my mom death from cancer she cheated on my dad with his friend.. Again I wasn't allowed to over exaduwight on things - but kept it bottled up.

After i got married i shared with my husband and he shared his struggles in life with I. But overtime we're still trying to mend. But i still get triggers with my past.. and I try hard to not say anything. Yet it like a childverson of me yelling Im here I saw I heard and Please hear me? #Anxiety #PanicAttacks #TBI #Fear #Narcolepsy

We may have just met, but in case you’re wondering where she went...

Still here. Now calling this by its name: BestGuessistan.

For anyone rewriting life after rupture.

A little satire, a little heart, and a lot of “how do I keep going?”

BestGuessistan

Renamed the Country. Kept the Passport.

Concussed CMO is now BestGuessistan — for anyone rewriting a life after rupture.

Why the change? Because the story outgrew its container.

I’m still concussed. Still a former CMO. But the story isn’t just about me and my TBI anymore.

It’s about what happens after life cracks open — when nothing looks familiar except the need to keep going.

What began as a personal newsletter — part dispatch, part survival sketch, part “what just happened?” — turned into something bigger:

A not-entirely-imaginary country where the maps are messy, the rules keep changing, and the only constant is uncertainty.

If you’ve ever felt disoriented — by injury, grief, change, or life itself — this place is for you.

We’ve got ministries. Memos. Travel bureaus. Departments of Rewirement and Emotional Logistics.

A library. A bakery. A game arcade.

Not sure where to start? This post is your orientation packet.

More to come.

But for now: thank you for being here.

Consider this your official passport stamp.

✍️ WendyLC 🏳️‍🌈 Citizen 0000001

🌿 Hi, I’m Lisa — and I’m More Than You See

People often look at someone like me and think they already know the story. But what they see is just the surface.

I’m a scientist-turned-writer living with the long-term effects of traumatic brain injury, chronic illness, and disability. I’m also likely autistic. My brain works differently now — and in some ways, I think it’s better.

I joined The Mighty because I believe in the power of shared stories. I write to process what I’ve survived, but also to make space for others who’ve been dismissed, doubted, or disbelieved.

I’m especially passionate about:
• TBI and invisible disability
• Autism and neurodivergence
• Complex trauma and chronic illness
• Advocacy rooted in lived experience

If you’ve ever felt like people underestimated you — or completely missed the depth of who you are — you’re not alone here.

I’d love to connect with others navigating similar paths.
💛 Say hi below or share one thing people often overlook about you.

You can also find more of my work here:
📎 linktr.ee/lisa.m.meints

#braininjury #neurodiversity #disabilityawareness #invisibledisabilities #morethanyousee

The Ministry of Accommodation

Division of Unseen Labor and Real Consideration

WendyLC

May 30, 2025

We regret to inform you: most spaces weren’t designed with you in mind.

They assumed endurance.

They rewarded masking.

They celebrated resilience without asking what it cost.

They presumed you were better by now — that healing was complete.

But here in BestGuessistan, we know better.

So we built something better.

The Ministry of Accommodation

Here, needs aren’t negotiated — they’re anticipated.

Requests don’t have to be made twice (or at all).

Support isn’t a favor. It’s infrastructure. It’s the beating heart of the BestGuessistan ethos.

This Ministry doesn’t fix people. It knows it can’t — and doesn’t try.

But it does the next-best thing (which might actually be the best thing):

It reconfigures the world around them.

Cognitive Load Reduction

All signage is readable, unambiguous, and quiet.

Forms are short — when they exist at all. When they don’t, there’s help.

Directions are literal: “Left. Elevator. Second door.” Not a riddle. Not a test.

“You Are Here” is always where you actually are.

Maps are clear. Fonts are friendly. Nothing requires deciphering.

Sensory Design

Lights are soft by default. Dimmers are everywhere.

No screeches. No buzz. No flicker.

Walls absorb sound. Nothing echoes unless you want it to.

Textures are intentional. Nothing itches or clangs.

Textural contrast exists throughout BestGuessistan — interesting, never overwhelming.

Physical & Structural Access

Seating is ample, not ornamental.

Doors open easily. If they’re meant to be closed — they are.

No stairs without equals. No corners without railings.

Every floor is quiet, stable, non-slick.

Movement paths make sense — and are never traps.

None of this is infantilizing.

All of it is accommodating.

Visual Order

Artwork is everywhere. This isn’t the Ministry that selects the art —

but it ensures the art works for the visitors.

Every piece is level.

Nothing whispers “fix me.”

You are not required to manage visual tension.

Chrono-Logical Clarity

All timelines adapt to individual needs, body clocks, and tolerances.

Time is flexible. Participation is modular.

You don’t have to choose everything in advance — or stick to it.

You don’t actually have to choose anything.

Canceling is never rude. It’s respected as a skill. Honed as a craft.

Here, the day bends to meet your energy, your rhythm, your limits —

free from expectation, free from the tyranny of “should.”

Emotional Consideration

Crying rooms exist. And are plentiful.

So do reentry escorts.

Support is available — verbal or silent.

Nothing requires you to explain why you’re overwhelmed.

Hope is offered, never pushed.

You are accepted exactly as you are, where you are.

The environment will meet you there.

Optional Artifacts

A “Checked / Rechecked / Still Here” sticker pack

Fog Log™ — Accommodation Edition

A self-inking “Not Today” stamp

A Maybe Bell™ — for when something finally feels just right

Cancellation Cards — pre-signed, guilt-free

This Ministry consulted not just experts — but the exhausted.

It was designed in collaboration with those who’ve been reshaped, disoriented, dismissed, or simply done.

This space does not require you to justify yourself.

It simply makes room.

It’s not about fixing you.

It’s about not having to perform in a space that wasn’t made for you —

at least for the length of your stay in BestGuessistan.

#Trauma #TraumaticBrainInjury #ChronicIllness #Disability

People stumble over the name.

Sometimes I stumble over the name.

BestGuessistan.

It doesn’t glide off the tongue. It’s clunky. Awkward. A little broken.

Exactly.

That’s not a branding blunder.

Not one of those names a company spends decades apologizing for.

It’s not incorrect — it’s intentional. Very intentional.

That’s the lived experience.

Because life after rupture — after a brain injury, a diagnosis, a breakdown, a crack-up — is all awkward.

The smoothness is gone, replaced by rough surfaces and struggle.

Things that used to be effortless now require planning. Coordination. Prep.

Extensive prep. A checklist.

Even speaking. Even being.

Before, I could talk my way through anything.

Any word, thought, quote, or reference was within easy reach.

Like silk off a spool, as Thornton Wilder says in Our Town.

Now, I rehearse. I pause. I hunt for the word that used to live right there, on the tip of my brain.

Sometimes my speech sounds halting.

I hear it before my listeners do.

And with every pause, I’m reminded: the old fluency is gone.

This is the after-you.

BestGuessistan slows you down. Makes you work for it.

Just like I have to work for everything now.

It’s not slick.

It’s not optimized.

It’s accurate.

That name is a mouthful — and so is living like this.

Welcome to BestGuessistan.

Try again, slowly. You’ll get there.

Join me.

The water’s not fine.

But it’s where we live now.#TraumaticBrainInjury #Recovery

Not cleared. Not sanctioned. Absolutely on-brand.

Due to a minor breach in containment protocols

(someone left a Fog Log™ in the communal compost; these things happen and are fine),

the following dispatches from BestGuessistan have been prematurely exposed.

We will neither confirm nor deny their accuracy.

But if you happen to find yourself in this order, you might just survive.

🔜 The Potemkin Department of Wellness

An internal memo from the Bureau of Appearances and Performance, revealing just how hollow the gleam of “wellness” can be when we’re soul-tired, performance-optimized, and dangerously good at faking fine.

🔜 BestGuessistan’s Corporate BS Bingo

Mission. Vision. Values. Synergy. Alignment.

The Ministry of Strategic Repositioning has finally decoded corporate doublespeak into actual human language.

And yes, it’s a game now. There are stickers. And dotting. And double dotting.

🔜 The Ministry of Ritual and Repetition

A field guide for those who need lucky socks, matched clocks, and to wash their hands exactly three times.

Featuring the Superstishwear Boutique, the Alignment Station, and the Maybe Bell™.

A gift shop is under development. Updates on a need-to-know basis.

🔜 The Modular Survival Kit

Forget the tools you’re told to need. These are the ones that actually kept us upright.

Maybe. For now. Until we need different ones.

We’ve figured it out. For now. Until it doesn’t work.

🔜 The It Dependsathon

A hedge maze housed inside the Rewirement Reserve.

Some paths are clipped with French precision. Others meander like English wildflowers.

Some are minimalist, mossy, and still. Recovery isn’t linear. It’s horticultural.

There’s a force field where questions like “aren’t you better by now?” bounce off and are never felt.

🔜 No Wrong Answers: The Video Game

You left BestGuessistan, but it left a little something in you.

This immersive post-visit game keeps the rewirement going—camouflaging vision therapy and cognitive rehab as play.

(Don’t worry. The yoga dog still won’t make eye contact.)

It’s a world. It’s a universe. It keeps BestGuessistan with you, but only as much as you want.

Individual mileage may vary.

Please note: this list is neither exhaustive nor binding.

Timelines are suggestions.

Publishing order is subject to real life, reprocessing, and rest cycles.

If you were hoping for consistency, you may be lost.

But if you’re comfortable with ambiguity, you’re home.

Filed by the Ministry of Controlled Disclosure

Because some leaks are intentional.

Everything is eventually fine. At least in the director’s cut.

#BrainFog #InvisibleIllness

#ChronicFatigue #TraumaticBrainInjury Fog

For anyone navigating TBI, burnout, or just trying to function through the fog:

I wrote this as a satirical check-in from a fictional island called BestGuessistan. It’s absurd—but not untrue. If you’re still buffering, that’s kind of the point.

Thank You for Visiting BestGuessistan

A short and completely painless survey for the recently rewired

WendyLC

May 20, 2025

Hi there,

We hope you’ve had time to rest, recalibrate, or at least unpack your emotional carry-on. As part of our commitment to non-linear recovery, we’d love your feedback on your recent stay in BestGuessistan.

Please answer as many or as few questions as your executive function allows. Or just nod and close the tab. That counts too.

1. Upon re-entry, how would you describe your current state?

☐ Rebooting

☐ Still buffering

☐ Overstimulated but optimistic

☐ Considering applying for permanent residency

(If checked, the Ministry of Transition will be in touch.)

2. During your stay, did you feel: (check all that apply)

☐ Seen

☐ Heard

☐ Held

☐ Quietly dissolved

☐ Like maybe you’re not broken—just on a different operating system now

3. What moment stuck with you most?

☐ The square of milk chocolate that healed you just a little

☐ The cup labeled Not Urgent

☐ The fire circle with no talking and no pressure

☐ The yoga dog who stared into your soul, then respectfully looked away

☐ The 1-mph treadmill that applauded your restraint

4. BestGuessistan might be right for someone who…

☐ Still uses a planner labeled Maybe

☐ Needs curated silence more than curated content

☐ Has a favorite yoga dog and no favorite human

☐ Believes buffering is a lifestyle, not a glitch

☐ Thinks plausible deniability should be covered by insurance

☐ Has ever left rehab thinking, That was nice, but I’m still weird

5. Any additional thoughts, dreams, or dissociative revelations?

(Optional, but welcome in any format: haiku, scream, annotated grocery list.)

You may reply to this message, ignore it completely, or fold your answers into a small origami bird and release it into the fog. We’ll find it.

Thanks again for visiting. We hope you’re settling gently back into your timeline. But if not—remember:

The ferry runs whenever you’re ready.

Warmly,

The Ministry of Rewirement

“Progress may appear non-linear. That’s because it is.”

#neurodivergence #Trauma recovery #invisible disability #mental health #Humor #TBI #Identity #Satire #chronic illness

For anyone navigating TBI, burnout, or just trying to function through the fog:

I wrote this as a satirical check-in from a fictional island called BestGuessistan. It’s absurd—but not untrue. If you’re still buffering, that’s kind of the point.

Thank You for Visiting BestGuessistan

A short and completely painless survey for the recently rewired

WendyLC

May 20, 2025

Hi there,

We hope you’ve had time to rest, recalibrate, or at least unpack your emotional carry-on. As part of our commitment to non-linear recovery, we’d love your feedback on your recent stay in BestGuessistan.

Please answer as many or as few questions as your executive function allows. Or just nod and close the tab. That counts too.

1. Upon re-entry, how would you describe your current state?

☐ Rebooting

☐ Still buffering

☐ Overstimulated but optimistic

☐ Considering applying for permanent residency

(If checked, the Ministry of Transition will be in touch.)

2. During your stay, did you feel: (check all that apply)

☐ Seen

☐ Heard

☐ Held

☐ Quietly dissolved

☐ Like maybe you’re not broken—just on a different operating system now

3. What moment stuck with you most?

☐ The square of milk chocolate that healed you just a little

☐ The cup labeled Not Urgent

☐ The fire circle with no talking and no pressure

☐ The yoga dog who stared into your soul, then respectfully looked away

☐ The 1-mph treadmill that applauded your restraint

4. BestGuessistan might be right for someone who…

☐ Still uses a planner labeled Maybe

☐ Needs curated silence more than curated content

☐ Has a favorite yoga dog and no favorite human

☐ Believes buffering is a lifestyle, not a glitch

☐ Thinks plausible deniability should be covered by insurance

☐ Has ever left rehab thinking, That was nice, but I’m still weird

5. Any additional thoughts, dreams, or dissociative revelations?

(Optional, but welcome in any format: haiku, scream, annotated grocery list.)

You may reply to this message, ignore it completely, or fold your answers into a small origami bird and release it into the fog. We’ll find it.

Thanks again for visiting. We hope you’re settling gently back into your timeline. But if not—remember:

The ferry runs whenever you’re ready.

Warmly,

The Ministry of Rewirement

“Progress may appear non-linear. That’s because it is.”

#neurodivergence #Trauma recovery #invisible disability #mental health #Humor #TBI #Identity #Satire #chronic illness