129. Self-Worth, Self-Trust, & Practical Recovery Tips: Melissa Urban on Her Multi-Year Concussion Recovery Journey
Melissa Urban is the co-founder and CEO of Whole30 and a renowned authority on helping people create lifelong healthy habits. She is an eight-time New York Times bestselling author whose books have sold millions of copies worldwide. Melissa has been featured by major outlets like the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, People, Forbes, Good Morning America, and CNBC. Beyond her work in nutrition and wellness, she is a prominent keynote speaker on health, boundaries, community building, and entrepreneurship. Melissa lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is an active voice in the concussion community, sharing her personal experience to help others feel less alone.
Episode Summary
In this episode of the Concussion Coach Podcast, host Bethany Lewis sits down with Melissa Urban for an honest and in-depth conversation about her experience with a concussion and the years-long recovery journey that followed.
Melissa shares the story of her injury in December 2018—a hit to the head during a seemingly-innocuous game of laser tag. She describes the confusing onset of symptoms, from irritability and vision problems to an unfamiliar anxiety that culminated in a terrifying panic attack. Melissa opens up about the isolating nature of her symptoms, the strain it put on her relationships, and the challenge of navigating work and motherhood while dealing with an invisible injury.
With the help of a specialized physical therapy team that reached out to her, Melissa was able to get a proper diagnosis and targeted treatment. She discusses the various therapies she underwent, including work on primitive reflexes, vision training, and treatment for a POTS-like nervous system dysregulation. Melissa also shares the unexpected ways her injury affected her relationship with food and exercise, and how she navigated the emotional journey of redefining her self-worth when her identity as an "active person" was temporarily stripped away. She offers invaluable advice on self-advocacy, trusting your own experience, and finding hope during setbacks, emphasizing that while her journey was long, there is more help and hope available now than ever before.
Resources and Contact Information Mentioned
This list compiles all the resources, tools, and contacts Melissa Urban discussed during the interview.
Melissa's Personal Links:
Website: melissau.com
Instagram: @melissau
Her Concussion Story (Part 1): https://blog.melissau.com/p/my-concussion-story-part-1
Melissa’s podcast episodes she mentioned:
Treatments, Therapies, and Tools:
Specialized Physical Therapy: Melissa stressed the importance of finding a physical or occupational therapist specializing in TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury). Her team was affiliated with Park City Hospital in Utah and had experience working with the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team.
Primitive Reflex Integration: Therapy focused on re-integrating primitive reflexes that can re-emerge after a head injury.
Vision Therapy: Exercises to improve eye coordination and brain-eye connection, including the use of a Brock string.
Cold Exposure (Cold Showers): Melissa found cold showers to be a "magic pill" for her symptoms. She used them as a tool to train her nervous system to remain calm under stress.
Irlen Screening: A vision screening that uses colored overlays to help with visual stress and perception. Melissa mentioned a translucent lilac shade was helpful for her reading.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT): Melissa tried this at a local wellness clinic and found it helpful for acute symptom relief, though she noted it was expensive and time-consuming.
Loop Earplugs: She used these to dull overwhelming auditory input in places like airports and grocery stores.
Environmental Modifications: Melissa emphasized using sunglasses and blue-light-blocking glasses, and avoiding fluorescent or big overhead lights whenever possible.
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