Four months ago, my life was normal.

It was a normal Saturday in January. I had just gotten back to college to start my spring semester of junior year, and I was already loving it. I spent the previous night drinking shots of Jack Daniels with my friends to celebrate everyone's "homecoming" back to school. I had just returned to my loving dorm room after a quick run around campus.

I had the friends I loved, the dream job I wanted at my school's daily newspaper and I was ready to move on from last semester's terrible breakups. However, life had something much different for me in mind.

I began moving around furniture in my room (part of the whole "new year, new me" crap everyone does) and I was extra clumsy. I picked up my mini fridge from the back, causing all my food to spill out all over the floor. I pushed my desk/shelf back and a tall plastic cup of water spilled on the desk and under it.

I quickly grabbed my towel from the hook and began soaking up the massive amount of water on the floor. I heard a weird noise only for a second, and before I could look up, my plastic bin full of paint and art supplies came crashing down and hit me snugly on the back of my head.

It hurt a little, but I just laughed because of how stupid that day was going. I stood up quickly, and immediately felt dizzy, nauseous and confused. I immediately texted my mom to tell her that I got hit in the head, and she called me.

"Liz what happened?" she asked worriedly.

I opened my mouth to tell her, but I couldn't get words out. I knew what I wanted to say, but I just could not speak the words. It was then I knew something was seriously wrong.

The hospital blew it off, telling me I would be better in a week or two. They were wrong. I don't remember much from those first two weeks after my concussion, but I do know that my little box of paint would change my life as I knew it forever.

Within days, I suffered from amnesia, crippling migraines, temper tantrums, light/noise sensitivity and crying spells. I could no longer drive, watch TV, surf the internet, text, write, read...nothing without getting an awful migraine and wanting to go to sleep. I couldn't sit through class, and I could not do my editing job. I couldn't even talk to my friends without getting tired, confused and moody with a headache to follow.

I left school, my job and my friends behind in the hopes that I would heal in a month or so. I guess I was wrong about that too.

For the next 3 months, I did almost nothing but sleep. I was sleeping 14 hours a night with a nap during the day. I had to wear earplugs and sunglasses everywhere I went - normal talking sounded like screaming in my ears, and my eye's sensitivity to light was bizarre. The migraines hurt so badly that I would cry, even when I was in a dark and silent room. I could not handle my intensified emotions and I went from being a social, fun-loving girl to one who yelled at her family and hated being around anyone who I wasn't close to.

Everything I had worked for was ripped out from beneath me, and I didn't have any choice but to live with it. Even worse, most of my "friends" from school never asked how I was doing, not even once. I fell into a deep depression I am still experiencing. It felt like I had no where to turn.

When I was up to it, I started doing some research on brain injuries and how to heal them. My neurologist told me to "rest" and did what any other doctor would do - prescribed prescription pills for my migraines and nothing more. 

I knew this was not right. Brain injuries are incredibly common in the United States, so why do doctors not seem to know anything about how to treat them? As long as TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) patients are alive and somewhat functioning, nobody really tells you anything you can do to speed the healing process up.

That's where I come in.

I've been doing things like changing my diet and habits to improve more quickly, and it has been working! I can watch Netflix all day now and actually do social things without feeling like I want to die. The migraines are gone, my mood is slowly improving and my memory is coming back.

I want to share with you the information I have tested myself that I think has helped me heal, and none of it is expensive or too difficult. I understand that I am not a doctor and I am in no way certified to tell anyone how to heal their brains, but these are the things that have helped me personally. They may (or may not) work for you too.

But if you want to get better or to help a loved one heal from a TBI, you have to be willing to do whatever it takes - even if that means abstaining from foods or activities you love until you are better.

I still have some trouble writing well, but I can get the point across so please excuse any sentences that might sound confusing. I'm doing the best I can to help others who have experienced a TBI. It is something that can temporarily ruin your life and it just isn't talked about in society.

Together, we can heal ourselves with Mother Nature. So let's get started and good luck!