Mental fatigue is something that people who have experienced brain injuries and tumors often suffer from. Yorkton native Ian Kohlert is among those who have the condition, and he has written a book to help others cope with it.
Kohlert began to suffer from the condition after going through treatment for a brain tumor. He says he wanted to focus on people with severe mental fatigue because he thought the system he developed to deal with his condition could help others.
The book focuses on techniques and tips to better deal with mental fatigue, Kohlert says, with an emphasis on the importance of actually resting the brain, which Kohlert refers to in the book as Silence. He says it’s something that it took him years to figure out, but that it makes a real difference for mental fatigue.
“Silence is the avoidance of things like TV, music or reading. People with mental fatigue really need to rest their brains. Things they view as resting like watching TV really aren’t resting, so sitting in silence for periods of time can really help.”
An unconventional technique is something he calls Brain Breathing, a visualization exercise where one visualizes the brain itself breathing in and out as they breathe.
“I’m not exactly sure why it’s helpful, but I find it very replenishing for my mental energy.”
While the book is focused on people with severe mental fatigue, Kohlert says some of the tips can be helpful for people with other conditions. He notes that his grandmother, who has Parkinson’s Disease, has been helped by avoiding something he calls “Cheap Data,” easy to consume information that is still mentally stimulating.
Part of the reason for writing the book is that while there are many resources out there for people with severe mental fatigue, he found many of the things in his own recovery were things he didn’t expect.
“I’ve found that they don’t emphasize things that were very important for my recovery... Staying hydrated is an incredibly important thing, but that was never said to me, and I never found it in any resource that I found online.”
Kohlert has been invited to speak at acquired brain injury conferences about the work and has distributed copies of his book to people who work in the field, in the hopes that it can help people with the same condition.
Kohlert’s book is available at www.aestusfuturistics.com/mental-fatigue-book/.
