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In May 2017, something happened that changed my life forever.
And that's how I discovered my mission
4 years later:
Helping concussion survivors overcome symptoms and live life to the fullest by providing support and knowledge specifically related to concussions.
I got into a scooter accident
My name is Silvie, 31 years old and based in The Netherlands. In May 2017, I got into a scooter accident, which has caused me concussion and whiplash. I didn't fall on my head. I was conscious and I thought I only hurt my ankle.
So I thought I was lucky and went home, not knowing I just walked into a new life. The next day I felt so weird but I went to work anyway. I didn't know what was going on because I didn't fall on my head so what could it be? I went to work for the next 3 days as well.
I couldn't concentrate, made a lot of mistakes, my eyes were hurting from my computer and I was so upset, confused and even defeated not knowing what was happening. What's going on with me?! I felt like everything was wrong but I couldn't address what exactly it was.
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On Friday, I went home early and told my employer, "Don't worry I will rest this weekend and will be back on Monday”. I then went to the doctor on the same day and he gave me some relaxing medication.
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My symptoms became worse
It was relaxing. I slept for almost 2 days but my symptoms became worse. So on Monday, I did not go back to the office and I told him I needed an extra week.
One night, my flatmates and I, were going to go to a birthday party together but I just broke out in tears before we were heading off. They told me to just take some rest and that everything would be okay. I believed it, went to bed, and slept for hours. The week after that, I wasn’t able to do anything, even the normal daily activities were hard for me to handle.
My head couldn’t manage it and I felt so emotional not even knowing why. That extra week off ended up becoming a month, the month then turning into half a year, the half a year lasted and became a year.
Though, finally, after that year, I have never gone back to that office again. I loved my job, I loved the people there. I am always ambitious and I felt so useless doing "nothing".
"I passed my hardest moments alone while everyone believed I was fine."
My first year - I didn't know what was going on
During the first year, I still didn't know what was going on with me. I felt guilty because I couldn't explain my situation at my work, not only my coworkers but also anyone around me, even myself. I tried acting like nothing was wrong most of the time, but from the inside, I felt like EVERYTHING was wrong.
I had a hard time sleeping, couldn't concentrate, felt overwhelmed all the time, cried a lot not knowing the reason why, felt so tired, got a pressure on my head all the time, couldn't read, couldn't watch any screens, couldn't manage any sounds/light, had shortness of breath, felt a pressure on my chest and so restless. During that time, I was home most of the time, alone.
I couldn't manage to see a lot of people as I always did before because it made me so overwhelmed in a short period. I couldn't drive a car, use public transport or even ride my bike. It was hard to manage here in Amsterdam as it can be so busy!
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After The First Year
The first year was a hard time. I did not know what was going on with me. I often wondered if I were going to recover if there were any recovery at all. Would I get better someday?
Though after a year of time, I still didn't feel any better than the beginning. I went to the doctor again and he told me I had an anxiety disorder which then he wanted to refer me to a psychologist.
I felt so misunderstood. I didn't need a psychologist. I need someone who can heal my symptoms so that I can live without those symptoms and wouldn’t have those struggles at all!
It freaked me out so much to a point where I asked myself, "Will this be my life forever?". No one could answer those questions, not even doctors.
No one could tell me what I needed to do in order to recover. Did I need to rest or should I do some activities? Should I exercise or would that make it worse? I felt so lost not knowing what would work and no one could tell me.
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I have always been a busy person with lots of parties, 5 or 6 days of work in a week, going to the gym 4 times a week and busy social life. I was just always doing something. After that day, my life changed 180 degrees.
Those things disappeared. The hardest part was just from the inside since I really wanted to do all these things so badly, to get my "normal" life back. But I couldn't, not when my head and body did not cooperate. I had so many kickbacks because I felt so frustrated and tried things anyway even if I knew on forehand I couldn't. The "acting normal to others" part was also breaking me up.
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Learned more from others than my own doctor
Of course, I Googled on the internet about my symptoms and came in contact with other people who sustained a concussion as well.
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I learned more from them than from my own doctor. I finally felt supported and it lead me to the right treatements.
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Just to get real, I am not totally healed yet (80%) but I started to notice some changes since then, changes I didn't feel during the first 2 years when I struggled all by myself.
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In the 4 years since reaching out to other people, that support group only could take me so far and I still had to spend 4 additional years Googling to find experts who could help me. I was missing the correct knowledge from experts.
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I realized so many others on this journey are struggling with the same thing. And I don't want that to happen!
So I created a community where...
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I could bring together all the resources, correct knowledge from experts, and a community to help people suffering from post-concussion symptoms reduce their symptoms faster.

I created this community because I don't want anyone to feel that lost and lonely as I did in my journey. I felt always stressed and worried about too many things and I knew this would slow down my recovery. I felt frustrated because I didn't know what to do to get better.
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Most doctors weren't able to help me and I hear this from so many people with a concussion. I don't want you to feel lost and stuck because there are doctors out there who know what to do.
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I believe symptoms can improve, things can get easier, mindset is something you can learn and acceptance is helping in your healing process.
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This community is here to help you to reduce your symptoms, get in contact with professionals but also with people in the same situation.
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I really hope you find the support and help within this community. And if you need anything, please let me know! I am always happy to help!
Love, Silvie
Some (funny) facts about me...​
Did you always live in The Netherlands?
Most of my life, yes! But I did my internship (6 months) in Dubai, lived for 6 months in Bali, and another 6 months in Malta.
If you could only eat one type of food the rest of your life, what would it be?
Pasta with a lot of cheese!
What was the last country you visited?
Barcelona, Spain to visit one of my best Dutch friends who moved there!
What did you study?
Hotel Management School in Maastricht, The Netherlands. I LOVED it!
What are your hobbies?
Traveling (I couldn't do this for a long time, but I can now enjoy that again.) Reading or listening to books. And one thing I really like but not sure if this is a hobby, the beach!
How many siblings do you have?
I have 1 sister, her name is Lotte, and she is 1.5 years older than me. She has 2 little boys (my nephews): Julian and Maarten.
Are you a morning or evening person?
Definitely a morning person!!
Watch my (2 min) story and see why I am now helping others reduce their symptoms too.
Click on the button below to read how I can help you to reduce your concussion symptoms.
Curious how I can help you?
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