My concussion lasted 40 days
About six weeks ago, I suffered what was likely a mild concussion while sparring in Muay Thai. I never lost consciousness, never threw up, and didn’t have any obvious neurological deficits, but within the next day I developed intense brain fog, fatigue, headaches, anxiety, and a strange feeling of derealization where I felt disconnected from my surroundings. My vision was technically clear, but my perception of the world felt altered, almost like I was looking through a haze. It was easily the hardest part of the recovery because I could still think clearly, but I never felt fully present.
The first couple of weeks were filled with ups and downs. Some mornings I’d wake up feeling almost normal, only for the fog to return later in the day. Evenings were consistently the hardest, especially when I was tired or in stimulating environments. There were moments where I genuinely worried I had permanently changed my brain. Reading stories online only made that fear worse and legitimately gave me anxiety attacks, which increase the derealization a lottt.
Despite the symptoms, I tried to avoid complete bed rest. I listened to my body, continued working when I could, and slowly introduced light activity. Going on easy hikes seemed to help a lot. Getting blood flowing without pushing myself too hard consistently made me feel better afterward. I also learned not to obsess over every symptom. The more I constantly checked how I was feeling, the more noticeable the fog became.
Around the fourth week, I continued with a clean diet and became much more intentional with recovery. I focused on eating whole, nutrient-dense foods like ground beef, sweet potatoes, sardines, steak, rice, vegetables, berries, and other sources of healthy fats. I don’t usually eat artificial foods, seed oils, or most processed foods. During that time I also started taking magnesium, a B-complex, creatine, omega-3 fish oil, and lion’s mane. Around the same period, I began noticing much bigger improvements. I can’t say with certainty whether the supplements caused those improvements or whether my brain was naturally healing at that point, but that’s when I personally felt recovery really accelerate.
Recovery wasn’t linear. I had days where I felt 95% normal, followed by days where the brain fog or derealization would return and convince me I was back at square one. Looking back, those setbacks were simply part of the healing process.
By around Day 35, I had my first truly clear day. Days 36 through 40 continued to improve, and by Day 40 I felt about 9 out of 10 recovered. The lingering brain fog and derealization that I was terrified would never go away had almost completely resolved.
If there’s one thing I’d tell someone going through the same experience, it’s this: don’t assume the way you feel today is the way you’ll feel forever. Brain fog after a concussion can linger for weeks and fluctuate from day to day. Recovering isn’t a straight line. Get good sleep, eat well, stay hydrated, avoid another head injury, ease back into light exercise like walking or hiking if it doesn’t worsen your symptoms, and give your brain time. Mine did heal—even during the moments when I was convinced it never would.