Recap of January 28th Mental Health Motivation and Mindfulness Monday interview with Doug Zegel, one of the founding members of the Patrick Risha CTE Awareness Foundation. Watch below:
1. CTE Awareness Day is this Wednesday – what is CTE?
CTE stands for chronic traumatic encephalopathy. It is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in people with a history of repetitive brain trauma (we see it contact sport athletes, veterans, and victims of repetitive head trauma from any source such as domestic abuse, or head banging disorder). Repeated concussions can lead to CTE, but the biggest link so far is the smaller subconcussive hits to the head that do not cause symptoms. You do not need to have a history of a concussion to get CTE. You just need to have a history of repetitive hits.
2. What is your connection to this condition and why should people care about CTE?
Our connection to CTE came in the worst way imaginable. We lost our son (my stepson) Patrick to suicide four years ago as a result of CTE. He was a wonderfully talented young man who began playing football at the age of 10, became the hometown hero football star in high school, and then played football at Dartmouth College. He graduated with a degree in Political Science and a broken brain. He never played in the pros. We watched in wonder as this handsome and personable young man gradually came unwired as his symptoms progressed. He became increasingly dysfunctional, reclusive, angry and confused. No one knew what was happening to him back then. Especially us. And sadly things deteriorated to the point where suicide seemed to be his only option.
We were in shock Patrick’s special autopsy revealed that he had CTE. But this explained so much to us that we had never known; we had no reason to know.
And the foundation was created in Patrick’s name to make sure EVERYONE know this one very important truth…THE HUMAN BRAIN IS FAR MORE FRAGILE THAN WE EVER KNEW, AND IT MUST BE PROTECTED FROM HARM.
3. How can we take action to improve the lives of those impacted by CTE?
This is where The MindReset can play such an important role. CTE is not like a bad cold that with proper care will go away in a couple of weeks. This is an immense disability where the sufferer really needs help and guidance and advocacy and especially understanding. People with CTE may no longer be able to advocate for themselves. The world can be just a series of insurmountable obstacles for someone whose brain is no longer functioning, as it should. For someone with CTE their world needs to be reorganized and fostered in order for him to live in it. They need a safe, structured, nurturing environment that gives them hope that today can be manageable and that tomorrow will be better. This is a tall order for caregivers. And this is why we are excited by the prospect of programs like the MindReset. This is so important.
Interview/Edits: Jing Wu
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