our goals at the alpha wave initiative

The Alpha Wave Initiative aims to educate about Traumatic Brain Injury, mental illness, and how they connect. 

Adjusting to life after a Traumatic Brain Injury can feel confusing, challenging, and lonely. The stigma surrounding brain injury and mental health often leaves survivors feeling isolated and misunderstood. The struggles their caregivers, spouses, children, family, and friends face are often overlooked. Sometimes, TBI survivors may feel misunderstood by their peers despite their support. If given the opportunity to connect, survivors can relate to one another by communicating. 

By establishing a source of communication for TBI survivors, they can share coping strategies, foster friendships, and overall build a healthy support system. Most importantly, survivors can find a sense of relief and belonging knowing that they can confide in each other. Statistically, it’s unlikely that two TBI survivors will meet and connect in their lifetime. The Alpha Wave Initiative is here to change that. 

Chances are, mental illness is more common than you think. Statistically, one in five adults and one in four teens are currently diagnosed with a mental illness (World Health Organization, 2020). Individuals with a Traumatic Brain Injury are four times more likely to develop a mental illness than those without a TBI  (NCBI, 2015). The reality is, due to the societal stigma on mental illness, it’s likely that those numbers are fairly inaccurate. Many individuals with traumatic brain injuries face mental illness after their injury. Sometimes, the mental illnesses they are diagnosed with are incorrect. Traumatic brain injury survivors are tend to be under represented in the field of medicine. The  The Alpha Wave Initiative is here to raise awareness about the connection between TBI and mental illness and end the "silence" surrounding the issue.