# Change Your Terrain **URL:** \ **Category:** Share your story\ **Created:** [22 September 2026 20:36 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/change-your-terrain/47458 "2026-09-22T20:36:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pando](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/user_avatar/onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/pando/32/10488_2.png) [@pando](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/u/pando)\ **Post date:** [22 September 2026 20:36 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/change-your-terrain/47458/1 "2026-09-22T20:36:02Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/GR8Rq3EVVSE/maxresdefault.jpg "Change your Terrain") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR8Rq3EVVSE) **Change Your Terrain** — A Stroke Survivor’s Guide to Nervous System Recovery This is a gentle, 17-minute reflection on healing from a severe stroke — and on how changing your environment (your terrain) can change your nervous system. After a massive stroke, I was left with nerve pain, spasticity, locking, deafferentation, and cycles of pain that returned like clockwork. I could not fix my body by force. So I stopped trying to fix the plant — and started changing the soil. In this clip, I share the 8-stage framework I built from my own recovery: how I learned to notice the patterns, name them, track them, change the terrain, observe, reclassify, see through, and release. I also explain why the sea — the electrical nature of nerve conductivity. Nerves run on electricity. Seawater is electrically conductive because it is rich in sodium chloride and magnesium sulphate — the same ions your nerves use to fire. A nerve impulse is an action potential travelling down the axon, and the sea provides a stable, conductive medium that speaks the language of the nervous system. That is why I changed my terrain — from air to water. I talk about the reward loop, the change paradox, and the role of social connection in regulating the nervous system. And I close with a full list of conditions this framework can address. This is a video for anyone who feels stuck in a cycle — whether it is nerve pain, spasticity, anxiety, poor sleep, or the emotional weight that comes with recovery. It is not a cure. It is a pathway. **Conditions addressed by changing the terrain:** Nerve pain, spasticity, locking, stiffness, twisting, burning, tingling, cycles, anxiety, fear of movement, poor sleep, fatigue, inflammation, grief, frustration, and the feeling of being stuck. They all run through the nervous system. ---
**Author:** ![ManjiB](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/user_avatar/onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/manjib/32/19499_2.png) [@ManjiB](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/u/ManjiB)\ **Post date:** [22 September 2026 21:31 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/change-your-terrain/47458/2 "2026-09-22T21:31:00Z")
Very good video Roland. You and Simonetta have done a great job putting this together 🙂 I found it very interesting and informative. I was very impressed with your resets in the sea! Thank you for sharing. > 🙏 ---
**Author:** ![pando](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/user_avatar/onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/pando/32/10488_2.png) [@pando](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/u/pando)\ **Post date:** [22 September 2026 21:59 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/change-your-terrain/47458/3 "2026-09-22T21:59:40Z")
Thanks so much @ManjiB when I first looked up “nerves” or “nervous system” on YouTube, a year or two ago, I found very little that I could use and put into practice … so this should fill a gap at least. ---
**Author:** ![Rups](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/user_avatar/onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/rups/32/27794_2.png) [@Rups](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/u/Rups)\ **Post date:** [23 September 2026 01:25 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/change-your-terrain/47458/4 "2026-09-23T01:25:45Z")
The brain likes easy, change is not easy for the brain. I like your plant analogy. Our connection to water is deeply rooted in our evolutionary survival instinct perhaps as stroke survivors some of us may bond on that level too. I recall a psychologist or someone of that nature referring to the Blue Mind. I, myself, enjoy change. Always have. Think that is why my life has been so multidirectional. Looks like you had a jolly trip and good moments with friends, no battling over sun-loungers and the like. ---
**Author:** ![pando](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/user_avatar/onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/pando/32/10488_2.png) [@pando](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/u/pando)\ **Post date:** [23 September 2026 08:37 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/change-your-terrain/47458/5 "2026-09-23T08:37:55Z")
Thanks for that comment Rups I work hard, I play hard! That’s right — nervous systems don’t like change. And since I couldn’t feel my body for three years, or at least half of it, let’s say, I soon learned a few things about the nervous system! I’d say you haven’t changed a bit since I’ve known you, and you’d likely say the same about me! However, I might claim that I embrace change (especially since my stroke), but I’m sure others would say I’m exactly the same person I’ve always been! We like to say we like change but the truth is less sugar-coated ! hasta amigo, Pando ---
**Author:** ![Mich-mm](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/user_avatar/onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/mich-mm/32/31238_2.png) [@Mich-mm](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/u/Mich-mm)\ **Post date:** [23 September 2026 10:55 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/change-your-terrain/47458/6 "2026-09-23T10:55:10Z")
Brilliant @pando the sea genuinely has healing powers.just the sound of it. ---
**Author:** ![Rups](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/user_avatar/onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/rups/32/27794_2.png) [@Rups](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/u/Rups)\ **Post date:** [23 September 2026 11:56 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/change-your-terrain/47458/7 "2026-09-23T11:56:57Z")
> [@pando](#): > > I’d say you haven’t changed a bit since I’ve known you I recently purchased a pack of five colourful stripy socks. That is a huge change from the customary green socks I don. My partner was also surprised at this radical change in colours other than brown, black and green. If there is one thing that can be changed almost everyday, it is one’s socks. 🧦🧦🧦 ---
**Author:** ![pando](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/user_avatar/onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/pando/32/10488_2.png) [@pando](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/u/pando)\ **Post date:** [23 September 2026 12:16 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/change-your-terrain/47458/8 "2026-09-23T12:16:59Z")
Yes, we’re hard-wired to get excited (we get a **β-endorphin** acting in concert with dopamine from POMC gene) hit just thinking about sun water air sand ! Thanks for following Mitch I hope you are doing better and better. Bless you, Pando ---
**Author:** ![ManjiB](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/user_avatar/onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/manjib/32/19499_2.png) [@ManjiB](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/u/ManjiB)\ **Post date:** [23 September 2026 14:49 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/change-your-terrain/47458/9 "2026-09-23T14:49:24Z")
> [@pando](#): > > so this should fill a gap at least. I think this would more than fill the gap and I wish I knew how to get YouTube to recommend it! I get YouTube recommending things to me, but I am not sure of the mechanics of it and I think we (you) should try and find out how this works. I think you are of the opinion, that you’ve done the video, shared it and you don’t want to “push or force it on anyone” and I like that way of thinking and doing things, but I feel that right now, we (you) have to find a way to give it (your videos/channel) just that wee nudge to push it forward so it becomes visible. It’s hard for me to explain this, but I find videos like yours and the ones that our friend Robert (@Bobbi) makes don’t get the publicity they deserve. In my opinion, many would benefit from watching your (and Bobbi’s) videos, as they can relate to them, but I wonder how many get to see them? ---
**Author:** ![pando](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/user_avatar/onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/pando/32/10488_2.png) [@pando](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/u/pando)\ **Post date:** [23 September 2026 15:31 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/change-your-terrain/47458/10 "2026-09-23T15:31:10Z")
Thank you for that ManjiB Good videos from small creators often don’t get the visibility they deserve and there’s no secret switch to “force” YouTube to recommend a video (that I know of). Most people watch videos for distraction, and honestly, I have discovered some fascinating facts from videos that have had 5 views. You have to dig deep to find those ! Ultimately I make videos for my own record and my own growth and of course if anybody learns anything as a by-product I’m more than happy to have helped in any way with their recovery. I’ll just carry on, I guess, until the folks at Shanghai TCM University notice me ! Ciao, Roland ---
**Author:** ![Rups](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/user_avatar/onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/rups/32/27794_2.png) [@Rups](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/u/Rups)\ **Post date:** [23 September 2026 16:22 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/change-your-terrain/47458/11 "2026-09-23T16:22:04Z")
> [@pando](#): > > I’ll just carry on, I guess, until the folks at Shanghai TCM University notice me You would need to consider posting your content on Youku as well maybe? Since YouTube is blocked in China and despite people rerouting around that with VPN, the Chinese audience is small. ---
**Author:** ![ManjiB](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/user_avatar/onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/manjib/32/19499_2.png) [@ManjiB](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/u/ManjiB)\ **Post date:** [23 September 2026 17:00 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/change-your-terrain/47458/12 "2026-09-23T17:00:28Z")
> [@pando](#): > > Ultimately I make videos for my own record and my own growth and of course if anybody learns anything as a by-product I’m more than happy to have helped in any way with their recovery. I hope my command of the English language does not let me down here, but I would say that your selfishness is more selfless than one might think, and it is without doubt a form of true altruism. You are blessed! > 🙏 ---
**Author:** ![pando](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/user_avatar/onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/pando/32/10488_2.png) [@pando](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/u/pando)\ **Post date:** [23 September 2026 18:14 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/change-your-terrain/47458/13 "2026-09-23T18:14:57Z")
> [@Rups](#): > > Youku Thx for the brilliant suggestion @Rups, I’ll work on that as soon as I have worked out how to clone myself !! It is part of a project I am working on !! Pando ---
**Author:** ![ManjiB](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/user_avatar/onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/manjib/32/19499_2.png) [@ManjiB](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/u/ManjiB)\ **Post date:** [23 September 2026 20:27 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/change-your-terrain/47458/14 "2026-09-23T20:27:52Z")
> [@pando](#): > > as soon as I have worked out how to clone myself !! I thought you had already done this - is Ronald not a clone of Roland 😅