Week 12 Post 2: Prevention

     When it comes to stopping CTE, at the current state, the best thing to do is promote prevention. There are personal decisions that can be made to prevent CTE, following concussion protocol and overall protecting one's head. It is vital that in a case of a concussion, it is being treated to the highest extent needed. In order to prevent concussions, it's important to make decisions including wearing helmets, and deciding whether or not to participate in high-contact sports. If a decision is made to participate in contact sports, following concussion protocol becomes even more important. As for spreading the word to prevent CTE throughout the world, it is extremely important to know about CTE as much as possible, especially including the scientific definition and symptoms. To contribute to CTE research, people can donate brains (of athletes, veterans, etc.) of deceased organ donors in their family which is an immensely helpful contribution to the science of CTE. Other contributions include money, speaking of personal experiences with CTE, and even taking time to follow the findings of organizations that study CTE including Concussion Legacy Foundation, Mayo Clinic, and more.

     Making sure people know the importance of brain health is the initial step in making brain health a top priority all over the world. CTE is a perfect example of what can happen when brains cannot be taken care of properly. Even then, CTE it is not getting the recognition and attention it deserves. Promoting prevention of CTE is simultaneously promoting brain health, and there are multiple ways for each individual to do so. Whether it's making personal decisions to protect one's brain or raising awareness and contributing to research to protect others, each individual is ultimately helping to end CTE as well as poor mental health in general. If the world is able to focus on brain health, extreme progress will be made in the treatment of CTE and many other mental illnesses.