Life with a brain injury becomes a challenging journey. Many dramatic impacts could be in store that you were not aware of at the time of the diagnosis. You will likely find new ways that it affects you as time progresses. Paying close attention to all symptoms and keeping track of them to share with your medical team can make it easier for you to receive a diagnosis.
There are three categories of problems that might occur when you have this type of injury. These include:
- Emotional and behavioral
- Physical
- Cognitive
Each of these categories can affect your family, social and work life.
Emotional and behavioral impacts
You might suffer from depression, anxiety and other emotional impacts after an injury to the brain. Personality changes and shifting emotions are also possible. You may lash out at your friends and loved ones, but you likely don’t realize it. Part of the issue might be that you are frustrated and acting out because of this, and you may also feel as though you are a burden on your loved ones. Some individuals who have a brain injury will seek the help of a mental health professional to help them find ways that they can cope with these emotions.
Physical impacts
The physical impacts of the traumatic brain injury are often the most easily noticed. You might suffer from head pain. It can come from different types of headaches, including tension, migraine, rebound and cerviogenic headaches. Balance impacts, dizziness, inner ear issues and vision impairment can also occur. You might feel fatigue and tiredness, however, some people will have to deal with insomnia. Seizures and strokes are possible. You may also have nerve damage, which can lead to considerable pain, facial paralysis, trouble swallowing and loss of facial sensations.
Cognitive impacts
Cognitive impacts are those that impact the thought process and how you reason. You might have trouble concentrating and feel like your brain is foggy. This can make it hard for you to understand what’s going on. It can also affect how you communicate with people. At work, this can make it hard to know what to do for your job, but you may be able to overcome this with certain accommodations like written instructions.
When the brain injury was caused by the negligence of another person, you might choose to seek compensation for the damages that you suffered. This can help you to cover the medical expense and other costs that are directly related to the injury.
