Traumatic brain injury

[RipspeedBen]

Hi everyone, I am new here and would just like to find out what other people do that have similar issues as me. I have a traumatic brain injury from a car accident in 2006 which I shouldn't have survived. I have a few issues as a result of this, the worst one being I get agitated easily and I often shout and can swear sometimes. This has progressively got worse over the last few years, my question is, does anyone else have similar issues and how do they deal with it. Thanks

[Leaf100]

Hi RipspeedBen,

It is very common for people to get more easily agitated, to be very easily angered - especially in the first couple years when the brain hurts a lot. Some people do get more docile. It just depends on where the injury is.

We also tend to lose our filters. Which means we swear more, may have issues woth impulsive behaviour, etc.

Headway helpline - contact deatils pinned in a messags on your right is always a good place to start.

Mindfullness or some sort of meditation is often suggested.

Also, the more overloaded you are the more likely this kind of thing will happen. Pacing yourself can really help a lot. This means taking a rest, say 20 minutes, before you go somewhere stimulating like shopping, for instance, or doing something hard like reading, cooking, or talking on the phone. A rest also means sitying or laying somewhere quiet, not watching tv or reading . Reduce stimulation where you can - like don't listen to the radio in the car, don't listen tmusic or rhe tv while trying to do sometimg else, etc. There is a lot to it and Headway can recommend more info on it. You have to try different things and see what is so for you. You will find things that drain you, things that are neutral, and things that make you feel better. You can feel a lot better if you identify things and plan accordingly so you give yourself a chance.

Headway can also help you find the right professioanal or group that will help you discover what will work for you.

It isn't at all unusual for people to still have issues years out from the accident. Some of us didn't get access to therapy at the time or were not healed enough to benefit enough from it. Plus, they keep learning more as time goes on.

I mention this as you may run unto an unhelpful prfessional who thinks you have gotten as far as you will get this many years later. That attitude is hogwash. What you do is thank them for their time , leave, and go find someone else.

Keep looking, keep trying things, and do not give up on yourself.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy CBT and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy are also popular these days, you can find info on them on youtube to check them out. As for meditation - ton of free ones out there - for example there is guided meditaion on youtube put out by the Buddhist association of western australia - no you do not have to be a buddhist to do it. There are also some here from the self compassion organization

self-compassion.org/categor...

Learning to calm yourself at will can help a lot. It may take time but you canlearn and also can figure out your triggrrs to managw them better.

Always good to get some professional input from someone you work well with. They can also help you if you mouth off at the wrong person at the wrong time - showing you are working on the issue goes a long way to avoiding backlash of various sorts.

Let us know how you make out.

Welcome to the group, Rsb.

Leaf

[Pairofboots]

Hi Ben, as Leaf says everyone experience is different, and give some suggestions. Headway is always a good starting point.

Increased agitation, anger, distress can be suggestive of poor coping strategies. Things that you wouldn't have blinked at previously are increasingly more difficult to respond to. This can be due to changes in your cognitive abilities, but it can also be due to psychological changes that you are unaware of. It would be worth asking to be referred to a neuro-psychologist. The importance of the term neuro settings this apart from the common garden version. They specialise in brain injury. They can assess different functions of the brain that may give an idea of what needs to be addressed.

I found that this crept up on me, and I hit crisis before I got help. This lead to depression. What came first is a bit of a chicken and egg question. The last thing I expected. I saw a neuro-psychologist for a number of years, but I also was prescribed medication by a neuro-psychiatrist, again the neuro makes the difference, because they treat brain injury as oppose to psychiatric problems.

Many problems we experience are similar to psychiatric disorders, but their cause is the injury to the brain, and required a different strategy to treat. Treatment is often similar, but they are treating a different cause. I have, on many occasions had to explain the difference between brain injury and psychiatric problems. It does make a difference how others respond to you (although everyone should be treated with respect regardless of cause, but I have found that it does make a difference).

Other things that can help is recognising triggers, we often need help to recognise and go on to manage these without them becoming a restriction to getting on with life.

Hope this helps 🍀

[RipspeedBen in reply to Pairofboots]

How did you go about getting referred to a neuro-psychologist, did you do this through your normal gp?

[Marnie22 in reply to RipspeedBen]

I was referred to a neuropsychologist through my GP. I requested the referral.

[Pairofboots in reply to RipspeedBen]

Yes your GP can make the referral. Just make sure that they do refer to a neuro-psychologist from the neuro-rehab team. Good luck, well you shouldn't need luck, but you hopefully get my jist. 🍀

[Leaf100 in reply to Pairofboots]

I got a name from a brain injury organization and asked the family doc to refer me.

Yes, the neuro part is key - the treatments they use for psychiatric issues actually make bi symptoms worse. I have been repeatedly told by the bi org to stay away from psychiatric/psychological treatments (not neuro-psychiatrist, not neuro-psychologist) as one is not the other. The neuro ones understand brain stuff.

This organization actually screens out people with straight psychiatric issues as having them and bi people together doesn't work well in general. (I live somewhere without Headway, we have local bi organizations instead.)

As Pairofboots said, people with such training will know what is down to the actual injuy and what can be coped with better once you understand your triggers and how to manage what you take on, hvae appropriate therapy and/or medications that work for you etc. Well worth the time. You may alsomneed their help applying for things as you will need letters, forms signed, etc

Leaf