Emotional Changes
A traumatic brain injury can cause a range of emotional problems. One or more of the following kinds of emotional changes might be observed:
• Depression - which might appear as a deep, lasting sadness, or despair, or helplessness. Getting started on a project, or even getting out of bed, can become a huge challenge. Depression might cause the person to feel worthless or to perhaps become suicidal.
• Anxiety - which might cause the person to often feel worried, agitated, jittery or overwhelmed by tasks that used to be easy. Just sitting still can become a challenge. Often, anxiety and depression go hand-in-hand after a brain injury.
• Drugs/Alcohol Abuse - Often, people who have had a brain injury turn to substances to find relief from their symptoms. They "self-medicate" with drugs or alcohol (or both) in order to try to feel better. They are seeking relief, but their TBI-related problems only worsen with the use of these substances.
These kinds of problems can be helped by professionals who understand brain injury. The difficulty is that people with a traumatic brain injury who suffer from depression, anxiety and/or substance abuse often resist getting or accepting help.