Traumatic Brain Injuries and Their Effect on Mental Health
Updated: Oct 12, 2020
—Dr. Mehrnaz Green
Do you or someone you know experience a concussion or other traumatic brain injury?
For many who have suffered a TBI, they look “normal” or “the same” on the outside, but their ability to physically function, see, think and behave have been affected.
Many of you know that we specialize in treating vision problems after a brain injury.
Vision problems after a TBI are well documented and often discussed with health care providers. What many TBI patients have a hard time discussing is changes in their mental health. Due to the nature of how the brain functions, mental health changes after TBI is common and well researched.
Many TBI patients show signs of depression, mood disorders, anxiety, PTSD and have also developed sleep disorders not present before their injury, even with a mild TBI.
A recent study was released that showed soldiers who suffer moderate or severe TBI were more likely to suffer other mental health conditions than those with other serious injuries https://academic.oup.com/milmed/advance-article/doi/10.1093/milmed/usz440/5688870
Too many times, patients keep their mental health changes to themselves and do not reach out for help. If you or someone you know is suffering from mental health problems, it’s not your fault. Biological and chemical changes to your brain are occurring due to the injury. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2536546/
Talk to your doctors about what you are experiencing to get you started to the road to recovery. https://msktc.org/tbi/factsheets/emotional-problems-after-traumatic-brain-injury