Unpredictable fallout creates trauma.
For some, their Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) barely affects their day-to-day life, while it causes pain and loss in the lives of others.
One common theme with people who live with TBIs is that they did not ask for this to happen.
TBIs can occur from various events, including car accidents, sports, physical altercations, combat, or falls in the community.
Nothing feels the same as before the TBI.
Before the TBI event, you could work all day and not feel exhausted. It was not a big deal when someone tested your patience; it was nothing. Now irritability and edginess permeate aspects of your life.
Sleep had never been an issue for you, but you either oversleep or barely sleep now.
Frustration, anger, and impatience are the new normal for you.
You feel that your personality is different, and you question who you are. Sometimes, impulsive, reckless actions occur, and you don’t know why and can’t seem to control them.
Relationships are struggling.
Your family and friends notice an edge to you that was not there before the TBI.
Coworkers perceive a change in your attitude toward others and stress at work.
When you are alone, you can acknowledge that something has changed and wonder if it will get better on its own. But you deny the change when others question you.
Emotions are uncontrollable.
When stress arises, your emotions don’t match the situation. You become either too numb for fear of overreacting or too sensitive about whether your feelings will start and not stop.
People don’t know the mask you wear, and that one crack in your emotional wall will lead to a waterfall of emotions and insecurities. Others, you fear, will see you as weak if you can’t control your emotions. Frustration builds.
At times, it is you against the world.
Integrate the TBI and make life more predictable.
Despite your difficulties, you know deep inside life after a traumatic brain injury is something you can do.
Through therapy, you will build ways to reconnect with yourself to bring meaning back into your life.
We will develop skills to increase your awareness of changes in your mood and build the ability to respond to your emotions versus react to them. Your relationship with yourself and your relationships with others will improve through this work.
Start the process of healing. Submit a form or give me a call. I will return all voicemails within two business days.
