After a traumatic brain injury (TBI), people often focus on the physical symptoms. Brain injuries can cause headaches, nausea, motor control issues, vertigo and sleep disruptions. Those physical symptoms absolutely require medical care, but they aren’t the only issues that TBIs cause.
Quite a few people also experience a sudden shift in mood or personality after a brain injury or even a concussion. What happens to change the way people act or sink when they suffer a brain injury?
Swelling or bleeding on the brain can alter your neurology
There are two ways that a brain injury can affect different parts of your brain. The first is the trauma at the time of the injury. The second is the ongoing pressure caused by bleeding or bruising on the brain.
People with brain injuries often find that their symptoms continue getting worse after their injury unless they seek medical intervention quickly. Many people report changes in their personality or daily mood. Others don’t notice it themselves but hear about these changes from family members who feel concerned.
How might your personality change
It is common for people to get angry more quickly, develop depressive moods when they previously had none or irrational behavior after a brain injury. However, sometimes brain injuries cause surprising personality changes.
Research has shown that roughly twice as many people have negative personality changes as positive ones, but the difference doesn’t have to be a negative one. A brain injury might make you calmer or more patient.
Personality changes can affect your finances
At first glance, personality impacts from a brain injury probably seemed like a minor concern. Compared with mobility issues or loss of memory, being a little bit grouchy or isn’t as debilitating of a side effect.
However, even small changes in your behavior or personality can affect your closest relationships and your job. You could find yourself facing divorce or getting pushed out of a previously lucrative position at a company because you don’t act the way you did before.
Understanding how a brain injury could affect your personality can help you get the right compensation after you get hurt.