As we’ve previously discussed, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) refers to an injury to the head that results in damage to the brain. It seems that we hear about this mostly in the context of professional contact sports. In America, there’s no greater example than the NFL, and the heartbreaking stories of players, active and retired, who have experienced concussions and suffer from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
But you don’t have to be a professional athlete to experience TBI. In addition to sports injuries, there are many causes of TBI, including falls, car accidents, violence–like gunshot wounds and physical assault–explosive blasts, and other combat-related injuries.
Unfortunately, the consequences of TBI go beyond physical injury, and below we examine the link between TBI and changes in behavior.
What Actually Happens to the Brain?
Before we discuss the behavior changes that result from TBI, it’s important to understand exactly how the brain is damaged, which serves as the antecedent to the symptoms.
A mild instance of TBI can have a temporary effect on brain cells. However, a major injury may cause bruising, torn tissues, and bleeding. All of this disrupts brain function, directly impacting behavior.
Mental Health
TBI unfairly presents people with an unfamiliar brain that can introduce negative emotional changes that beget mental health disorders. Suddenly or years down the line, individuals may experience difficulty with self-control, engage in risky behaviors, and develop a lack of awareness of abilities.
This has the potential to degrade into depression, anxiety, mood disorders, and other emotional changes.
Cognitive & Executive Functioning
Cognition or thinking ability is also targeted by TBI, making it increasingly difficult to focus and process thoughts and information. Therefore, skills such as memory, learning, logic, and judgement are compromised.
Erosion of these skills creates executive functioning problems or an individual’s capacity for attention control, working memory, inhibition, and problem-solving. This can produce a snowball effect on people of all ages from children who struggle to keep up in school to adults who can’t sustain jobs or relationships.
Communication
Among the most debilitating symptoms of TBI are problems with language and communication. Not only is the act of communicating difficult, but so is interpretation. Individuals with TBI labor to speak and write, and organize thoughts and ideas. At the same time, they can have difficulty understanding speech and writing.
This has social implications, as well, because it creates frustration for the afflicted and non-afflicted who are trying to engage with each other. The person with TBI misses often social cues, has trouble actively participating in conversations, or may not be able to express themselves accurately due to slurred speech.
We Treat Traumatic Brain Injury
It’s important to note that not all TBI is the same. The symptoms and behavior changes we’ve discussed vary by the severity of the injury. Additionally, TBI is treatable, and it’s an area that Chicago Mind Solutions specializes in through neurofeedback therapy. For more information about our treatments and teletherapy options, please contact us at (224) 723-5050 or email info@chicagomindsolutions.com.
