Struggling with Mental Health: Could it be a TBI?

Man, you need to be off of naltrexone and antipsychotics. That's causing most of your side effects.

I’ve recently been on the same sort of path (in terms of seeing how my TBI has created a lot of mental barriers and issues for me). I haven’t found the perfect answer yet, but here are a few things I learned: 1. There’s such thing as concussion rehab (no one told me this!). It’s conducted through Speech Pathologists and is offered in most rehab facilities. You do not have to do this immediately after the injury, they can still help years later. And for issues that are related to mood, memory, and function (not just verbalizing things). 2. You can get an opinion/diagnosis on the injury’s impact from a neuropsychologist (again, no one ever told me this). It can be really helpful if you’re trying to identify what’s going on. 3. There’s a whole field of physical therapists who specialize in recovering from concussions. Sometimes the physical pain your body is in (ex: tendency for frequent or more painful neck tension) can also have a huge impact on your sleep and overall mental health. I think a good starting point is thinking through what mental (and physical) challenges you’ve noticed. From there, trying out different care providers will help you learn more about what does and doesn’t work. For example, caraniosacral massage has made a huge difference for me with the disassociation/depersonalization that has been getting out of hand since my injury.

It would depend on your specific symptoms. But there is no specific TBI treatment. For instance, I suffer from impulsiveness, memory issues, and I struggle with concentration. All because of my TBI. However, I treat this by taking medications for ADHD which help tremendously. I also have depression and anxiety from my brain injury- for which I take an antidepressant.