A brain injury can lead to serious damage that alters your life. Even if you manage to recover and not suffer physical injuries, there may be changes that others see in you.
MSKTC explains any injury to the brain could cause changes in your personality. These might range from becoming more emotional than you were before the accident to complete changes in how you act.
Obvious changes
Some of the changes brought on by the injury will be obvious to others. You may not notice them, but people will probably point them out. For example, if you never cried much, but after the accident, you cry all the time, someone may point that out. You may come across as more stubborn, refusing to do things, or appear lazy because you lack the motivation to do anything. You may also seem more fidgety to others as you cannot sit still very long and feel the need to be busy.
Other changes
You may also suffer changes that people around you may not notice. You might feel like your mind is wandering, and you cannot focus. You could feel isolated and like you do not want to be social because it makes you feel uncomfortable. You may also have trouble interacting with others. However, you may be able to hide these feelings, so the people in your life may not notice.
The impact
Your personality changes may start right away with the brain injury. They can change over time. Sometimes, the issues go away and you return to your normal self. It can be difficult to know exactly what will happen in the long term. But you should educate your friends and family to let them know that the changes are a result of the injury and you have little control over them. Doing this can help everyone to learn to adapt to the new you better.
