Mood Disorders After a Concussion — Concussion Effects on Mood
Did you know that 1 in 3 children will develop a mood disorder after a concussion[*][*]?
Concussions often have lingering effects on the brain, especially in adolescents. Concussion effects on mood can cause disorders, with symptoms that include:
Depression
Anger issues
Irritability
Mood swings
Impulsivity
Apathy
Anxiety
As a parent, I experienced this firsthand. My son received a concussion from high school football. He was in one of the best high school football programs for its size in the country; players were aggressive, and when he was hit, he was hit hard.
After the concussion, medical doctors went through the usual tests. They assessed his balance and coordination, as well as his ability to focus and attend to things. He passed everything and seemed healthy.
However, nobody prepared us for the emotional toll the blow to the head would have on my son.
For more than a year after his concussion, my son became a different person. He was angry and apathetic. He began to make poor, impulsive choices. He turned against the family, telling everyone he hated us. School and sports took a backseat to partying and sneaking out of the house. It seemed as if, almost overnight, our son had flipped a switch in his brain.
Mood disorders are common after a concussion. They can be frustrating and confusing, and they can seem like they’ve come out of nowhere. Fortunately, they’re also quite treatable.
We put my son on Brain Harmony’s 5-Step Plan of Care. His symptoms improved almost immediately, and about 18 months after his concussion, his cognitive and emotional regulation had returned to normal.
If you or your child had a recent concussion and you’ve noticed changes in mood, we can help. This article covers:
Signs and symptoms of a concussion
Signs and symptoms of a mood disorder
Which teens are most likely to get a mood disorder after a concussion
Brain Harmony’s 5-Step Plan of Care for concussions, TBIs and post concussion disorder
Signs and Symptoms of a Concussion
A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that results from a blow or jolt to the head.
Concussions disrupt brain function, and depending on the concussion’s severity, symptoms can last anywhere from a few days to multiple months.
Physical signs and symptoms of a concussion include[*]:
Persistent headaches or neck pain
Dizziness
Lightheadedness
Poor balance
Nausea
Brain fog
Difficulty remembering things
Poor concentration
Trouble falling asleep
Increased sensitivity to light or sounds
Ringing in the ears
If you notice any of these symptoms after a blow to the head, contact a doctor immediately. Concussions are potentially life-threatening, and the sooner you begin treatment, the better the outcome.
Post Concussion Effects on Mood: What to Look For
Most doctors are well-versed in the physical symptoms of concussions. However, many of them overlook the emotional changes a concussion can cause.
Some people experience post concussion syndrome -- their symptoms last for months after the concussion, and often include changes in mood*][*][*][*].
Post-concussion mood disorders can happen at any age, but they’re particularly common in children and teens. Did you know that 1 in 3 children will develop a mood disorder after a concussion[*][*].
Symptoms of a post-concussion mood disorder include:
Depression
Anxiety
Irritability
Anger issues
Apathy
Mood swings
Impulsivity
Behaving out of character (when compared to pre-concussion behavior)
Post-concussion mood disorders are often hard to diagnose because many doctors don’t realize that they’re linked to the concussion. One of our clients, Kim, struggled with exactly that issue. After a traumatic car accident, she continued to experience symptoms for months. Doctors dismissed her until she found Brain Harmony.
“Very few people I felt like were taking me seriously. And so, I came up out of the hit of feeling like I was alone, and like I’m just sinking and drowning because there’s something going on in my mind, something’s going on in my vision, something’s going on in my hearing, something’s going on in my coordination - something’s going on in all of these cognitive functions that are not right. And Brain Harmony restored that.”
Brain Harmony’s 5-Step Plan of Care for Concussions, TBIs, and Post Concussion Disorder
At Brain Harmony, we’ve worked with hundreds of patients to improve neurological health. One of our specialties is helping people recover function after traumatic brain injuries, including concussions.
For recovery from brain injuries, we use a 5-Step Plan of Care.
Step 1: Vagal Regulation
After a traumatic injury, your brain is often stuck in a fight-or-flight state. Many patients develop post-concussion anxiety and struggle to feel calm at a neurological level.
Step one in our plan of care focuses on helping the brain relax. Your vagus nerve runs from your brainstem to your abdomen and controls your fight-or-flight response.
We combine technology and therapy techniques to help you improve your vagal regulation. As a result, you feel comfortable and safe, and your brain is able to get out of its fight-or-flight state. Once your brain is relaxed, you can focus entirely on therapy.
Patients who start with vagal regulation typically see much faster results in therapy.
Step 2: Neurological Organization
After we’ve taught your brain to relax, we use a variety of cognitive tools to improve brain function.
We call this step “neurological organization” because you’re literally reorganizing your brain -- teaching it to build new pathways, strengthen old ones, and improve cross-brain communication so that your brain is faster and more efficient.
Reorganizing the brain is a vital step, especially for patients with brain injuries. Injuries often disrupt communication between brain regions, which can make it hard for you to regulate emotion or focus for an extended period of time.
It’s worth mentioning that everyone’s brain needs different support after an injury. We develop a specific plan to organize your brain based on your unique symptoms, to make sure you see fast, sustainable progress in your brain’s recovery.
Step 3: Reflex Integration
You’re born with reflexes that help you survive -- for example, you’ll automatically startle at a loud noise, then attend to the source.
Concussions and other brain injuries often disrupt your reflexes, which can have a surprisingly large impact on how you think and move. If your reflexes aren’t working properly, they can disrupt your emotional responses, cognition, and even your movement.
Step 3 of our plan of care involves integrating your reflexes. Once your reflexes are working properly, we can begin to improve higher-order function, like emotional control.
Step 4: Therapeutic Activities
In step 4, we use therapeutic activities to improve your specific symptoms.
We have more than 20 years of experience as board-certified occupational therapists, which gives us a large suite of protocols and tools to use to improve brain function. Our therapeutic activities can address everything from balance and physical coordination to regulating your emotions and mood.
The tools and protocols we choose depend on your unique needs. We choose activities that will help strengthen your brain, based on your symptoms.
Step 5: Self Care
Step 5 is all about making changes sustainable once you finish therapy. For adults, we teach you how to take care of yourself and give your brain what it needs to continue improving long-term.
For children, we bring in the family and advise you on how to create a healthy home that will give your child support. If your child is struggling with post-concussion impulsivity, we’ll help you create structure and boundaries to reduce impulsive decisions. If your child is having trouble with anger, we’ll recommend anger management strategies, or suggest a therapist who can work with your child to better control anger.
Again, our self-care plan is unique for every patient.
Struggling After A Concussion? Here’s How We Can Help
Post-concussion mood disorders can be scary. You may feel like you’re a different person entirely. If it’s your child who was concussed, you may feel like you’ve lost touch with your son or daughter, or no longer understand them.
We have more than 20 years of experience helping patients with traumatic brain injuries, concussions, and post-concussion syndrome. If you’re struggling, we can help.
Book a free consultation today to tell us about your needs. Together, we’ll come up with a plan of care to help you and your family.