Living With a Brain Injury

If you or a loved one have suffered a brain injury, you know how it can affect your day-to-day life. We understand the frustration and challenges that come with this type of injury, and know that with rehabilitation and the support of those closest to you, there are many ways to help improve your quality of life.

This article outlines some of the challenges involved for someone living with a brain injury and will be beneficial to those looking to help their affected loved one.

What is a brain injury?  

When an individual sustains a brain injury from a traumatic accident, every case is unique and treatment needs will vary. The length of recovery and type of treatment depends on how serious the trauma was and the person themselves. In order to help the injured person, supporting family and friends need to be aware of some of the affects a brain injury may have on someone.   

Brain injury symptoms include:

• Confusion
• Lack of ability to focus
• Headaches
• Memory issues
• Irritability
• Agitation
• Restlessness
• Tiredness
• Motor function difficulty or loss
• Sensitivity to light and noise
• Depression
• Communication issues
• Seizures
• Learning difficulties

It’s important for loved ones and support persons to be aware that changes to a brain injured person’s personality and functioning can be difficult to live with.  A person suffering from a brain injury isn’t always aware of the changes to their personality and by understanding their challenges, you can help them navigate through the confusion. 

What’s Next?

The severity of a traumatic brain injury will dictate your treatment needs and the path to recovery. Typically, minor cases allow the injured person to recover more quickly, but they may continue to notice differences in their routine, function and purpose throughout their day-to-day life.

Living with a more significant brain injury could mean regular check-ins with medical professionals and long-term rehabilitation. It’s a long road to recovery and you’ll need to take all the necessary steps to try to get back to your normal routines. It’s common that you will still require ongoing or daily cognitive exercises to maintain function and quality of life, even when you feel “back to normal”.

Coping with a Brain Injury

When it comes to coping with a brain injury, everyone handles it differently. One common occurrence is feelings of denial. While it’s difficult to deal with the changes in your daily life, acceptance is a large part of healing and learning to live with a brain injury. 

Frustration and sadness can take a heavy toll on the affected and their loved ones, making acceptance a difficult action. While there is no quick fix for this issue, time and ongoing treatment will help ease the frustration. As the healing of the brain injury progresses, acceptance will come with the regaining of abilities or through learning how to manage new limitations. Eventually, it will feel less like a battle and more like a new way of life.

This same sentiment goes towards family members and support persons. Often spouses and people close to the injured person have difficulty accepting the new reality and feel the strain of hardship and loss. Depending on the severity of the brain injury it can feel like living with a completely different person. As a caregiver, it’s important to remember that self-care is a necessary part of treatment for both you and the injured person, and we encourage you to seek out counselling resources to help make it through the difficult transition.  

We’re Here to Help

At Findlay Personal Injury Lawyers, we know this can be a difficult situation and we’re here to help. While we’re not be able to reverse the effects of your injury, but we can help ease some of the emotional and financial hardship that comes with it. If you or a loved one has sustained brain injury from a motor vehicle collision or personal injury, please give us a call at 905-522-9799 to book a free consultation.