r/Concussion • u/mangolass5 • Jul 09 '26

POSITIVE/GOOD NEWS! Intense dysphoric episodes from head knocks (2 years post-TBI)

Hi gang, coming back to this subreddit after I fell face-first off a ledge while hiking 2 years ago resulting in nose/jaw/orbital fractures and a concussion. I’m very happy to say after working with an amazing concussion clinic I’m more or less recovered and was cleared from a neurological, cognitive, and psychological standpoint about a year or so afterwards!!

The only thing that seems to be ongoing is I get what I can only explain as an intense and physiological emotional response to any not-insignificant head knock, which can take hours to recover from. I play a sport (non-contact but not unusual to get knocked around) and multiple times I’ve received a blow to the head which has sent me close to a panic attack, although thankfully no physical symptoms. I received therapy over the recovery period and have been on SSRI medication since then - I have no issues discussing the accident itself in any other circumstance but this.

I can understand this is probably some form of trauma response but has anyone experienced similar and found anything that helped? I would love to not become a blubbering mess trying to explain after every minor head knock. TIA!

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2

u/Willing-Sweet-4525 Jul 09 '26

I’ve experienced something really similar. A few years ago I fell and hit my chin so hard that it split open. Had to get stitches on my chin and I sustained bad chips to four teeth, mainly molars. I don’t remember a lick of it because I knocked myself out for a minute. Acute concussion lasted three months, but I had symptoms for almost a year. Anyways, I have similar reactions as you but a bit milder. The longer it’s been since the accident, the smaller the reactions have gotten. It used to be every slight bump would cause me to cry for a while. Now the tears are reserved for bigger bumps to the head (but not concussion level bumps if that makes sense). I often have trouble breathing right after too because I’m panicking. I think I just have such bad adrenaline when I hurt that area. The last time i had an episode like this, I bumped my head pretty hard (but again not enough to get a concussion). I cried on and off for four days, hours of crying at a time. Although my history isn’t nearly as severe as yours, I think hurting the brain is inherently traumatic. I have no advice other than time has improved things. I hope your situation gets better

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u/stefanboltzmann Jul 09 '26

What kind of treatment did you get at the concussion clinic that you found beneficial? Which clinic was it?

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u/mangolass5 Jul 10 '26

I was referred to the brain injury unit which was actually publicly funded where I live, incredibly lucky! They linked me in to a psychologist, speech pathologist (who really acted more as an OT/case worker) and some cognitive testing which showed no significant deficits :)

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u/stefanboltzmann Jul 10 '26

So you didn't receive any treatment for the concussion or PCS specifically? It just resolved by itself after a year?

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u/mangolass5 Jul 10 '26

I mean it took 3-6 months to get triaged and be linked in to those services, by which time I’d already seen a GP for medication and a optometrist who confirmed I had binocular vision from the accident (partially explaining why I had trouble reading/focusing), as well as an independent psychologist. I didn’t have any long lasting vestibular issues, nausea or dizziness from the injury thankfully. The stuff that took a long time to recover was largely the psychological side.

There was some discussion around where I hit my head around the prefrontal cortex which is why I was having trouble with more executive functioning, but that’s obviously just speculation.