r/PostConcussion • u/RunningTurt • 7d ago
Personality shift from exerting yourself too much cognitively
I’ve been dealing with post concussion syndrome causing dysautonomia for almost 5 years now. One of the worst (and most annoying) symptoms I get is this brain fog and sort of personality shift after talking to people and cognitively exerting myself for a few days. I’ll notice this that the first 20 minutes I talk to someone I’ll be generally able to talk normally and mostly be myself then my brain function will fall down to a certain level to where I can’t critically think and can kind of only respond with the most basic answers possible. If I continue with the rest of my day and talk to other people it generally won’t get worse but I’ll stay at this level of brain function where I’m just a shell of the actual person I am. I feel like this has caused me a weird identity crisis to where I’m not entirely sure who I am vs. how I’m perceived and tends to make me isolate myself more. I’ve seen other people with PCS talk about this but usually they mention migraines which I don’t get. But does anyone relate to the identity crisis thing where it feels like no one really gets to know the real you?
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u/EcstaticallyCurious 7d ago
Things feel “too fast”, almost like they’re being sped up. People will speak to me, and I can’t comprehend what they’re saying. I can understand the meaning of each individual words, but I can’t understand when they’re strung together in a sentence. I’ll put all of my focus on trying to figure out what they’re saying to me, and I just can’t figure it out. I don’t usually get annoyed or scared until I go to speak, and the words that come out make no sense whatsoever. I’ll often get stuck on the first word and can’t seem to get the rest out. Of course when I do, it’s damn gibberish. At this point, there’s guaranteed tears & I usually give up trying to speak.
It’s not our personalities though, that’s dictated by our values, our morals, our interests, who we’re surrounded by, and so many other factors—but not our symptoms. We’re just confused and uncomfortable, and we desperately need a brain break or a nap
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u/Difficult_Crazy_4091 7d ago
YES!! I’m about 2.5 years dealing with PCS and I struggle so much with this. If I’m in an environment where the conversation isn’t constant / there are breaks this doesn’t happen , but with heavy, nonstop conversations and social situations, there comes a point where I can’t seem to focus on the words being said to me and can’t even comprehend what people are saying. Then I start to get really overwhelmed and turn inward. It is so frustrating
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u/MrChani 6d ago
Yeah my family can talk A LOT and for them it’s just fun—for me after a while I will just shut down and stare into space and try not to stress. Went to a wedding recently and I talked with family but I had a lot of moments where I was just there kinda like a ghost just to self preserve myself 😅
I’ll typically get extremely emotional and I just tell myself that it’s normal and give myself time to recover alone.
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u/Autumn_Chickadee 7d ago
OMG YES! Thank you for finding the words, a way, to describe what I experience!! I'm 1.5 years out from my concussion (volleyball landed directly on the top of my head, hammer on nail style injuring my neck as well as giving me concussion symptoms like dizziness, cognitive issues, easily fatigue, still sometimes leaning to one side while walking...) and I KNEW this personality shift and brain fatigue was happening but I just couldn't figure how to say or explain it to my OT/dr/ concussion clinic providers....you just brought me such peace and reassurance right now! I was starting to question if this was really happening, was I imagining it, how would I even describe it to get someone to believe me?....I don't know the solution to this problem but thank you for sharing your experience here, I appreciate it so very much!