Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) affect all aspects of a person’s life. While many people are aware of the physical damage wrought by these serious brain injuries, fewer are aware of the behavioral changes suffered by victims of TBI.
Below is some information for TBI sufferers and their family members.
Common side effects of traumatic brain injuries
While each brain injury is as unique as the person struggling to cope with it, some commonalities emerge. Unpleasant side effects that TBI patients often experience include the following:
- Aggression
- Impulsivity
- Denial
- Loss of inhibition
- Irritability
- Egocentricity
- Dependency
- Lack of awareness
- Obsessiveness
- Emotional lability
- Loss of motivation
- Apathy
- Depression
Some of these unfortunate side effects of a TBI may fade or even disappear entirely over time and with treatment. However, some may indeed be permanent.
How patients and families can cope
Both TBI patients and their loved ones and friends can struggle with this “new normal.” Some friends and acquaintances may decide that the changes are too abrupt, or too much of a reminder of how much their friend has changed. They may sever the relationship, further plunging the TBI patient into despair.
Even sadder, some marriages end over the perceived bleak future of life with a TBI patient as a spouse. These subsequent losses only add to the distress felt by the injured person.
How to find a path forward
Perhaps the best way for those suffering from TBIs from workplace accidents is to seek compensation from their employers or other liable parties for the life-altering injuries they suffered. While no amount of money can restore them to their pre-accident condition, a court settlement or judgment can at least provide them with the funds they need to live a better life.