A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can change your life forever. Unlike other parts of the body, the brain may not heal completely after suffering damage.
The impact of head trauma is different for everyone. Many factors contribute to the outcome, such as the severity of the injury, the affected location, the type of injury, the delay of treatment and much more. With this in mind, it is important to be aware of key symptoms and signs.
Know the signs
Here are 17 potential cognitive problems you may face after a head injury:
- General confusion: Things may not “click” the way they did before, and you may find yourself overwhelmed by social situations.
- Issues with organization: It could become difficult for you perform functions of your job or run a business, for instance.
- Difficulty concentrating: You may feel like you cannot keep your mind on the task at hand.
- Problems planning even simple tasks: You could find it difficult to plan in advance or remember what you planned.
- Decreased performance: Others may notice that you have problems handling tasks the way you once did; perhaps now things take longer and there are more mistakes.
- Problems with your memory: You may have forgotten the event that injured you entirely, or you may have trouble making new memories.
- Problems finishing tasks in the proper sequence: This can make even simple things, like cooking, too hard to handle.
- Perseveration: This condition may cause to you repeatedly ask people the same questions, without realizing you did so.
- Difficulty paying attention to what is happening around you: Inattention can make it hard to work or go to school.
- Trouble making decisions: When asked to decide, you may find it nearly impossible to do so, or you may struggle with the choice more than is necessary.
- Difficulty solving problems: If something does not go as expected, you may not find a way to fix the problem.
- Struggling with language: You could find it harder to read and write.
- Issues identifying common objects: You may forget the names of things you use every day.
- Problems remembering or recognizing people: You may forget that you have ever met someone. You could also forget people you have known for years.
- A lowered awareness of your surroundings or your actions: This can make it harder to fit in socially.
- Problems multi-tasking: You may need to take on one task at a time, focusing until you complete it before moving on to anything else.
- Decreased mental processing speed: Things that other people grasp almost instantly may elude you.
These examples only focus on cognitive problems, but they help to show how a brain injury can have a drastic effect on a person’s life. Make sure you understand your legal options after an injury caused by someone else.