Sam, I empathize with you greatly. Yesterday I was a passenger in a car that hit a curb quite hard, enough make to make the car jolt to the side quickly and cause a loud noise. It was definitely the strongest jolt since my initial injury 10 months ago. That said, none of the other 3 passengers complained of any ill-feeling afterward.

Since then, I have felt a strong return of my symptoms. I am trying to rest and convince myself that it was not enough to cause an injury, but we both know how hard that can be. While right now I feel very unsteady, my plan of action is:

1. Rest as much as possible today
2. Force myself to do strenuous physical activity tomorrow

I find that when I am freaking out and can't tell whether it is my anxiety that is causing symptoms, physical activity helps convince myself that I am okay. I try to remember that after my initial brain injury, I could barely walk a mile without feeling utterly exhausted. Then, I go for a long run. When I come back in one piece, I am greatly relaxed, because I've done something I know I could not have done if I had just had another brain injury. In theory, this could work for mental activities as well, but with extreme anxiety it's easy to flub on those.

In short, the next time you are reeling from a bump or jolt, try to take a day to rest and then challenge yourself with a safe physical activity that you know you could not do after a brain injury. When you succeed, you'll know you're okay.

Hang in there.