Hi Scoots,

I have problems with anxiety too, and it greatly complicates the symptoms of a concussion. Anxiety creates a lot of tension for the mind and body, which can drag out the recovery process and make it even more painful. Anxiety creates headaches, and headaches create anxiety. It can feel like an endless cycle.

It is difficult to tell how much of your symptoms can be attributed to the accident or just anxiety in general. It sounds like the accident shocked your nervous system and the mind/body can get stuck in that place. I can get triggered even when small things scare me, like the other day I dropped a pan when I was cooking it and it stirred up all sorts of anxious feelings and fears.

Mark has a good point that the accident may have been caused in part by anxiety. I've had that happen to me when my anxiety gets bad and one time it made me total my car. Either way it will help you to find ways to reduce the anxiety. Like Baab said, try breathing exercises, yoga, tai chi, and other methods to calm your nervous system.

My job is also computer based and that can add a major source of physical stress. Staring at a screen for too long gives me a headache and stiff neck too. The best way I've found to combat that is to take lots of small breaks, get up and walk around, and stretch out your neck daily. You may want to talk to your manager about starting with a lighter workload when you return. I've done that with my managers and they have been very accommodating.

It also helps to remove anything from your life that could trigger anxiety and/or inflammation like coffee or alcohol. There is a lot of interesting research around concussion recovery and the keto diet, which restricts sugar and carbs but is high in healthy fats. That helped me to stop having insulin spikes that left me anxious and moody.

I personally have had limited luck with medical professionals. There's not much they can really do except prescribe medication that make you feel like a zombie. You have to find ways to cope with the anxiety/stress or it will complicate the healing process. I know it can feel daunting but you can do this. And you have our support along the way.