Hi all,

Been reading up on the forums here on-and-off for a while – was hoping I wouldn’t need to create an account… but here I am!

A bit of general background on my situation : had a first concussion ~3 years ago (spring of 2019) after banging the back/left of my head on a hard wall. Took me 2 months from initial impact to full recovery and (thankfully) had absolutely no lingering symptoms.

Then, approx. 1 year ago, I got my 2nd concussion after hitting my head under the sink in my bathroom, impact was more on the top/right area of my head. I took the same usual steps to recover: rest, no screens, no intense physical activity, daily walks, etc. About 3 weeks in, I lightly bumped my head which brought me back to square 1 in terms of progress. Following this, I started consulting with a physio and MD who followed my progress, gave me rehab exercises (balance, visual tracking, re-integration and build-up of physical exercise). However, the same pattern had been ongoing for the next 8 months: very decent amount of progress, random bump to the head, start everything over again. Then, starting in August/September, I finally got on a decent streak of progress, no random bumps or impacts to the head, got back to working 40+hours/wk in front of a computer screen, working out without any max heart rate constraints, etc. I would say I felt anywhere between 95% to 100% of my normal self. Also felt a lot less sensitive/vulnerable to impacts.

Then, 2 weeks ago, my 4 month old daughter, who I was holding in my arms, hit her head against the front in my teeth/chin. Just to give you a sense of the strength of the impact, she didn’t cry or anything, business as usual. On the other hand, over the next 2-3 days I developed the very same symptoms that I had been dealing with since my 2nd concussion. They have been lingering since.

Needless to say, my morale is at a zero, I thought this whole saga was finally behind me only to realize that I have to start all over again. Also, the idea that such a light (and common) type of bump would do so much has really got me depressed about the future… Let’s be honest, I don’t think it’s realistic for anyone to say they will completely eliminate all random small nicks to the head.

So anyways, I had a few questions on my mind, but the main one is this: I can’t seem to find a decent answer as to WHY this is happening. As is why a tiny impact brings back full-on concussion symptoms. No medical papers or professionals seem to be able to explain what is physiologically happening. I know some of you say it’s purely psychological or anxiety-related, and while I do agree that it probably feeds into the problem, I can’t believe it’s the only explanation. There are simply too many stories just like mine out there, of people getting the most minor nick to the head and getting all of their full-blown concussions symptoms back, for the “it’s all in your head” explanation to resonate with me.

In any case, apologies if my tone is coming off as negative, but I’m just in a pretty bad state of mind at this moment.

Thanks in advance for any feedback / suggestions.