Hey,

I had a concussion in a ski accident at 23, which followed previous concussions through sport and as child, so can offer some thoughts on living with TBI in early twenties and fear of re-injury.

There is potentially a positive at it happening at that age as your brain is perhaps better placed to recover in your early twenties, than if you are either older or much younger. Not that there is an ideal age for having a TBI.

Psychologically, I think it can be particularly difficult to accept. A clinical psychologist I saw after the concussion noted that older people often can be more philosophical about injury of any kind, because they may have fulfilled more life goals and are less anxious generally about how life might turn out/ more experienced at dealing with the unexpected. Early twenties, with or without TBI can be uncertain e.g. starting a career and wondering where it will go.

I did recover significantly, but I found myself comparing myself too soon and too harshly to what I was like pre-accident. I think I slightly romanticised what I was like before, and what I would been had I not been injured.

This made me more anxious about the injury/ made it seem more catastrophic.

It helped me not to compare myself to anyone. To think of myself on my own path, and if it was harder than someone else's/ friends, or more difficult than planned, then so be it.

At work, single tasking helped to prevent becoming over whelmed.

I did have a constant fear of re-injury, which was quite compulsive. The anxiety became very severe and irrational at times, but I think the source of it is rational- you're obviously going to be anxious about something, which has caused so much damage.

That said, I don't think anxiety made me any safer. Probably the opposite.

I read up about accident prevention, and found it useful to slow down.

This article I thought was good:

http://www.yalemedicalgroup.org/stw/...geID=STW000431

I still get anxious about hitting my head, which can be time consuming.

I know it doesn't help my state of mind or safety, so still working on it.

I am not sure if fully recovered. Or if I am, whether believe it.

Hope, with time, that the hardest part is behind you and you feel better soon!

P.s. I think elsewhere on here, there are links to some really helpful books- better than the above! There is a also new book out by James Cracknell- Touching Distance, which looks interesting and may have some good insight.