Hello, my name is Ryan.

I am writing an intro to describe my experiences with brain injury, and the consequences that followed.

First off, I am 34 years old, and have been having problems since I was around 18. At 18 I experienced multiple concussions resulting in what the doctors assumed was second-impact injury. I had about three concussions in a two month period, the last one being the end of my wrestling career. The first concussion occurred when I was being thrown down to the mat in practice, and collided with the foot of another wrestler who was being thrown. So essentially, I was kicked in the head at a very high speed. I never lost consciousness, but immediately thought everything was hilarious. A short time later, I was blindsided in a pick-up football game which caused me to see stars and instantly become dizzy. The final blow came during a match, where I was dropped on my head which caused me to become disorientated and lost.

Since these experiences, I have had many bad life experiences. I'm divorced (caused by excessive alcohol consumption and bad moods) and have hurt many people by being an emotional wreck. My girlfriend at the time remarked how I had become a different person after the concussions, and as time has gone on I agree with her. My moods are essentially flat, but the ironic part is that although I feel no happiness, I feel anxiety and depression constantly. So in essence, I get the bad emotions and none of the good.

Anyway, just wanted to know if others on here experienced similar circumstances and how they dealt with them.

Thanks