Are you always afraid of hitting your head?
 

That might sound a little weird, but it's something that I've noticed since I had my car accident and first got PCS.

Every car I see on the road, every door I look at, ever sharp corner or window ledge or anything remotely large or heavy, I imagine as a threat to my safety. I am worried it is going to hit my head, and in the moment, I can "feel" the impact of the accident in my mind, sort of like re-living it.

My friends tease me about "ducking" in lower doorways, etc. but I can't get over the anxiety and fear of hitting my head.

Does anyone go through this, too?

I do a bit. Probably because I have bumped my head so many times. Sometimes, PCS can cause visual perception problems. Depth perception, etc. can make you feel insecure with your movements.

Might be worth getting checked out for vestibular and vision functions.

I cover my head too
 

Hello.

I also do this. :)

Just today I was at the pool and a kid jumped in the water right next to me. I ducked and covered my head a bit.

I think it is just my body's natural reaction to protect my head.

You're not alone:)

Absolutely!!! I bet you the majority of us are afraid of it. I already consider scenarios i might be put in and wonder up things i would say so i wont be in danger. Especially after reading about SIS and the dangers of having more than 1 concussion!

Yes, absolutely. Today my family was throwing a baseball around me and it freaked me out for a minute. My eyes don't seem to be able to track something like a ball flying through the air like I used to and the mere prescence of it anywhere even in the same yard sort of freaked me out for a moment. I never used to think much of things like that.

I also experience this!!! I think behaviorally, the punishment of the first time we hit our heads, (ending up with PCS) is something so aversive that we will do anything to avoid the risk again. Mine is a result of a car accident, and even though I can only tolerate short rides, I freak out when my boyfriend is too close to other cars because I'm afraid they are going to stop suddenly.

So yes, I totally understand!;)

Well said. Same here. <sigh>

Actually that's very like anxiety or panic attacks from how I see and feel it. I get so afraid sometimes of hitting my head again that I totally avoid certain situations. I have a very slippery and steep driveway here where I live and I can't walk down it in shoes. When vertigo is really bad I use a walking stick. Once I'm off the uneven walkway, I'm just fine. Basically, I'm afraid of falling again like the first time.

p.s. I think this would be quite a common and normal/usual reaction under the circumstances. People who have not experienced this may not understand.

I'm the same way. I cover my head and duck. If someone says watch out thats the first thing i do. :)

I try not to cross over into fear, but live in caution of hitting anything, especially the head. The brain's so busy healing itself, the smallest problem elsewhere in the body seems to be amplified for me.

Watch out for low tree branches & pinecones. I bumped my head on a low branch a month or so ago while focusing on the city sidewalk (not to trip on a crack/debris).

Same here. I think I will always live in the fear of hitting my head again and going through it all over again! Don't know how soccer players just go about doing anything from jumping, running, crashing into each other and head striking the ball over and over again after one concussion.

I played soccer for about 20 years.. looking back, there is a good chance I had a few concussions but it NEVER had an effect on me like this one... I was normally fine within a few days and back at it...

Yep, same here. i am terrified of anyone hitting their head

Terrified...keep thinking if it happens again I'll be in a mental hospital blubbering, no joke.

Not good to think these thoughts but can't help it when driving with someone in a car.

We bought a sturdy car with side curtain airbags to reduce the risk of a head impact in a vehicle collision.

Sitke, i'll meet you there if i hit my head again. ironically, just after i posted my other comment, i talked to my sister who got a mild concussion surfing when a heavy wave crashed on her. nausea and fatigue for a few days.

and of course, as the big sister i now have another worry to add write on a post it and put it in a tuperware in my freezer. sounds like i've finally lost it, but that is an exercise my therapist gave me. i write "hitting my head" and "cancer" and "not getting better" almost every day.

at this point it might knock something back into place for me :)

sitke and others,

There is a big difference between having a mental illness/disorder and having cognitive challenges. Please do not associate the cognitive impairments from concussions/mTBI with mental illness. There are plenty here with cognitive impairments who work diligently to maintain sound mental health.

Unfortunately, at least in the beginning, the injury manifests with anxiety and depression in many cases. I don't think people are equating cognitive challenges with mental illness. I think they are equating head injury with the mental illnesses of anxiety and depression. I think that is a rational fear.

Also, losing feeling of one's old self can cause anxiety and depression. Again, not unwarranted.

I know this pulsating tinnitus is causing my anxiety issues. Everyone has a different threshold of what they can adapt to and how quickly they can adapt, without outside help.

We have little or no control over the cognitive challenges from a head injury but we do have ways we can deal with the anxiety and depression with meds and other therapies. That is what I meant by diligently working to maintain sound mental health. Yes, I need outside help to maintain my mental health.

Sitke's comment "Terrified...keep thinking if it happens again I'll be in a mental hospital blubbering, no joke." is taken to be in response to the cognitive challenges since they can cause one to sound like they are blubbering.

After being locked in solitary in a medical room for 2 nights next to someone having a psychiatric crisis and hearing what it was like for a family member that was locked up in a mental/psychiatric facility, I am very sensitive to how these issues are discussed.

We play a big part in how our anxiety and depression symptoms are treated.

Mark,

Some people are more anxious to begin with so having a head injury and residual problems for a long time, in some cases years, afterwards is obviously something that can raise the anxiety levels.

It's in my opinion no different from having cognitive issues post concussion. But that's just my view.

I really dislike the term "mental illness" as if it's a separate entity and not organic.

Genetics plays a huge part in how we manage life with or without anxiety or panic or depression or whatever it is. Unfortunately I can't go and get some sort of genetic modification.

The worse my vertigo the more anxious I am of falling again.

The better my vertigo the less anxious I am of falling again.

It's not unreasonable for people who have suffered after a fall to fear another fall. It's how we humans work.

I was in an out of six psychiatric wards after my drug interaction acquired brain injury. Nobody wanted to hear that the interaction had anything to do with it. It was easier to think that a man, at 40, had suddenly become suicidal due to being a drug abuser, alcoholic or worse, when neither was true.

The symptoms of the interaction were so horrifying is to make me doubt my own sanity. I still wake up with the burning body, tremors, pulsatile tinnitus and other things that make me doubt I can hold on to my sanity every day while keep looking for an answer. T

he semantics couldn't matter less to me. Whether I acquired mental illness from the symptoms breaking me down, like you can acquire pneumonia from a lesser illness not being taken care of, or whether it is just the breaking down of the mind from the terrifying physical effects, matters little to me and I will leave that up to others to debate.

I just want resolutions to my most terrifying symptoms.

I am definitely more aware to protect my head from potential hits or harm now. I watched a baseball game where the player had just come off the injured list after suffering a concussion after the ball hit him in the face and popped off his catcher's mask he wore. First game back, same player attempts to slide into third base, but throw is coming in low. Player covers head, and makes one of the goofiest slides I've ever seen, landing on his knees.

Even the commentators couldn't keep from laughing! Just goes to show you how much you'll protect your head after you've had a concussion.

I'm so sorry if I offended you Mark, please forgive, not intended at all xx

I was actually saying it in a playful manner because I have been in a 'mental hospital' psych ward for suicidal depression in the past, way before this accident and have suffered suicidal thoughts quite a few times over the last 20 years and then since the accident too. so I guess I kind of down play it in a sense as it scares me to death.

Now I'm fighting the depression I've had since a teenager plus concussion...all things cognitive.

I was just talking about myself, it's not about anyone else, I know how terrible it is. xx

Yes I do have this fear as well.

This fear has grown as I've accumulated small head bumps since the injury that cause an increase in symptoms. I've gotten to the point where pretty much in any dream I have I hit my head somehow, and then wake up with temporary pain where I hit it in the dream! Strangely I've only gotten these dreams since starting lexapro...

I've been very scared of hitting my head again, I had one concussion and then hit my head again a month later but I don't think the second impact was a concussion (is it 'easier' to get a concussion when you've had one already? Is your brain more sensitive to them?), however it is since that second impact that I developed all my symptoms.

This means I'm scared of even the smallest bumps, but I'm also horribly clumsy and really careless (obviously I'm only aware of this after I've done something careless) since the second accident which means I think I'm more likely to get hurt too :(

The second accident was a really minor car crash where someone went into the back of my car so I'm scared of having another accident like that and that sort of accident is unavoidable.
I've found I'm much more anxious in other people's cars. I now brake very early as I'm over cautious and most people don't brake that early so I feel like we're going to hit the car in front when there are others driving. I sit in the passenger seat clutching the seat with my foot pressed down hard in the foot well as if I can somehow brake!

I am sorry for your troubles abbilee. How long back you had the first concussion ?

Totally!
That feeling, combined with hyperactive startle reflex, keeps my family on their toes!!!

ventured out to an outdoor patio restaurant (no recordee or live musici...yay!!,) and apples were falling from the tree in the courtyard! Not safe anywhere :)

Sorry for the late reply, it was back in December, I had another accident in January though, I think it was that one that really did the damage.

Went out on my bike for the first time this week. I panicked like anything when a bus went past me.
It's illegal but I'm riding on the pavement at the moment as the road is just terrifying me.

Nearly two weeks ago I had a nasty fall. I have a coffee table on castors and for no reason I can explain to you, I stepped onto it on my way to the kitchen. It flew out from underneath me and I landed badly on my hip.
Still have a substantial bruise there.

Thank god I didn't hit my head but the fall really shook me up, I guess because I COULD have hit my head, but also because I don't understand why I stepped onto the table. It is very very low, but I knew it was there, I didn't not see it :(

I just don't seem to be aware of things around me and that scares me because it seems so easy to have another accident.

I'm constantly banging into things and knocking things over, dropping things.
I was never clumsy before.

I'm also afraid of hitting my head. It doesn't help that my car is a clown car and I have to really duck down. I try to be careful whenever there is something that could possibly hit my head. I am glad I am not the only person who is afraid of hitting their head.

Yes, I am afraid. My big concern is the fact that they say I have permanent damage now, so what does that mean if I hit it again and get yet another concussion.

Ive talked to a few dr's, general feeling is that the next one will be even worse, even if its a lot less minor.

Is that true? Im still suffering through 9 months of pcs hell, if this ever heals, I dont think I could honestly do go through all of this again.