Dealing with "the look"
 

I had three mild concussions over the last few years. Mostly everything is back to normal, but I still get confused easily and it takes me more time to think about things. There is a huge difference from before the last concussion (October 2012) and after.

I usually don't tell people about the concussions, but I HATE the looks I get sometimes when it's taking me longer to figure something out than the average person. I've found that even people who do know what happened will make comments about it. I am definitely a very sensitive person, so that doesn't help.

I don't like telling people unless I'm going to be working closely with them, since it sounds like I'm making excuses or being defensive. How do you get over it in your own head??

Try to ignore it as best you can is all I can say.

For me it is when people finish a word for me that is in my head, I just can't get it out.

Bud

I'm a blonde so I have a good excuse! :-) No, really, my family finds words I'm grasping for all the time. Pre-concussion I was pretty social and animated but now I find trying to focus on conversations is difficult and I often have the "look".
As Bud says, try to ignore it. You have enough stress in your life without adding
on what people think. Try to let it go, it's not worth it.

Thanks for replying! I'll have to get used to it. Just can't imagine myself in 20 years from now if it's this bad now. ;)

Hi hb1125,

Have you tried speech therapy at all? From what I've been reading on this forum it can be very beneficial for word-finding etc.

hb1125,

Hopefully, if you can avoid other concussions, your condition should be stable. I have lived with PCS for 40 years.

I also am not afraid to tell people. A concussion or series of concussions is a brain injury. Anybody who discounts the damage from a few concussions is just uninformed.

Practice your explanation. Something like:

" I suffered a brain injury and it makes it so I sometimes struggle to find words or process more complex thoughts. If I take my time, I can do much better. "

If you are concerned about your future, learning how to educate people will be a big help.

If you can further understand the medical terms or even just more descriptive layman's terms for your struggles, that can help the others accept your explanation.

"I have word finding struggles called anomic aphasia"

If you tell us more about your struggles, we can tell you how to define those struggles.

My best to you.