Anxiety and OCD after PCS
 

Hello everyone,

On September 1st, 2014 I got a concussion, however I did not know it was a concussion until end of November 2014. Since then I saw a Concussion Specialist for a couple months. For months I had problems with vision, memory, balance, and foggy head (caused by light and noise sensitivity).

By the beginning of March the Concussion Specialist said I had healed fully. All physical symptoms were gone. My reading was back to normal, my memory, my balance (with help from Vestibular Therapy) and my vision. With that said, I still said I felt a little weird, but admitted it hasn't been caused by sensitivity to light or noise.

The doctor then said it was caused by anxiety and depression. When I began to think about it, it made sense. For months I have been obsessing over my symptoms, and constantly worried I won't feel well, or constantly asking myself "how do I feel?" I then began to think that it is all subconscious. I literally struggle with not questioning myself. It has even gotten so bad that I sometimes question the purpose of everything I do, and reality as a whole.

For help with this anxiety, I have been seeing a Bio Feedback specialist. She is very helpful, and have seen some improvements over the past couple of weeks. With that said, I still do struggle somewhat, and it can be very frustrating. I sometimes wonder if even though all the signs of concussion are gone (nothing showed up on EEG or MRI either) if I still do have some symptoms caused by a concussion, or if it is all anxiety, depression, and some OCD.

When I know I had the concussion, I would feel fine laying down, but the second I would sit or stand up, I would feel like the world was distorted (really foggy) and confused. Now, I just feel somewhat isolated even when I am laying down. I think this is a sign of anxiety rather than a concussion, but I am not 100% sure.

I have been taking St. John's Wort (vitamin) for the past week, and have seen some improvements in my mood, but basically I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this anxiety and depression, or currently is?? If so please let me know, and let me know what you did to cope with it, and learn to beat it.

Mail Man,

I don't understand what you mean "Now, I just feel somewhat isolated even when I am laying down."

I would suggest you try 5-HTP and L-Theanine instead of the St John's Wort. Are you taking any other vitamins and/or supplements ?

Thanks for the quick response! Basically, when I had the concussion, I would feel fine when laying down. Then, I would sit up, or stand up, and feel really foggy, and disoriented.

Although I still feel a little weird, the reason why I am on bored with the idea that anxiety is causing it, is because when I forget about it for a few minutes, I feel fine. In addition, when I get out of bed, or get up from sitting down, I don't feel any different. Instead of feeling perfectly fine when laying down, I now feel a little weird, which I attribute to anxiety.

I am currently taking Fish oil, B-12, and Vitamin C. I will definitely take your recommendation though! Thank you!

I forgot to mention. Do not take St John's Wort if you are taking 5-HTP. It is one or the other, not both.

Mail Man,

I am dealing with some of the same anxiety issues as yourself. I seem to have lost a great deal of confidence in myself since this happened and constantly wonder how I feel, if I am making how I feel up, will doing something increase symptoms? I too question many things I do.

I realize this is an anxiety issue. I read my bible a lot to calm down.

Bud

Hi Mail man,

I have had a huge increase in anxiety since my concussion and with each subsequent one. Anxiety had never been a problem for me before (although I had struggled with depression for a long time pre-injury).

The hardest part for me is that my anxiety is often not attached to particular thoughts, so it is hard to work with. For example, I don't get worried about safety or worried about hitting my head. I often just get intense physical symptoms of anxiety that don't seem to be about anything, which makes me feel totally crazy. This goes on most evenings.


Things that have worked for me in varying amounts:

- being outside. either just sitting, or going for a walk, or anything.

- gardening or yard work. obsessively now that it's spring. If I do enough time of it, it keeps the anxiety down for the whole day. Unfortunately, I am then physically wiped out for the remainder. I think what helps is the combination of being outdoors, being in the dirt/working with plants, and the physical exercise (that's where I have to be more careful with the movements). It's kind of a catch 22 because I am escaping the anxiety, but to do so I overdo it... tricky.

- I take a mood stabilizer and an ssri which had to be increased unfortunately, but for now that was necessary.

- I have done a lot of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, so those skills are helpful for me. it is mindfulness based.

Hope this helps. you're not alone.
julie

Hi Mail_Man,

I'm sorry to hear you've been experiencing anxiety and depression. I had OCD and depression even before I got my concussion, and I'm fairly certain it's been a complicating factor in my recovery (and may have even pre-disposed me to PCS).

My advice would be to try to treat the psychological symptoms on their own through cognitive behavioral therapy (which can be self-directed), meditation, antidepressants, yoga or other strategies. I think a lot of post-concussive depression comes from focusing constantly on your symptoms and pain rather than accepting them as a part of your recovery. Finding ways to reduce your stress and cope with your symptoms as well as finding a network of people who support you can go a long way toward alleviating depression. I know it's tough though, believe me!

I hope you're able to find some relief. Let me know if you have other questions about anything I mentioned!

Julie,

I noticed the same thing....I just couldn't identify what my body was all wound up about a lot of the times.

I described it to my wife yesterday as being at idle speed with the throttle all the way down.

I am seeing great improvement from just a month ago, slowly though.

Bud

Thank you, Bud!!

It is a relief to know someone else has experienced that.

Hi Mail_man,

I have the exact same issue since my concussion despite me now being physically fit once again. I am still under the care of ear, nose and throat specialists who believed I had hit my head and disturbed my vestibular system but am now after some months back to full physical health.

I explained about a similar feeling of disconnectedness to my doctor and he believes i am suffering from anxiety which is in turn causing me to subconsciously alter my breathing and I am over-inhaling when in stressful environments (basically like a much more subtle hyper-ventilating)

he did this test where I had to breathe deeply and fairly quickly for a few seconds until I started to feel a bit sick and dizzy- and then asked me how similar this felt to the feeling I was trying to describe and I have to admit it did feel fairly similar. I am going back for some therapy to try to help this so will update on what that is and if it helped.

In the meantime I have upped my physical exercise as it no longer makes me feel unwell and this is helping to keep stress down. I also try to get outside everyday for even a short wander to give my mind some space. I am going back to work on Monday full time and know this is definitely a trigger for stress so have also armed myself with some Kalms (herbal remedy with valerian root)


Hope this helps! And just know you are not alone in this. I think it comes from feeling a loss of trust in your own abilities during the concussion that can leave us with these anxious feelings of uncertainty. But we can do it! And I'm determined not to take meds if I can avoid it because they give me such terrible cotton mouth!

All the best to you x