Deciphering Concussion from Fear of Concussion
 

Hello Everyone,

I seem to be having the same issue as others, small bumps to the head or medium bumps bring along many symptoms. However I never know if it is actually a concussion or simply anxiety overwhelming me.

For example recently I jumped into my bed relatively hard and whiplashed down hitting my head on the pillow. The last few days I have had really bad brain fog, neck tension irritability, noise sensitivity, trouble concentrating, nervousness this lasts typically a few days or a few weeks. No headache, dizziness, or anything of that sort. It seems relatively ridiculous to experience symptoms as I assume many people do movements like this everyday. About 7 years ago I allegedly had a concussion then allegedly another one a week later. I went on to have "PCS" for over a year, I didn't start getting better until I started living more normal and exercising, gym and even socializing drinking alcohol again. That led me to believe much of it was anxiety related.

Fast forward 7 years and I have had generalized anxiety for most of my life, even prior to hitting my head I was a hypochondriac, so this hasnt helped. I don't know what strategies to use to confirm if my symptoms are simply the fear or if I have suffered a concussion. This has been very frustrating for me over the last few years, every few months I will bump my head in a way that brings on these exact same symptoms every time.

Any help is much appreciated, apologies if these questions have been covered previously. I know a lot of people are looking for reassurance and I have started CBT which has worked very well on my other health related anxiety issues, this seems to be the last one i'm trying to tackle.

Thanks everyone!

What difference does it make if those pillow bumps are concussions or not? You will likely worry either way.

Bumps happen to everybody.

If you whiplash your neck, you will likely experience symptoms similar to a concussion because whiplash can have concussion like symptoms.

If you know you are a hypochondriac, why are you doing risky/wild things like jumping onto your bed? Maybe you need to settle your life down a bit so you have less to worry about.

btw, That pillow bump was just a pillow bump, not a concussion.

You also can use our search tool to find many similar posts about bumps and anxiety.
https://www.neurotalk.org/search.php

I appreciate your bluntness Mark.

Ive started seeing a therapist, but still have tough moments.

Jo*Mar thank you for the link, I really appreciate it.

Hi Mike,

Don’t worry you’re not alone. I’ve had some degree of health anxiety as well when it comes to injuries especially concussion/PCS and i recently had a hit to the head as well. In the countryside, shooting a sniper with a friend for target practice and had my eye/head too close to the scope and the recoil came and hit me giving me a cut above my eye and possibly strong hit to the head but unclear how hard.

Largely felt fine after but now a few days removed feel slightly off and have developed a lot of anxiety regarding the “fear of having another concussion” which I feel has probably made my symptoms worse. Hard to tell what comes first whether it’s the symptoms and then anxiety or anxiety then symptoms. Hopefully this hit I start feeling better soon rather than my last real concussion which took me a long time.