Get Gail Denton's book Brainlash early on and keep referring to it.

Journal good days and bad, that way you can see overall improvement over weeks and months.

See a behavioural optometrist if you have vision/balance/dizziness problems.

Try alternative therapies to see what helps, including acupuncture, cranial osteopathy, massage, etc

Talk to people about how you feel, even if they don't understand. They may not understand your injury but they do understand statements like I'm in pain, I'm lonely, I'm scared. Tell them what you need from them, they won't know what to do otherwise.

Rest, rest, rest, rest. The brain heals quickest when it is allowed to rest........if your symptoms worsen, it may be a sign that you are doing too much and need to pull back.

Do NOT believe the doctors who tell you that you will not recover any further after a year. This is utter rubbish in my experience. I was mostly recovered after a year, but I continued to get better and better as the years went on.

DO NOT GIVE UP!

xxxx

I feel a bit odd when replying to things like this because I wonder if I'm actually talking about the same thing as everyone else because altho I have been diagnosed sort of with PCS, I'm not totally sure its the correct diagnosis.

These are my probs (posted in 2008):

hi dont really do this sorta thing but, as title says, i wan2 kno if any1 has the same symptoms as me. 11yrs ago (i was 9 at the time) i was in a car crash, it wasn't serious but i got the usual injuries (whiplash, bruising etc). i noticed immediately that i was v aware of the fact that my mum n bro were sniffing (coz they were cryin, obv) n the noise upset me and made me angry. ova the past 11 yrs the problem has worsened and worsened - noises that upset/anger me are clickin, sniffin, swallowin, tappin, basically alot of diff noises, mainly caused by ppl. i have no idea y the noises upset/ anger me n i feel like a freak n the fact that i have this prob really really upsets me. the anger/upset causes me 2 hit myself (head, arm, leg), dig my nails into myself, bite myself, basically anythin 2 relieve the frustration. n the fact that i do this 2 myself also upsets me!! i have recently been diagnosed with Post Concussion Syndrome (after having about 20 docs ova the yrs not have a clue wot was wrong!!) since the crash i have seen numerous counsellors (nothin worked) n i'm now on medication, tho that ent workin eitha. i would really like 2 kno of a 'miracle cure' (kno thats not v likely!!) coz it has ruined my life and my childhood. if anyone has experienced the same things/similar things plz tell me if anythin worked.
thanx 4 takin the time 2 read this (jus realised there's quite a bit lol!!)

I don't know whether or not other people have similar issues but I'll say what I think anyway.

Firstly I'd suggest not to dwell on the problem (if its similar to the kinds of things I have). Believe me I know how hard it is not to but seeing as I'm in my 13th year of having these issues, it is so damn hard to try to change something that has almost become a habit. Being 9 years old at the time of the crash didn't help because its hard to understand exactly what the hell is going on in your head when suddenly you have feelings that make you feel horrible inside and you don't know why.

But I would say that from the outset, you HAVE to have a positive outlook (I didn't have this because I didn't know what the hell was happening and how long I'd have it for). Without the positive outlook and thoughts, it consumes you and it takes over until its ingrained into you. You need to realise that you are stronger than this thing and you can overcome it. And its not something that is definite and forever, something caused it to happen so it can be undone. At the same time you do need to be aware that it wont be easy and that if there are things that get in your way you need to be strong enough to get through them, which I believe that everyone, if they convince themselves enough, can be.

Don't take any crap off doctors, who aren't qualified in this area, trying to fob you off just because in actual fact they dont know what they're talking about either. See a neuropsychologist or some sort of 'brain doctor' who is qualified in that area and keep pushing until you get satisfactory answers.

If you are the parent, You can do the whole positive thing and reassure your child that its not forever and it will be overcome. My parents have been totally fantastic throughout the whole process, even tho I haven't been the easiest of subjects to deal with but they have none the less. Get your child to talk about how they're feeling so that they don't bottle things up. You go through every single emotion going and thats a lot of stuff to keep inside. Give your child ways of dealing with the emotions BEFORE they find ways themselves, such as self-harm. I mean it never even occurred to me that I was self-harming until my dad suggested it was.

I realise all the things I'm saying may be idealistic and in practice putting these things into play, espec with a child is gonna be really hard, but in my opinion it will be worth it because hopefully it will make the process smoother and more importantly shorter.

Most importantly, don't let it become part of your life you've just accepted.