[lindberg711]

Hello, all. Some of you may remember me, but I used to be an active poster in this forum. I sustained a mild blow to the head almost exactly a year ago now when I feel off a longboard. I never lost consciousness, had confusion, amnesia, or anything characteristic of concussion diagnosis, so I was dismissed from the ER with minimal concern.

As time went on, I obsessed over my symptoms and my anxiety went through the roof, leading to a panic attack that was triggered by sexual activity. The whole experience was very traumatic to me, but I had to stay strong.

It is now 1 year later, and the reason I had avoided the forums for so long is because it was not helping my problem of obsessively worrying about my symptoms.

Ever since that first panic attack, I suffered strange psychological phenomena such as derealization, sudden emotional shifts and numbing, etc. Amazingly, I never seemed to have physical symptoms such as headaches, etc...only light and noise sensitivity (which I have always had to a degree anyway).

As of now, I am working close to full time at a restaurant and also actively performing with three bands. Though I still don't feel like the same person as before the accident, I don't think that is a realistic expectation to have. Any experience we have as a human being changes the way we view our life as a whole, and something as traumatic as the threat of brain damage reshapes your thinking. Even so, I fight on. I still struggle with derealization/anxiety/ocd type issues that may or may not be related to PTSD, but you just have to take it a day at a time.

To all those out there suffering, I feel for you 100%. This **** sucks. Plain and simple...but you will get through it. If anyone else is experiencing emotional/mental issues like I am, feel free to share your experiences here. I still struggle with this stuff and it's always comforting to know you are not alone.

Thanks for reading, and I'm sorry if this post was not very coherent. Stay strong.