No she does care, I just don't think she understands my situation, neither do the other doctors. Most of this seems to be stemming from school currently, where I become easily overwhelmed and just shut down. Now it is just not school where the stress comes in, anything else that seems to be "too much." I told her yesterday if I was successful in school, and in other aspects of life I would probably make a lot of progress in my emotions. The inattentiveness and lack of focus are mountains that seem insurmountable. So I try to compensate by drinking a ton of caffeine which just increases my anxiety exponentially. I wake up every morning thinking I am going to have to drop out by the end of the semester and how I would never be able to forgive myself because of how much my mother has sacrificed to be here, it would devastate her. In my journal I've written as much as "No progress with doctors, time to move on and get on a plane and start a new life." Scary thing is I could see myself doing it eventually. Well thanks for everything so far guys!

slimjim,

STOP THE CAFFEINE. It is one of the worst things you can do for a concussed brain. Get caffeine free and alcohol free. Then, get plenty of quiet rest. This means limited cognitive and physical activity. Get a surf pole and go surf fishing. That is the limit of activity you should be involved with.

Your therapist may care but she sounds clueless. Maybe some training in CBT, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help you redirect thoughts.

I am still confused about what her objective is. Do you get stuck with anxiety from your experiences from the past week. Is this a "How did that make you feel ?" form of therapy?

As a PCS subject, I would expect the goal to be finding the trigger of such experiences. The concussed brain does strange things when under stress. CBT can help if done in the context of PCS.

My best to you.

Thank you Mark. It is going to be hard to cut that out. They keep saying medication will be coming soon but I am reluctant to even use that the way they have been dealing with my situation. I fear dropping out of school really is in the cards if I wasn't giving something for focus. They did give me a psych test to check for a learning disorder, which apparently is prevalent but they are checking to see how long it has been there, and if the concussions have exacerbated the problem.

Unless you stop the caffeine, how will you know which symptoms are from the concussion? Some have found ADD meds helpful but the research into ADD meds for concussions are inconclusive. Self medicating is always a risky behavior.

I expect you to have a rough time until you decide to become disciplined with your recovery efforts. The doctors can not cure you. Recover is always primarily a result of the injured's personal behavior.

It is like you are burning both ends of the candle against the middle.

Does your therapist have pcs or TBI specialty
 

I have been seeing one for about four months. She works with people with pcs. A lot of her advice has been ways to work within our capabilities. Instead of using journaling for documenting moods is more for getting things off your mind to relieve stress. Sometimes I struggled with getting something on my mind until it was solved. I would get the mood swings or irrational over things. If I will just open the journal and vent there it helps me to address things one thing at a time. You really need a therapist that has their specialty dealing with what we deal with.
Lists, timers, journaling, testing your limits, allowing yourself rest, reasonable expectations, pointing out progress, not giving in just learning the new you and making the most of it.
Hope this helps. Hang in there. God bless

While these last few days have been fairly good... Limiting caffeine. I'm still unable to focus. I have a midterm tomorrow that I was given a review sheet for last week and have not been able to sit still for 15 minutes and actually look over this thing. I've actually started smoking, more caffeine to try and help along with drinking as depression sits in. It really Is hard and I feel like these doctors couldn't care less. The one who said she would be in touch hasn't given me an official appointment when she said she would be in touch...school maybe not the best thing for me right now. :eek:

Self medication is not a good idea, whether it is caffeine, alcohol, or nicotine. If you are struggling with depression, seek out a doctor, preferably a neuro-psychiatrist. Don't wait for the recommendation. Reach out for a good doctor.