Thanks so much for this post.

I'm always telling fellow TBI folks that anxiety is a SYMPTOM of your TBI.

Yes, you should do things to try and ward off anxiety/panic attacks (avoid triggers, don't overdo, etc...), but if (when, really) it happens, don't beat yourself up over it.

Heck, you don't feel guilty when your battered brain makes your eye twitch or your hand shake, so why feel badly about the anxiety?

This nonsense is born of the ridiculous distinction some people insist on making between the psychical and the "mental." Hmmm... Whether it's my stutter or my depression, they are BOTH products of one thing: the badly damaged ORGAN that is my brain.

Berating brain injury patients over their anxiety and depression is downright cruel. Misplaced guilt never helped anyone overcome anything. As a group, we are already way too hard on ourselves.