Hey! I am back with yet another paranoid concern for my mental health! On a quick side note, if you're experiencing deja vu regarding this type of question within this category and even my profile, there is a perfectly plausible reason for this. My previous thread from not too long ago was: "Can you get a concussion from turning your head too fast?"

And btw, thank you so much for your thorough replies. I am still grateful for them at this time. It's so delightful to know I can always turn up on this forum if my worries exceed my capacity to comprehend it.

Something I am currently wondering, since I've been so anxious about the question specified in the title, during to agitation being triggered by merely a friendly intended slap on the back of my head, by a acquaintance in school. He tapped me 3 times to be precise, now this might just be me overestimating my memory of the "impact", but it felt pretty rough to be considered taps to the head. So to be on the safe side, I would say it was taps at the brink of being slaps.
Ofc, there is no way I, or anyone, can prevent or foresee the actions and urges of other people, friendly intended or not. He is a very nice guy and could've in no way known I am very fragile about my brain. You guys know the taps you do to signal: "Hey, everything's gonna be alright"?, it was one of those, if you guys can follow me . Which leads me to think that my slightly altered perception of the world after the slaps/ rough taps is really my anxiety spiking?

Also, doesn't soccer players head the ball at much higher impact and mostly only at risk for sub concussive impacts even then?

So well, to wrap it up, since I've had no deficits in physical symptoms nor cognitive symptoms, emotional symptoms such as anxiety must've been caused by natural reactions in the body? I mean, I've always thought that anxiety/depression is a complication of mTBI in extreme cases, and something that only rarely manifests itself in PCS.

You said "I mean, I've always thought that anxiety/depression is a complication of mTBI in extreme cases, and something that only rarely manifests itself in PCS."

Anxiety is likely the worst and most common symptom of PCS. It appears to have a firm grab on you. Many who suffer a concussion already have a propensity for anxiety. For these, a very minor concussion with mild symptoms can often be almost overwhelming.

Regarding these taps and concussions or other. It does not make any difference. If these taps, head turns, etc. cause symptoms, then they should be avoided. When they can not be avoided, one needs to learn how to move on and just deal with the symptoms. To paraphrase the saying, Hits happen. Same letters, just a different order.

When these friendly touches happen, I would start with a firm statement. "Do not touch my head." There is no justification for such a behavior, even as a friendly gesture. For me, it is not the touch that is the problem. It is the head jerk afterwards that can effect my head or my neck.

And please try to stop trying to label everything. It is a negative effort. Concussions and mTBI's are just terms to define clusters of symptoms after an impact to the head. It is only the symptoms that matter, especially at the lower end of the impact scale.

Alright, another thing that bothered me was if pressure is put on the skull, is it possible to cause brain damage? The diagnostics for a concussion is a severe and violent shake of the head, but what if there is no movement of the head, but instead simply a bit of pressure on the skull. Isn't the skull build to withstand pressure without the brain getting affected? A demonstration could be, taking the palm of your hand and pressing down on your head hard. Could this in theory affect the brain? Or does it just feel that way. So yeah, my question is pretty much, can pure pressure reach the brain, from external forces, i'm not talking intracranial pressure just so you folks are aware.

No pressure against the skull will not cause a brain injury unless that pressure fractures and crushes the skull. Even then, the brain's ability to be pliable and moldable would mean it would take a severe crushing to damage the brain.

The discomfort felt is the skin and related nerves on the outside of the skull.

Hi Minimac,
It might be helpful for you to look up the anatomy involved. It might help explain certain things that are worrying you.

Also, between the skull and the brain lies the meninges and that acts as a cushion of sorts. The thickness of the skull varies somewhat from individual to individual as well. In my case it was noted that I had an extra thick cranium . At the time I found that an odd thing to be told but in retrospect it probably saved me. There are also differences in skull shape to be considered.

Here's a nice user friendly link with pik of anatomy:

http://www.medicinenet.com/head_injury/article.htm

It just feels like when I put pressure against my head it affects the inside of the skull, but I guess the body can't differentiate from nerves covering the skull and the inside, in terms of discomfort. So even when it feels like pressure transmiting some kind of weird energy into the inside of my skull it doesn't? It's impossible for the skull to put pressure on the brain without it fracturing then? I read somewhere that the skull can withstand more pressure than the human is capable of putting on it (with their hands of course), so yeah, what I am really worried about is if the skull can move if pressure is put on it, like it suddenly starts bending a bit inward irritating the brain? Or do you literally have to crack your skull for it to change in shape?

EDIT: Isn't a sudden impact resulting in brain shake a type of sudden skull pressure too?

The skull has a natural ability to absorb forces that cause very minor changes in skull shape. Those minor changes do not affect or injure the brain. The brain has too much flexibility. It has the consistency somewhere between a bowl of jello and a hard boiled egg. It can change shape when under pressure but returns to its original shape. Studies suggest the brain can tolerate 60 G's of impact force without sustaining noticeable damage. Some say this tolerance level is as high as 90 to 120 G's for very short periods (microseconds). Boil an egg and carefully peal it and see how much the egg can deform. The egg does not tear or show signs of tearing yet you can deform it quite a bit.

Minimac, You need somebody to help you with these anxieties. They are not healthy for your brain. They are not rational. They create stress chemicals that delay healing. We live in a very imperfect world. There is risk everywhere. Most of that risk can be easily tolerated. Some of us need help to learn how to put that risk into a healthy perspective.

My best to you.

Yeah, I realize time and time again that my fears and symptoms turn out to be the product of anxiety. But does what you're saying mean that the brain also can withstand 60 G's in concussion scenarios too? So the brain has to slam into the skull at a speed of approximately 60 G's for an average person to produce a concussion? Or is that pure pressure?

You would never be able to put forces equal to 60 G's against the skull without causing serious structural damage. The 60 G's is force transmitted through a football helmet where the force is spread across the skull.

It appears you do not understand G forces. When you are standing still, you are exerting 1 G of force on the ground through your feet. If you jump off a chair onto the ground, you feet might hit the floor with 20 to 60 G's. At 20 G's, your toes think they are holding 20 times your body weight. They can not do this so they collapse and your knees bend to absorb these forces.

If you are running or jogging, you foot hits the ground and experiences a load of 2.5 to 3 G's, as if you are 2 1/2 times your actual weight. This is just a momentary force, maybe 1/5 of a second.

An adult brain weighs about 3 pounds. If it hit the inside of the skull at 60 G's, it is as if a 180 pound object hit the inside of the skull, but only for milliseconds. It there is no rotational forces, this 180 pound impact is tolerable if inside a helmet that spreads the forces across the entire skull and across a longer time period.

The entire brain and skull weighs about 8 pounds. It it hits a brick wall at 60 G's, it hits like a 480 pound object hitting at a small point. I can't explain it in ways you would understand except to say, these forces will be far more damaging to the skull and brain inside.

For those of us who have already experienced concussions, we may not be able to tolerate anything near this 60 G level. I know that I can't.

None of this applies to you unless you engage in activities where you impact your head into solid objects or whip it back and forth violently.

There is no way to relate G forces to pushing against you skull with your hands or such.

To help explain how you lack of understanding is causing you unnecessary anxiety, please read this web page then tell me if you are afraid of DHMO ?
http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html

The facts don't state this but excessive DHMO in the brain can be fatal.

Then, I will tell you why you don't need to fear DHMO.