A heavy pillow did not aggravate a concussion. It aggravated anxiety. Same symptoms. Different cause.

This bump into the door frame caused a startle, a tender spot that is keeping you aware of the impact and maybe aggravated your neck. The tenderness is because there are lots of nerves in the 7 layers of skin outside the skull. They can take a long time to settle down.

The muscle tension alone from the tenderness can cause symptoms.

Please try to remember how the brain can tend to replay old symptoms when there is a later event that is similar to the real injury. The sensation of symptoms are real. Think of it as a flashback and how real they can feel.

Some ice and things to distract you and you will be fine.

is there any evidence for that "playback" thing? I notice that doctors do highly advise not getting any bump, jolt or shake to the head after a concussion, no matter concussive or otherwise. There should be a reason for that no?

I think the Drs warning is to make sure people don't go back to any risky activities too soon..

I gotta say when you're confused as heck, and your depth perception is messed up, every activity is a potential hazard.

The key is to slow down. We used to be able to trust subconscious actions. Many of us need to slow down and make conscious movements.

And, YES, the literature speaks about how the brain memorizes responses and can connect a serious event and the results of that event to a very minor event that has similarities and use it to trigger the responses to the serious event.

Ask somebody who has cut themselves bad. Often, a slight prick or cut will trigger an extreme reaction. Same goes for burns.

It is a part of our survival mechanism. It just over-reacts in some cases for some people.

isn't that something like PTSD?

Very interesting information! It seems that is what happened with me. Besides a few slight symptoms (mild eye discomfort and waves of light nausea), I seem to be fine. Definitely not re-concussed, thank goodness.

Mark,

Do you think the same can go for experiencing a symptom from over-exertion? Yesterday I had an extensive and pretty intense discussion with my girlfriend that triggered severe fatigue, probably because we were going over some pretty abstract stuff that forced me to think in multiple layers and hold several thoughts in my head at once. Today I feel a little groggy and "fuzzy around the edges", but I suppose that could just be a symptom coming from anticipational anxiety? My thinking goes along the lines of that the brain has experienced getting worse after experiencing severe symptoms, so the anxiety kicks in as soon as one experiences a symptom, however slight, because one can be fearful of getting worse or not getting better soon enough.

Really interesting stuff, if you have any literary recommendations on the topic I'd be glad to read up on it.

Yes, it is a PTSD sort of remembered response.

The intense conversation will set me back for a day or two. It can help to take notes. This way, your brain 'lets go' of the thought that you would otherwise try to memorize.

The male to female talking differential can make it difficult since we each think differently. Trying to process it is like trying to understand a different language.

We have to slow down to get through the 'What does she mean by that' process. I end up losing track of the point of the conversation and sort of glaze over.

So, there are two issues. 1st, Did I properly understand and respond to the conversation. 2nd, Can I avoid this causing me to crash mentally?

Take notes. If can slow the conversation and help the other person understand how we are struggling. And, it takes issues out of the 'I'm juggling too many thoughts' category.

Juggling is a good way to think of audio issues. We can only juggle so much until we drop them all.

But an extreme lasting reaction? I've never seen someone get pain over a spot for a month in fear from a bad prick..