Hi there,

I’ve had four concussions in the past two years. Granted, i have a lot of anxiety around hitting my head. But my third concussion, in january of this year, happened when i hit my head on my desk at work standing up after having leaned over.

Flash back to today and i did the same exact thing at work - went under my desk to grab my laptop cord and on the way back up smacked it on the side of my head. It was hard enough my coworker asked if i was okay and looked concerned. Since this is how i got my third concussion, i went in a spiral and have been crying all night. Immediately i felt out of it and i have a headache, vision blurred and general very odd feeling.

If this is how i got my third concussion exactly, chances are it’s actually a concussion this time and not my anxiety right? I can’t put my life on hold and deal with this again. I don’t know why it keeps happening. How do i know if it was actually anconcussion or my anxiety.

Usually I’m able to help and reason with myself that it’s anxiety but the fact that this is how i got one before is killing me. And if it is one, i can’t do this again. I want to be normal and live a normal life. Help.

It really does not matter if it was a concussion or not. The symptoms are the important issue. Bumps happen. You can't reverse time. Try to relax.

Do you have a rescue protocol for such events? I would go to a quiet room with my music and comfy bed or easy chair. I would use the music or music video to pull my attention away from my anxiety. I would have near collapses from over stimulation that could be all consuming. This rescue protocol would help me recover.

You sound like you are responding more to the bump than the injury. The bump may have been a physical trigger to symptoms at a level of 2 or 3 but your response to the bump for fear of it being an injury may be causing the symptoms to manifest at 6 or 7.

As you say, you are struggling with anxiety. That is not the normal life you are wanting. Learning skills to reduce your anxiety levels will help with PCS and general life issues.

The verse from Psalms in my signature is about letting go of anxieties. It has made a big difference in my life.

I'm going to make a leap about your recent bump. I bet you were a bit frustrated or irritated at needing to go under your desk to get the cord. This contributes to the lack of coordination that caused you to lose awareness of your surroundings and hit your head. I say this because I used to be like this. This attitude only makes risk higher. I observe this with my wife when she is tired or hurried.

Resetting priorities so that feeling pressured, rushed, frustrated is less common greatly enhances life. Many job environments make it hard to let go of these pressures but it is important.

I look at some of these issues by choosing to be purposeful with movement and tasks rather than reactionary. "I've got to grab that #@%$& cord" is reactionary. Relaxing and accepting that some tasks are not as comfortable than others but that is OK because we can do them without getting annoyed can radically change life.

It is no different than how many people react to driving in traffic. One can react and fight and argue against slow traffic or one can relax and choose the best route and accept that one is not in control of the time it takes to get to a destination.

Thank you so much, Mark. You’re right on all of it, the rushing especially. I need to take things more slowly and accept that I’ll keep making errors the more i let tasks frustrate me and rush through them.

Do you think I’m okay to just carry on with life then, resting when i need it? I’m so worried about having to go back to square one, locking myself in my room and missing work and missing events with family and friends.

It’s hard for me to sit here and question if it is a concussion or not. I woke up this morning with a headache, feeling slightly dizzy, slightly off vision and feeling kind of “off” in my thinking. It’s hard to focus and i can’t tell if it’s because I’m so fixated on my symptoms and checking if they’re there or if it actually is something to be concerned about.

I’m taking my supplements still and am planning on starting some of my vestibular therapy exercises again. Other than that, there’s not much i can do now, right? I think i just need i learn how to carry on and not fixate. I think I’m just nervous about going back to the beginning... AGAIN.

Yes, you need to stop fixating on symptoms. Stop checking for symptoms. Move on with your day.

As I said, it does not matter if it was a concussion or not. Treat the symptoms. Work on learning to relax and let your symptoms go away. Take something for your headache. Find something to focus on besides how you feel.

Last night when I was replying, I thought of a concept.

Have you heard of the old Indian story of the two wolves?



An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

This concept work with PCS. Are you going to feed your anxiety about PCS or are you going to feed your efforts to move forward with your life?

I love that story. Great analogy for all of the craziness going on in our brains. I appreciate your help... going to take it easy this weekend and relax and get back to normal life hopefully Monday and just manage symptoms. It’s all i can do and i need to accept that.

Thank you, Mark.

This is how I try and live my life.....With balance....