Thank you very much the support and advice, I really appreciate it. Whats your story with concussions if you don't mind me asking, and what is your daily routine/job now?

I think that's some very helpful advice. I am seeing a cbt therapist and I'm hoping to get some more benefits from that as time goes on. I have diagnosed anxiety/ocd so if cbt doesn't help I may also try and see someone who specializes in treating ocd. I may also start an ssri but I think I'll give the therapy more time before I go the medication route. I've tried meditation but like you I've had a lot of difficulty with it and don't always find it to be relaxing(sometimes it makes me more anxious).

Do you think if we were able to let loose and 'not care' as much, basically just live our day to day lives as best we can without thinking about concussions it would actually help our recovery more? It's kinda depressing for me cause I know that I don't have a choice but to trigger my symptoms every day since I have to take the subway and do a lot of walking and stuff like that. I think I should just tell myself that unless I have a strong direct impact to my head that causes me to see stars I'm not gonna worry about it. Maybe that would help.

I find the unknown to be very scary though. "will the brain fog ever lift or is this just the way I am now" is a really terrifying thought. CTE also, just thinking back to the number of concussions I may have had that went undiagnosed. I guess this is something the medication would help with. Also your self talk recommendation is very good advice, also knowing that I can post here if I absolutely need to is reassuring.

Anyways, thanks a lot for the post, I will definitely Re read it later to try and get what you said completely registered in my mind since my memory is not that great at the moment.

[Do you think if we were able to let loose and 'not care' as much, basically just live our day to day lives as best we can without thinking about concussions it would actually help our recovery more? ]

YES. For you, not caring as much will mean you still care about risks.

Your CBT therapist should be helping you put together a list of movements that are not concussive movements nor subconcussive movements.

If riding the train caused subconcussive impacts that lead to CTE, millions would have CTE. Those with CTE usually played sports and ignored their subconcussive helmet to helmet IMPACTS, not contacts or bumps or they routinely headed a soccer ball or they had head to head contact in rugby.

They did not get CTE from riding a train, walking on a hard surface or kissing aggressively or plopping their head down on a pillow or getting a haircut.

Get your hormones checked so you can rule that out or treat it if you are one of the rare cases that need hormone therapy.

Practice good sleeping posture so you do not stress your neck if that is a contributing factor.

YES, There have actually been studies that show that those who accept that they were injured and just move on with their lives recover much faster and better.

Hi Ben,

I'm glad I could help a bit. You can read about my own history in my previous posts, and I can give you more details in a PM if you wish (not here to avoid derailing your thread).

These routine activities do not harm our brains. What kind of shoes do you wear? I now wear sneakers to go to work to minimize the jarring, and I have more formal shoes in my backpack or in my office if needed.

Even if we trigger symptoms by walking or taking the subway, the cost-benefit analysis clearly says that going out is better than staying home all the time. We would harm ourselves much more if we decided to stay home, isolated, and give up on our social life and activities. The adverse health effects of solitude are very well documented, perhaps even more so than the long-term issues you are worried about (CTE, etc.).

Mark said it many times already: the answer is clearly yes. This board should have set the facts straight for you, not you should work on accepting this knowledge. Think about the big picture again. No one knows exactly how we would feel now if we had been able to control our anxiety these past months/years. But the direction is clear: reducing anxiety is somewhat under our control, and it helps us, so we have to do it.

All the best.

Don't listen to the doubters here. I have the same problem as You (albeit not as extreme). Anytime I have a minor head impact (such as bumping my head on the back on the fridge, I have a relapse in my symptoms. I have seen many other people post about this here. It is not anxiety i can tell you that 1st hand bc i am not a ** and this is a serious issue. Anxiety cannot cause you to have severe brain fog, numbness and exercise intolerance that I have.

I got accidentally headbutted in the chin a few minutes ago while trying to move my spouse in for a kiss. As I was pulling her towards me, she slightly lost her balance and fell forward - whacking me in the chin with her forehead. We were both standing and it was from around a full arm's length away that she traveled. My chin hurts enough that I'm icing it down right now.

Is this enough of an impact to worry about such as possible concussion? Or just an 'everyday impact'?

We're both roughly 150 lbs each; her distance traveled was around 2 feet.

Don't try to calculate a concussion by some wild estimation of impact force. That is anxiety talking.

Chins are cushioned by the TMJ before they pass the force to the brain.


What difference would a specific diagnosis make?

Partly anxiety and part curiosity on the science. For example, I remember reading of your example of a bowling ball dropped from two feet. I have trouble mentally gauging analogous situations to other more common examples like two people's heads bumping together. My spouse's head obviously does not weigh anywhere near a bowling ball but her body weight is 150 lbs and she traveled the same distance as a bowling ball but in a different direction and perhaps speed. Basketball and soccer players seem to get concussions jumping a few feet and clashing heads. Not sure if my situation could be in the same category.

We have some socially distant outdoor group sports that have resumed; trying to gauge whether to rest up and take it easy or continue as usual. I know I'm not talking to doctors and wouldn't suggest that. But I enjoy hearing of people's experiences and thoughts nonetheless.

That's interesting regarding TMJ cushioning a blow before damage is done to the brain, by the way, and something I didn't know. Boxers seem to target the chin for "knock outs" and are often successful. Pros seem to take a lot of jabs to the chin without being knock out and perhaps not concussed, and again I have a tough time making analogous examples of force. A headbutt to the chin is something I haven't really observed, although I know headbutting in general seems to be a potentially dangerous move in pro fighting.

Nobody who knows anything about head trauma tries to treat the 'impact force estimation.' They treat symptoms. Absent symptoms, there is nothing to treat.

Soccer players smash heads as they compete to head the ball opposite directions. They smash their heads together with force. They do not just bump their head.

Don't look for symptoms. The brain will gladly manifest symptoms when you look for them. It can play back symptoms from traumas from years ago.

This is not "part curiosity on the science." I've seen these excuses many times before. This is OCD and anxiety. The OCD says "I must understand." as a justification for the anxiety.

Your biggest battle is not with occasional head bumps. It is with the anxious and irrational thoughts that are triggered with every perceived head bump.

Did your wife hurt her head? Get a concussion? She took a more direct hit than you. But, your jaw movement absorbed some of the impact and reduced the G force to both of you.

Boxers have their jaws clinched so they are like a solid part of the head.
Their concussions are mostly rotational. Those are very dangerous and traumatic.