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Your mood will change a lot after a concussion. You may feel anxious, depressed or irritable. You may find your moods change very quickly, like crying one minute and laughing the next. It can feel like being on an emotional roller coaster. You may also find that you don’t care about things like you used to. Talk to your family doctor or healthcare provider if you have these symptoms.
Learn more about 3 common mood problems after a concussion and find ideas to help deal with them.
Anxiety is a feeling of fear or nervousness. You may feel anxious without exactly knowing why. Or you may worry and become anxious about making too many mistakes, being criticized, or “failing” at a task.
Some people may have anxiety that appears suddenly and that can be overwhelming. This is called a panic attack.
Anxiety may be related to a very stressful situation (like the situation that caused the head injury) that gets “replayed” in the person’s mind over and over. This can interfere with sleep. This is called post-traumatic stress disorder.
Since each form of anxiety calls for a different treatment, anxiety should always be diagnosed by a mental health professional or doctor.
What causes anxiety after concussion?
What can be done about anxiety?
Depression is a mood disorder. It may be described as feelings of loss, sadness, or anger that interfere with a person’s everyday activities. Talk to your doctor or healthcare provider if you think you may be depressed. Treatment can help you enjoy life again.
People can become depressed when something unpleasant happens to them. Concussions are unpleasant injuries.
Here are some strategies you can try yourself to help you feel better when you feel depressed.
When you are irritable, you become frustrated or upset more easily. Irritability starts to be a problem if it’s harming your relationships and how you communicate with people. Some strategies to manage irritability include:
Write it down! Print off the “Strategies to Try” Journal. Choose 2 or 3 ideas to try this week to manage your mood.