After a car crash, it’s possible that a brain injury could cause major changes in a person’s personality. While many people realize that a brain injury could impact how someone moves or the way they speak, it’s not always discussed how significantly a person’s personality, attitude and behaviors may be affected.
Personality changes, as well as symptoms that may appear to be a change in a person’s personality, are very common after traumatic brain injuries. The reason that these changes occur is because the brain may need to process information differently as a result of the injury. Emotions may be affected, especially if that part of the brain was injured.
It’s common to have symptoms of a different personality
Not all perceived changes in personality are an actual change in personality. Sometimes, there are symptoms that make a person seem different, but they aren’t. For example, you might struggle with:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Anger
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Mood swings
- Tearfulness
These are all normal reactions to being involved in a traumatic incident. These are also symptoms that may resolve as your mental health improves or you learn to live with the brain injury.
A true personality change comes from physiological damage
True changes in personality may occur is there is damage to the frontal lobe. The frontal lobe is responsible for personality characteristics and the way you move. The specific changes in the brain may impact the way it perceives or processes information, which may change the way you feel or act. Damage to the connections in the brain may result in alterations in emotional reactions that differ from how you would have reacted prior to the accident.
Sometimes, the reactions don’t seem to line up with the environment. For instance, someone may laugh during a sad moment or cry when they are excited. These issues are largely linked to miscommunications in the brain and may improve over time as you heal.
If you find that you’re struggling with emotional or personality changes after a brain injury, remember that this is common and there is help available. It’s also a good issue to bring up when you make your personal injury claim, so you can seek compensation that will help you get the care you need during your recovery.
