Behavioral Issues are a natural part of life following brain injury. It is a confusing time for the person who has suffered the injury, and it is a confusing time for family members as well.
Every person's behavior is affected by circumstances. We all react at a given moment according to all that is going on in our lives at that particular moment.
Think about this. How much time do parents spend teaching their children how to behave and how to react to certain circumstances? Beth and I are not only Brain Injury Survivors; we are Teenage Boy Survivors, too. Twice!
The answer to that question is simple. Parents spend years and years teaching proper behavior. But we are actually doing more than that. We are helping train our children's brains by adding "situation filters".
A child talks. A child shouts. A child cries. A child whispers. A child laughs. Think about this situation. You have taken your child to a movie, and your child needs to visit the restroom.
"I need to go pee!" can be spoken. Or, if the situation is urgent, it can be spoken loudly or, even, shouted. As a parent, you add a "situation filter" by teaching your child to whisper when at a movie.
You also teach your child to whisper when at church. This is a second "situation filter". What about "Don't interrupt when someone else is speaking". Or, "We don't say words like that."
Years and years of filter training are a part of every person's life. And those filters are stored in the brain. Just about every day of our lives we see someone override those filters. Our emotions, also a part of our brains, many times cause that override.
Go to just about any sports event. Is it polite to boo the other team? Is it polite to yell obscenities at the referees? Do people do either of those? Sure, they do. Emotions override brain filters.
Your very probably have heard an emotional person described as being "hot headed". On the other hand, a person who exhibits more control of his or her emotions is often referred to as having a cool head.
Anger, happiness, frustration, love, lust, disappointment, fear, greed, hope, guilt, pride, sadness, surprise and distress are some of the feelings that guide our emotions.
Everything I have mentioned so far happens in every person's life. Behavior is shaped by emotions and situation filters.
An injured brain can exhibit little problem bringing emotions out. Behavioral issues result from the situation filters not being used properly or not being used at all.
Note: In the early stages of brain injury, a person's personality may be flat or, seemingly, not showing emotions. The person is virtually in a mental state of total confusion. Nothing is right! Why can't I remember? What happened to me? And they withdraw.
A brain injured person wants to sort out what is happening. Not knowing anyone they can trust and confide in, they withdraw to let their brain figure it out. Their injured brain!
September 16, 1991
Psychological Examination
"On presentation, Mrs. Jameson appears to be a petite, attractive, neatly groomed individual. Her affect is mostly flat...
"Emotionally, she may appear to be responding to her reduced capabilities with some clinical depression and feelings of inadequacy."
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The psychological exam referenced above was performed over a year after Beth's brain injury. Of course this was prior to any brain injury treament she received at Timber Ridge Ranch.
Now, imagine having a brain filter that misfires regularly. That causes emotions to come out...unfiltered. Unfiltered emotions show themselves as irrational actions and, in many cases, language that "is not used by polite people".
Compensation strategies can be of great benefit for memory problems and cognitive problems. Behavioral problems need family members and/or professionals who will provide informed training.
Why did we write Brain Injury Survivor's Guide and why are we working on this website almost every day? Dr. Glen Johnson states in his book, Traumatic Brain Injury Survival Guide, "You may be lucky enough to be in a head injury program (I would estimate that only 25% of head-injured people have insurance coverage for this type of programming)."
Dr. Johnson's estimate, then, is that 75% of people who suffer a brain injury can NOT afford the needed treatment. That's why we wrote our book, and that's why we're dedicated to making this a living, breathing website that will provide help to the growing brain injury community.
Become an active part of our community ...and never give up!
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