4 Key Mistakes People Make: Coping with a Traumatic Brain Injury

Coping with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be a challenging journey. Many individuals and their families may inadvertently make mistakes that can hinder recovery. Here are four key mistakes to avoid.

1. Underestimating the Severity of the Injury

Many people may not fully grasp the impact of a TBI, leading them to dismiss symptoms or push themselves too hard. It's crucial to recognize the seriousness of the injury and seek appropriate medical care and support.

And this is exactly what I did, I ignored the impact of the car accident I was in and did not understand nor knew anything about the symptoms of a TBI.

I could barely walk and make it from my house to the front gate, a mere 350 feet.  

In the morning, I would wake up nauseated, as if I had a hangover.  

I could not stand being near my computer. The EMF (electromagnetic frequencies) from my electronics, especially my laptop, cell phone, and routers made me feel very sick. It was as if my head was on fire when I was near these devices or cell phone towers.  

I started reverting to French, my native language. My words came out in French as if I never spoke English before and I have lived in the USA 35 years.

The imperial system felt like a foreign language. I could only make sense of the metric system.

After a concussion, we often lose short-term memory but retain vivid memories from childhood, much like someone with dementia or Alzheimer's.  

I wanted to go back to bed 15 minutes after getting up, feeling exhausted before my day even began.

And the list of symptoms goes on...

A Traumatic Brain Injury is invisible to the naked eye. It doesn’t show up on a CAT-scan, either.

To diagnose it, you need cognitive, balance, and memory tests, or other specific evaluations. If you’re unsure if you have a concussion or TBI, check out my earlier blog post, Do I Have a Concussion or TBI? Take the Test.

Once you take that test, you’ll know exactly where you stand.

2. Going Back to Work Too Soon

We believe that resuming our regular life—our job, our daily routine—will make everything alright again. This relates to point #1: individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury do not wish to be in this position and frequently think they can mentally or physically overcome it. However, the difficult reality is that you cannot. In fact, forcing yourself too early only exacerbates the situation.

Even if your doctor has approved your return to work, many doctors don't completely understand the intricacies of a brain injury. What often occurs is that individuals begin working or engaging in daily activities as they did before, only to encounter a barrier. They soon realize they can't maintain the pace.

That's when feelings of despair, depression, and helplessness arise, as you're suddenly confronted with the reality that you're not okay and not fully recovered. Everything seems overwhelming, and before long, it's time for another nap.

3. Pretending to Be Fine

You cannot compel a damaged brain to be "okay." Disregarding your feelings or overexerting yourself only results in more setbacks and, eventually, further harm. Similar to point #2, individuals with a Traumatic Brain Injury are often reluctant to acknowledge they aren't well. One day, you might feel excellent, and the next, you're back to the beginning. This happens because we frequently underestimate the injury's severity, thinking, "I’ll be fine, nothing to worry about here."

A TBI is akin to a physical injury. Consider a broken leg. You wouldn't attempt to walk on it immediately—you would need a cast, rest, and time before you could even contemplate bearing weight on it again. Then comes rehabilitation, physical therapy, and weeks of recovery before returning to your usual activities. A brain injury is similar, but the recovery process can take years before you can even start to resume where you left off—or something close to it.

It took me eight years of persistent work—using countless health modalities including a complete change of diet —to help my brain cells repair. I’ve written about this journey in detail on my blog: 6 Tips to Aid Full Recovery from a Traumatic Brain Injury. If you’re looking for more hands-on help, I offer one-on-one coaching through my program.

4. Hiding the Reality of what it means to have a TBI

Individuals with a Traumatic Brain Injury frequently keep it concealed. 

There’s a stigma associated with brain trauma—people tend to think you’ve lost your cognitive abilities or have become "dumb." However, this is far from accurate. Certainly, we might find it difficult to perform tasks we previously did effortlessly. Perhaps we struggle with counting, reading, or expressing ourselves as easily as before. But this doesn’t make us unintelligent. Not in the slightest. Internally, we remain the same person, even though externally, we may not operate as we once did.

I recall a time when a student took me aside and suggested I stop discussing my brain trauma so openly. She advised me not to bring it up. Initially, I didn't understand why. Then it became clear—she was embarrassed for me. She didn't want others to think I had become unintelligent. 

Contrary to popular belief and misconceptions, I was never stupid! 

In fact, after my injury, I perceived things more clearly than ever before. It reminded me of how some autistic children can notice details others overlook—that’s how I felt. I had developed a kind of sixth sense, a deeper perception, a complete understanding of life, yet I couldn't express it.

Nonetheless, despite this new clarity, I couldn’t function in the world like a typical adult. I felt like a 5-year-old who needed a mom to take care of me.

My best advice is to NEVER hide your struggle with a TBI. 

Speak up about it, so you can receive the patience, understanding, and empathy you deserve. So that help can come from unexpected places. So that you can be seen and not ignored in times of EXTREME need.

👉 Watch my video about this topic here: