Is This Depression? The Symptoms of Depression and Concussion are the same...

Written by Julie Taylor

Is This Depression?

The Symptoms of Depression and Concussion are the same...

Recently I read a letter from a reader wondering if they were really depressed - like everyone was telling them.  And so I wanted to share something that I only discovered a couple of months ago myself despite my injury being almost 25 years ago: the symptoms of depression and mild concussion are the same...

For me, I never felt depressed.  But doctors and therapists told me I was.  They prescribed me drugs (which I didn't like and so I didn't take)...  It made such sense to me - and I was so excited - when learned that I was right after all: I wasn't depressed.  It was just a ‘normal' symptom of concussion. Plus over the years my self esteem had taken a battering, like many brain injured people, so I was sad and unsure of myself.  Drugs weren't going to help me.  Sadly...  Because being able to take a pill and make it all right again would be very tempting!

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Over the years I'd found other ways of relieving 'the symptoms' that have worked for me: exercise, supplements such as vitamins and glutathione, dancing, walking in nature, singing...   For a doctor, I guess it's hard to have to accept that you can't help a patient and so the urge to find a drug for you would be quite strong?  I think most doctors really want to be able to make you ‘better' and for that I'm very grateful.

Exercise is a great mood enhancer - and I've found it to be essential in raising my feeling of wellness and stamina.  Start from wherever you are and increase the level of physical activity just a little. For example, if you've been in bed then sit in a chair each day for a while - ‘a while' being just a tiny bit longer than it's comfortable to do so.  It's amazing how quickly muscles can lose their tone and how tiring it can be to exercise them, sometimes just by sitting.  For me now, I try and go to dance lessons 2 or 3 times a week for an hour and go for a walk on the beach at least twice a week.   I find that if I don't exercise, I slow down generally and become easily fatigued. That seems to be my magic minimum amount of exercise.

So I'd say, listen to your body and to your heart. Carefully. If you doubt that you're depressed, don't assume that because you don't have a medical degree you may be wrong.   This is your body.  And you may well be right.   Likewise, if you feel depressed and you want a pill, have an anti depressant.  It's a challenge to find 'the right one' sometimes because after brain injury your brain could well be much more sensitive to every drug.  They're great to help temporarily while you adjust to some new situation.

Equally if you don't believe you're depressed, know that you may well not be...  Try various strategies to lift your spirits a bit.  Explore what's important to you and what makes you smile - and do it! Find some form of exercise that's good for you.   There are so many different strategies you may find to work every bit as well for you as a drug.

When I find myself being ‘depressed' (or whatever it is) I immediately adopt a fairly rigid schedule and don't allow myself to 'wallow'.  Just in case...   I do things that I have discovered help me - like including at least one walk on the beach every day in all weathers. And at least one long chat to family or a good friend on the phone. I know I love long baths with a cup of tea, my favourite book and classical music - and I set up exactly that for myself.

In a nutshell, listen to yourself. And be really nice to yourself - as if you were your best friend!

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Good luck,
Julie