California residents who suffer from head injuries may deal with side effects. Some of those side effects result in memory issues. Others cause changes to a person’s temperament or personality.
Today we will take a look into personality changes brought on by TBIs. This phenomenon is not discussed as often. But it still happens and affects many TBI survivors.
How the brain regulates personality
CognitiveFX looks into some of the personality alterations that TBI injuries may cause. First, how and why do TBIs result in personality changes? It depends on the area of brain that suffers damage. For example, let us say the frontal lobe suffers injury. What does the frontal lobe control? A person’s ability to self-regular and think before acting. If this area suffers damage, the victim often has less self-control. This expresses itself in many ways. A victim may exhibit rash behaviors. They may not think before making decisions. They may have outbursts of temper or emotions that they cannot control.
Personality changes and how they impact a victim’s life
It is the latter that often scares caretakers and loved ones. It is jarring to see someone without a history of anger issues suddenly react with a temper. This is even more true if they react this way to things that seem harmless. But a person with TBI damage cannot comprehend that their reaction is disproportionate.
Many personality changes that victims suffer through are not permanent. As damage heals, these changes will vanish as well. But the process of getting there often takes a long time. Recovery is not easy. This is important for both caretakers and sufferers to keep in mind.