Mood and Anxiety Changes After a Concussion

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Mood and anxiety changes are common after a concussion. People may feel more irritable, tearful, anxious, or low than usual, have a shorter fuse, feel overwhelmed by noise or busy places, or simply not feel like themselves. These changes can come from the injury itself, which temporarily affects how the brain regulates emotion and energy, and from the stress of living with headaches, fatigue, poor sleep, and time away from work or school. For most people, symptoms improve over days to weeks. When emotional symptoms last longer, psychological support can help, and treating anxiety and mood often helps overall recovery.

What Emotional Changes Can Look Like

• Irritability and a short temper. Snapping at loved ones or feeling frustrated by small things.
• Anxiety. Worry about recovery, health, or returning to activities, sometimes with panic.
• Low mood. Sadness, discouragement, or losing interest in usual activities.
• Emotional sensitivity. Crying more easily or feeling emotions more intensely.
• Feeling overwhelmed. Struggling with noise, screens, crowds, or multitasking.
• Sleep changes. Trouble falling asleep, waking often, or sleeping much more than usual.

Why a Concussion Affects Mood

Changes in the Brain

A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury that temporarily disrupts how brain cells work and communicate. This can affect energy, concentration, and emotional control, which is why emotions may feel closer to the surface.

The Stress of Symptoms

Headaches, dizziness, fatigue, and trouble concentrating are hard to live with, and they can make work, school, and social life difficult. Worry about whether you will get better can add to anxiety, as described on the page about health anxiety.

The Event That Caused It

If the concussion happened in a car crash, fall, or assault, the event itself may be traumatic. Flashbacks, nightmares, and feeling on edge may point to PTSD after a car crash or another trauma response, which can overlap with concussion symptoms.

Sleep and Activity Changes

Disrupted sleep and reduced activity can lower mood. Fully resting for a long time used to be advised, but current guidance generally favours a short period of rest followed by a gradual return to activity.

What It Is Not

Emotional changes after a concussion are not a sign of weakness, and they do not mean you are making symptoms up. They are also not always permanent. Most people recover within weeks, and many who have longer-lasting symptoms still improve with time and support. Symptoms that persist for several months are sometimes called persistent post-concussion symptoms. Because anxiety, depression, poor sleep, and pain can keep symptoms going, addressing them is an important part of recovery.

How It Is Assessed and Supported

Your physician should be your first stop after a head injury to rule out more serious problems and guide your return to activity. A psychologist can then help with the emotional side of recovery. Support may include:

• Understanding the symptoms. Learning what is expected after a concussion can reduce fear.
• Pacing. Planning a gradual return to work, school, screens, and exercise without pushing through or stopping completely.
• Managing anxiety and mood. Cognitive behavioural strategies for worry, frustration, and low mood.
• Sleep support. Approaches such as CBT for insomnia.
• Trauma-focused therapy. If the event that caused the concussion was traumatic.

Sometimes a neuropsychological or psychological assessment is recommended to clarify thinking and memory changes, as described on the page about what a psychological assessment is. If your concussion happened in a crash in BC, ICBC generally covers psychology treatment, as explained on the page about psychological support after a car crash in BC.

Getting Support at Pacific Maple Psych Centre

If a concussion has left you feeling anxious, low, or not like yourself, therapy can help you cope while your brain recovers.