Undiagnosed head trauma may be the underlying cause of many of the learning disabilities and other mental illnesses that are characterized by thinking problems (what professionals often refer to as “cognitive deficits”). So says a new study that the Wall Street Journal reported on today.
What’s new is the contention of some researchers that there are many other cases where a severe past blow to the head, resulting in unconsciousness or confusion, is the unrecognized source of such problems. “Unidentified traumatic brain injury is an unrecognized major source of social and vocational failure,” says Wayne A. Gordon, director of the Brain Injury Research Center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, where much of the research is being done.
But don’t be alarmed if your child had a fall and hit their heads:
Doctors say about 85% of common falls in infancy don’t produce long-term deficits, but that some do.
The researchers found that once such “hidden” brain injuries have been properly identified, they can often be readily treated by therapy that helps people with such cognitive deficits. The therapy can include many cognitive behavioral types of interventions, including “attention exercises, reading articles to explain the main idea, interpreting charts and graphs, taking classes on how to take apart a problem and reduce it to smaller steps, writing mock “advice columns” on how to handle life issues,” according to the WSJ article.
One of the things a mental health professional generally does when faced with someone presenting with serious cognitive issues is to recommend they seek out a medical consult for an MRI or similar type of brain scan, to rule out organic or medical causes. All too often, however, such medical consults are simply recommendations, not requirements. Without that vital piece of information, many professionals are likely treating people today with undiagnosed brain injuries.
Read the full article: Studies Cite Head Injuries As Factor in Some Social Ills
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Ying Xuan’s Psych Blog » Blog Archive » I banged my head twice, hard, but I am still okay. (1/31/2008)
7 Comments to
“Your Mental Illness May Be Caused by Head Trauma”
I fell from the monkey bars and landed face first when I was 7 and lost consciousness briefly and broke my nose. I have often wondered if this could be the cause of my diagnosed ADHD, however I had reports of “daydreaming” in my report card before the incident. Would an MRI or such be covered by insurance if one had a brain injury in the past?
I fell down a flight of celler steps at the age of 4 and had serious injurys. I now have borderline personallity disorder and schizophrenia. I have always wondered if my accident could have caused my mental illnesses.
I too fell from the monkey bars and landed on my head now I am sofa king we todd ed. I wonder if this is why I studder and become wordless around pretty girls.
no you that’s not the reason you become wordless aroud pretty girls its just that you get scared lol.
I suffered a TBI as a result of anethesia and surgery. I started out with a stutter in my speech and an echo like sound going through my head whenever someone spoke to me. I also had nightmares, and began battling with profanity ( a problem I did not have before the accident.) I have trouble focusing and remembering things. Overall I am healing but the process is slow
At 6,14 and 23 I suffered moderate to substantial head injuries on three seperate occassions. A metal table leg to the head, head through a car window and a sledding(ice) accident. I lost consciousness briefly with each incident. No tests(CT scan, MRI,etc.) were ever performed. I began having major emotional, social and mental problems since 14 which have progressively gotten worse over the years. Now at 29 I’ve been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, but I believe deeply that either the diagnoses is inaccurate or I also have suffered a head/brain injury. How easy/hard would it be now years later to request a referral for a CT scan and/or an MRI? I need to find out what’s going on up there.
No offense to all those seeking answers because I think everyone should know what they suffer from, but if you have mental illness it is a hell of a lot cheaper to switch around drugs for a while and see what works than to get a scan, say “oh ok”, and still jump around trying to find what works.
Similar steps are involved in learning to live with brain injury or mental illness. Initially it helps you understand ‘what’s happening to me,’ but in the end, it just takes work but you can slowly adjust and live more functionally.
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