Personality changes and behavioral changes do sometimes occur after a traumatic brain injury. This may become very clear to you if it happens to someone you love. For instance, after a car accident, you may notice your spouse acting much differently than they did before.
Exactly what these changes look like will depend on the severity of the TBI and the location of the injury within the brain. But there are some potential behavioral changes to consider.
Emotional control
To begin with, people sometimes struggle to manage their emotions, or they have serious mood swings. Their emotions may often feel like an extreme response or an overreaction. This can be very jarring if they react differently than they did before. Someone who has always been calm and kind may become moody or quick to react with irritability or aggression, for example.
Social changes
A person’s social behavior can also change. Sometimes they become withdrawn, or they may not want to spend time with other people. In other cases, they may make inappropriate comments or simply ignore common social cues, like talking out of turn. They may become overwhelmed or overstimulated in social situations.
Lifestyle changes
Some people who suffer from TBIs become restless or more prone to fidgeting and pacing. Others start to feel unmotivated, perhaps not engaging in hobbies or activities they used to enjoy. Still others may begin procrastinating more or have trouble starting difficult tasks and seeing things through until completion.
No matter what the exact changes look like, this helps to illustrate how a TBI can alter someone’s personality. Those who have suffered such serious injuries must know about all of their legal options to seek financial compensation.