Transcript: A brain injury changes how your brain works

A brain injury changes how your brain works. 

Imagine one of your friends had a brain injury. Since her brain injury, you’ve noticed that she’s been acting differently. She forgets to return your messages, she does not say as much in conversations, and she never asks you how you’re going. At first, you might think that she’s rude, that she’s not enjoying spending time with you, or that she’s only thinking about herself. To understand your friend, you need to understand that a brain injury changes how your brain works.

Your friend might forget to return your messages because she’s having trouble with her memory. Your friend might not say as much in conversation because she’s having trouble thinking of what to say. And your friend might not ask you how you’re going because she’s having trouble thinking about things from different perspectives. These problems are all common problems after a brain injury. A brain injury changes how your brain works.

Let’s look at another example – this time getting a phone call at work from a person with a brain injury. This person does not seem to listen, keeps talking about his problem when you’re trying to explain, and swears at you. You might see this person as being impatient, difficult and aggressive. But remember – a brain injury changes how your brain works. It might not seem like this person is listening, because he’s having trouble understanding the information. He might keep talking about his problem, because he’s getting stuck on the one idea. And he might swear at you because a brain injury can cause trouble with controlling emotions.

Again these are all common problems after a brain injury. Understanding brain injury helps us to understand the person.