~Denki Kaminari here~
Personality changes (or what feels like them) are common following a traumatic brain injury. Even a concussion can affect the brain long after it’s healed from the initial injury. The way we process and understand information can change as a result of the injury, so it’s not surprising that our emotions are affected too.
Many people suffer from social anxiety, irritability, anger, depression, feelings of overwhelm, general anxiety, mood swings, or emotional lability (teariness) after their injury. But make no mistake: While these symptoms can make it seem like a different person now, the persons personality is intact. It’s just buried under the weight of symptoms that are so, so hard to handle.
Think of personality as a collection of traits, and your mood as your current state of being. Normally, our moods don’t last for weeks or months on end. But after a head injury, negative moods like sadness, anxiety, or irritation can drag on, making patients and their families mistake the emotional symptoms for personality changes.
The reality is that most post-concussion personality changes are actually from symptoms that will go away if you get the right treatment.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is frequently complicated by alterations in mood and behaviour and changes in personality. //My dad actually suffered with TBI.// We report mild personality changes post-TBI as a possible indicator of traumatic brain injury, but not of injury severity or psychiatric complications.
Perhaps the most common personality change after a head injury is increased aggression. Studies have shown that around 30% of traumatic brain injury patients report struggles with anger and aggressive behavior. For family members and friends, it can sometimes be a frightening experience to witness these outbursts
Hope this helps :D