Personality changes after a brain injury
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Credit:
Photo: Kathleen Arundell. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
Personality changes after a brain injury
One day Meg Fozzardβs brain was working properly, the next it wasnβt. In conversation with three people who have had similar, life-altering experiences, she explores the huge impact of personality changes after a brain injury and if thereβs any such thing as a βnormalβ brain.
Words byΒ Meg FozzardΒ β photography byΒ Kathleen Arundell
One day Meg Fozzardβs brain was working properly, the next it wasnβt. In conversation with three people who have had similar, life-altering experiences, she explores the huge impact of brain injury and if thereβs any such thing as a βnormalβ brain.
An βacquired brain injuryβ is one caused some time since birth. The reason might be something like a fall, a road accident, a tumor, or a stroke. One day you have a βnormalβ brain and the next you donβt. This is exactly what happened to me.
I was a healthy 26-year-old. Then I had a cardiac arrest, suffered a hypoxic brain injury and my life completely changed. I am a different person compared to who I was before. I am now a wheelchair user. I canβt remember what I had for dinner last night. I am tired pretty much all the time, except for when I sleep for nine hours. I canβt write with pen and paper properly.
Until now, Iβve never really met anyone else with an acquired brain injury or had a conversation about our experiences. I wanted confirmation that there are other people who feel the same way I do.

βI am a different person compared to who I was before. I am now a wheelchair user. I am tired pretty much all the time, except for when I sleep for nine hours.β
Credit:Photo: Kathleen Arundell. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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Alister was walking in the park when he was hit by a cyclist. He suffered massive head trauma, including a bleed on the brain. John fell off a building, hitting a concrete block head first. Mike was in a motorcycle accident. Like me, one day their brains worked well, the next they didnβt.
Brain injuries affect everyone in different ways. For me, I have had a few personality changes after my brain injury. I can no longer stand, or seemingly understand physical affection. This has been difficult to work through in my relationship because I used to be affectionate. I also have anxiety, which is something I never experienced before.
Mike told me that his personality changes after a brain injury meant he didnβt take risks anymore and is very shy with others, while John explained he is more emotional now. βWatching a silly romantic film or something like that,β he says, βIβll end up practically crying, whereas I canβt ever remember doing that before.βΒ Alister told me his brain injury has βhad a huge impact on my family and myself. My mood, mostly. I have little patience now.β

βI know that my brain doesnβt work well for me. I canβt do half of the things that I used to, and I am still coming to terms with this.β
Credit:Photo: Kathleen Arundell. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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This emotional impact of a brain injury is often harder to deal with than the physical symptoms, such as limited mobility, speech problems, and fatigue. According to Headway, a charity that works with brain-injured people, βFor many families, the worst consequence of brain injury is feeling as if the person who was once known and loved has somehow slipped awayβ¦ For the person with a brain injury, losing a sense of their own identity is traumatic and frightening.β
But why does a brain injury affect our emotions? I spoke to Vaughan Bell, a neuroscientist, and clinical psychologist. Vaughan specializes in understanding and treating brain injury, mental distress, and psychological impairment.
βA brain injury can affect people emotionally in two important ways. The first is by damaging the brain circuits that are involved in the regulation of mood and emotion,β he says. βThe second is by experiencing a serious life event that may involve a huge change in circumstances, disability or loss.β For many people, personality changes after a brain injury are very real and life-changing.
A brain injury is aΒ life-changing experience
Itβs hard for people with brain injuries to accept thatΒ our lives have changed forever. Right before my brain injury, I had been working at a charity, creating video content for them. Iβd recently graduated from the National Film and Television School and was beginning my career.

βAlister was walking in the park when he was hit by a cyclist. He suffered massive head trauma, including a bleed on the brain.β
Credit:Photo: Kathleen Arundell. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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Before his accident, Alister had trained to be a chef at Buckingham Palace and was working with some high-profile clients. His work since has been affected. βIt damaged the nerves responsible for my taste and smell, which has still not recovered fullyβ¦ [and] is a big nuisance in my job,β he said. He now has to rely on his instincts when it comes to seasoning.
John told me about his career. βNot being too boastful, but I used to run companies, big companies. I used to run them and handle it all,β he said. βNow I have a hard job trying to run myself. In fact, without my two daughtersβ help, I wouldnβt be able to do that properly either.β
What does it mean to have a βnormalβ brain?

βJohn fell off a building, hitting a concrete blockhead first.β
Credit:Photo: Kathleen Arundell. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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βI donβt think I had a normal brain before I had the accident,β says John. βI donβt regard that as a statement anyone can answer, even without a brain injury. What is a normal brain and why is it abnormal? Iβve got no idea.β When I ask Alister, he says he considers himself to have an βalmost normalβ brain.
ββNormalβ has many meanings β some of which are purely statistical, and some of which edge into being value judgements,β says Vaughan. βInstead I prefer the question βWhat does it mean to have a brain that works well for you?β This allows us to think about what we want in life, and how our brains, no matter who we are, help or hinder us in living that life.β
I know that my brain doesnβt work well for me. I canβt do half of the things that I used to, and I am still coming to terms with this. I asked everyone I spoke to the same question: If you could get your brain magically fixed, would you? They all said yes.

βThe question βWhat does it mean to have a brain that works well for you?β allows us to think about what we want in life, and how our brains help or hinder us in living that life.β
Credit:Photo: Kathleen Arundell. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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Like John, I didnβt know a lot about brain injuries until I had one. βIt wasnβt something I gave much thought to,β he told me. βIf you break your arm or something, after a while, it heals. And sometimes the way it heals makes it stronger than it was before. So itβs only a temporary inability.
βBut with brain injury, itβs completely different. You might mend the outside of the head, with the cracks and bangs and all the rest of that. But you canβt ever repair the inside of it. There is no repair, nothing you can do. Youβve only got to try and work with what youβve got.β
Thank you to Headway East London for their help with this article: personality changes after a brain injury.
Personality changes after a brain injury is adapted from HowΒ injury changed my brain published on the Wellcome Collection under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence

Meg Fozzard
Meg Fozzard is a freelance journalist who mainly writes about disability issues. She can often be found trying to put the non-disabled world to rights on Twitter and Instagram.
Caption:
"Brain injuries affect everyone in different ways. For me, I have had a few personality changes after my brain injury. I can no longer stand, or seemingly understand physical affection."