"Brain Injury Is ..." Brain Injury Defined By People Who Are Living With It

Brain Injury defined by the people who are living with it ...

BrainLine asked our online community to share their personal definitions of traumatic brain injury, and the list below captures some of the many responses so generously provided by people with TBI.

Every individual’s experience with traumatic brain injury is unique, but there are many common symptoms and emotions. Anger, fear, sadness, and anxiety may be accompanied by difficulties with memory, pain, and the challenges of maintaining relationships.

We encourage you to add your own definitions in the comments section below, and to join the BrainLine community on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest.

A puzzle … all the pieces are there but in the wrong order.
—Barbara

When the cursor disappears from your mental computer screen.
—Dave

Brain fog, confusion, difficulty learning new things, being able to be “high-functioning” but being very slow at it.
—Mary

An invisible thief.
—Lisa

Devastating. Exhausting. Widely misunderstood.
—Jules

Scary. I look the same but I feel like someone else.
—Ann-Michel

MIA or AWOL … Missing in Action or Away Without Leaving!
—Trish

An invisible memory-taker, mood-changer, life-changer!
—Meg

Like being under a constant waterfall and I’m just trying to catch my breath and not drown!
—Angie

Thinking with speed bumps.
—John

Like an earthquake in my brain that knocked down bridges and damaged highways and knocked out some —but not all —lines of communication. Some of these things get rebuilt more quickly than others, and some are easily re-damaged.
—Alison

Like having everything in your life suspended in Jell-O, and just when you reach out for something, the Jell-O gets blended.
—Indy

A family affair … when a family member has one, it affects everyone.
—Stephanie

A constant struggle for the rest of your life … you know how you used to be and you want your life back … but it won't happen … it's like living in thick fog.
—Christy

Scrambled egg between my ears.
—Graham

The absolute hardest thing that you can imagine going through!! Unbelievably frustrating and isolating.
—Chelsea

Learning to live in a brain that sometimes feels like it belongs to a stranger.
—Sharon

Forgetfulness and a total personality change.
—Dana

Scary. Frustrating. Annoying. Funny at times … sometimes I feel rather than get frustrated about one of my deficits. It’s better just to laugh about it.
—Sonia

Limiting, difficult, having to “relearn” things you thought you already knew.
—Justin

Unpredictable and extremely misunderstood.
—Ronda

Like having the flu all day, every day … for the rest of your life.
—Nathalie

Trying to catch clouds in a windstorm.
—Mary