The Importance of Communication in Concussion Recovery

When it comes to recovery, some injuries are simpler than others. For instance, if you break your leg in a ski accident, X-rays will be taken to show the exact break. The doctor will tell you and your loved ones how long the injury will take to fully heal and you’ll be given a list of restrictions to follow. Over the course of 6 weeks or so, you and your family will know exactly why your leg hurts and why your ability to perform daily tasks is now hindered.

If only concussion recovery were this simple!

Unfortunately, you can’t see a concussion injury on imaging so you can’t know the extent of it or how long full recovery will take. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to healing from a concussion and no definitive timeline.

To make matters worse, the symptoms of a concussion are many and are often confusing to the patient and their loved ones. With a broken leg, you’ll experience pain and that’s about it. But with a concussion, a patient can experience headaches, vision problems, memory issues, wild mood swings and emotional outbursts. And that’s not even a complete list of possible concussion symptoms! These symptoms can last a couple of weeks, months, and even years for some.

What we have learned in recent years is that social support is a high predictor of concussion recovery. Those with the strongest social support do better in terms of their concussion recovery time.

How can concussion patients build and maintain a support network during their recovery? Through explicit communication.

Concussion Recovery Requires the Injured to be Their Own Advocate

When a person sustains a concussion, their loved ones typically rush to their side to provide comfort, companionship and assistance with daily tasks. But when concussion symptoms are confusing and constantly changing, no one really knows what to do or how to help. That’s why concussion patients must become their own advocate.

If you are recovering from a concussion, it’s important that you take some time to figure out what your needs are at this time. It’s equally important to surrender to the fact that these needs will always be evolving. That’s just the nature of concussion recovery.

And finally, it’s important to ask for the things you need when you need them. Unfortunately, for most people, this is incredibly challenging.

Why is self-advocacy so difficult?

Concussions are functional injuries. When a person sustains a concussion, they will initially go through a period of intense fatigue due to the many neurochemical changes in the brain. In addition, they may also experience depression. It is incredibly difficult to determine what your needs are, let alone clearly communicate them to others, when you are feeling sad and/or tired.

There is also the aspect of not wanting to be a burden to loved ones. Admitting you need help may cause you to feel shame, be embarrassed or feel helpless.

And finally, it can be extremely difficult for some people to let go of their identity, even temporarily. For instance, if you are someone who is normally the problem solver and caretaker in your family, it may be very hard for you to put that role down so you can focus on your concussion recovery. If you’re the top salesmen at your company, admitting to yourself and others that you suddenly need to nap throughout the afternoon and sometimes find yourself crying is not an enjoyable experience.

As you can see, there are a few different reasons why self-advocacy can be so challenging to many people. And yet, taking the reins and being your own advocate is what will help you recover from your concussion. And sooner rather than later.

Your Loved Ones Aren’t Mind Readers

If there is one complaint we hear a lot from our concussion clients, it’s that their friends and family don’t seem to notice what they are going through. “Why can’t my husband see how tired I am and make dinner? Why do I have to ask?”

While it may sometimes seem as if your loved ones aren’t tuning into your needs, or even attempting to, the truth is, they are having as hard a time navigating your concussion recovery as you are. And unless you clearly communicate your needs and feelings, you will keep them guessing and they may “help” you in ways you don’t need.

Here are some things to clearly communicate to loved ones:

1) The Tasks You Need Help With

After a concussion, daily tasks that were once easy may become overwhelming. A simple trip to the grocery store may now feel like going into a warzone with bright lights and loud noises. Depending on where you are in your concussion recovery, you may find some tasks you can still perform, while other tasks you may need help with or completely done for you.

2) What Your Triggers Are

And speaking of bright lights and loud noises, you’ll begin to recognize what your triggers are. Perhaps being in a crowded or a visually busy space can set off some of your concussion symptoms. Maybe having a conversation with more than one person is problematic. When you learn exactly what your triggers are, share them with your loved ones. Knowing your triggers will allow them to assist you in navigating social interactions and the world outside the home.

For instance, if your husband takes you out to run a few errands, he will know not to stop and chat with his coworker and wife you ran into at Costco.

3) Your Outbursts Aren’t Personal

Recovery from a concussion can be a very frustrating and emotional process. It often feels like you take one step forward only to take five steps back. The reality is, a concussion injury can make it much easier to trigger an emotional reaction in a person and also makes it harder to control emotions in general. Add in exhaustion and you have a perfect storm for some pretty unattractive outbursts.

It is important to communicate how grateful you are for the help, love and encouragement your loved ones are offering. It is also necessary to remind them from time to time that you don’t have a firm grip on your emotions and that any outbursts that may come their way should not be taken personally.

Navigating Work Issues

It’s hard enough trying to communicate clearly with your friends and family about what your needs are. But this can be downright impossible at work. Many times, employers are not amenable to understanding your triggers and what types of tasks you can and cannot handle.

For example, if you are dealing with visual issues, you most likely won’t be able to use a computer for a while. You will need your boss and colleagues to know, so that certain tasks can be delegated to others. But often co-workers and management won’t believe what you tell them. Unfortunately we don’t live in a high-trust society.

This is why we always suggest to our clients to report their injury to their HR department and make sure it is well-documented. You are legally entitled to have an OT (occupational therapist) advocate on your behalf. He or she will come into your workplace and do a comprehensive assessment to determine exactly what you can and cannot do. They will work with you and your employer to come up with a plan to ensure your tasks get done.

Building Boundaries at Work

Tasks aside, it can be extremely difficult transitioning back to work because of the social interactions. Often a client will tell us they don’t know how to handle their coworkers asking them all about their injury and how they’re feeling.

If the concussion patient has taken the time to understand this new version of themselves – what their needs and triggers are – they can use this knowledge to build boundaries at their workplace. One thing many of our clients do is have a prepared statement or sentence they can say to move on from a long conversation with someone.

You may find it hard to predetermine what your needs will be at work, and so preparing yourself “for battle” may also be hard. Many of our clients return to work, figure out what new issues there may be, and then work with a therapist or mentor to determine how they can make things better for themselves.

We’ve also had patients reach out to one or two of their closest coworkers and take them out to lunch before they returned to work. Over lunch they explained how they were doing, what their triggers were, and what they were nervous about. This way they had true supporters in their corner on their return.

Maintaining Social Networks During your Recovery

Maintaining healthy social networks takes time and energy. When you are recovering from a concussion, you quickly find out just how little energy you have. How do you maintain your friendships when being around more than one person tends to trigger your symptoms? What if before your injury you were a really outgoing and social person, and you have lots and lots of friendships that need to be maintained? What do you do?

We always advise our clients to put their energy into a small group of friends that most benefit their concussion recovery. If you have a few friends who, no matter how you try and explain your current abilities and struggles, they still don’t get it, it doesn’t make sense to put your energy here. You’ll just exhaust yourself.

This comes back to the findings that social support is so critical to concussion recovery. In fact, what we find in the literature is that people who perceive low social support, even though from a population standpoint they may have more social supports than your average person, if they perceive that those people aren’t there for them, then they are going to go down a path of emotional complications or setbacks. They may experience depression and anxiety, which make healing from their injury more challenging and take longer. But somebody that may only have one or two people in their corner, that perceives their support system to be high, does much better.

This doesn’t mean you have to break up with most of your friends, it just means being honest with yourself and not wasting energy on relationships that don’t support your concussion recovery. That must be your number one priority right now.

Final Thoughts

Concussion recovery is not the same for everyone. Each person’s journey will look and feel different. What we do know is that social support is incredibly important to the person recovering from a concussion. This support will require the patient to be their own advocate and to clearly communicate their ever-evolving needs with their loved ones. Through explicit communication, the concussion patient and their support network can navigate this often-confusing journey far easier.


Blog content adapted from ACD Podcast Episode 133 with Melinda Krynen Hill (RP) – to listen to the full podcast click (here)

Melinda Krynen Hill is a Registered Psychotherapist (RP), trained mindfulness facilitator and Founder of Stillspace, a mindfulness consulting company that offers mindfulness- and compassion-based initiatives to enhance wellness. She has trained in a range of Mindfulness Based Interventions and her academic background includes a Master of Education in Counseling Psychology from the University of Toronto and a Master of Public Health in Health Promotion from the University of Alberta.

Melinda has particular expertise working with chronic health concerns including chronic pain, complex health conditions (e.g. rare diseases, autoimmune), post-concussive syndrome and associated mental health concerns such as health anxiety, depression and adjustment difficulties.