Our brains affect all aspects of our lives, including those in Texas. From doing basic life functions, like breathing or eating, all the way to doing advanced thinking, the brain is always involved. Likewise, the brain has a significant role in the way people respond emotionally to situations and think through moral and ethical problems. The brain can even be thought of as the center of one’s personality.
So, it is not surprising that after brain injuries, many victims in the Houston area, as well as their families, friends and acquaintances, will notice how the injury affects the victim’s behavior and personality. For example, someone who has suffered damage to his or her frontal lobe may show increased impulsivity and aggression. This is because the frontal lobe allows people to sort out good ideas from bad ideas, rather than operate on instinct or on whatever emotion a person is feeling at the time.
Psychological symptoms of a brain injury can also include anxiety and depression, as well as a pattern of highly risky or criminal behavior. Other victims may actually develop a habit of violent verbal or even violent physical reactions when they feel frustrated. In other cases, victims may develop what experts call a flat affect, that is, a tendency not to show emotion at all.
These sorts of personality changes are of course quite painful both to the victim and to those who love him or her. In many cases, they can mean that a loved one will feel like he or she no longer knows the victim and has to re-learn how to relate to them.
Moreover, in many cases, someone who has experienced a brain injury may find it hard to return to work and to their normal lives given their personality changes. It can be hard to put a dollar figure on how much damage psychological symptoms of brain injuries cause. However, this does not mean that victims of medical malpractice or other brain injury victims should not pursue compensation.