Action for Brain Injury Week 2022 focuses on hidden symptoms

This week is Action for Brain Injury Week, a yearly campaign to raise awareness of the life-changing impact of brain injuries.

The campaign is organised by the brain injury association Headway UK which provides vital support to survivors of brain injury and lobbies for better support and resources for them.

The theme for this year’s Brain Injury Week is ‘See the hidden me’ focusing on how brain injury is often a hidden disability.

A key part of the campaign is to help people understand the often-misunderstood symptoms of a brain injury and to help ease the challenges that survivors face.

What are the hidden symptoms of brain injury?

Brain injury affects everyone differently, but it’s likely that the symptoms will be more obvious with more serious brain injuries.

Some of the more noticeable signs of brain injury can include decreased consciousness or coma, problems with speech and language, changes in behaviour, and mobility problems.

But there is also a wide range of other effects that are harder to spot on the outside. These can have a huge impact on the person experiencing them, and friends and family can struggle to understand what is happening.

5 invisible battles that brain injury survivors might face every day:

1. Lack of motivation and difficulties getting started on tasks that might be seen as laziness.
2. Problems with empathy and interpreting feelings. This means it is hard to see things from another person’s point of view.
3. Difficulty understanding pictures and shapes, for example, finding the way around a building.
4. Social communication skills may be weaker, such as recognising spoken and unspoken social cues. This can result in people struggling with the flow of normal conversation, focusing heavily on certain subjects, or speaking only about themselves.
5. Survivors of brain injury might feel depressed, anxious, frustrated, angry and experience mood swings. Struggling with emotions can be one of the hardest effects to see, but also one of the most difficult to deal with.

How Novum Law can help brain injury survivors

Diane Reading, specialist personal injury solicitor from Novum Law’s Swindon team says:

“The hidden effects of brain injuries are far-reaching and have a huge impact on daily life, not just for the survivors of brain injuries, but for their carers and loved ones too.

“Novum Law fully supports Brain Injury Week’s ‘See the hidden me’ campaign. It’s important to raise more awareness about these ‘invisible’ symptoms to better understand the help and support that brain injury survivors and their families need.”

If you or a loved one has sustained a brain injury in an accident that wasn’t your fault or due to medical negligence,  Novum Law’s specialist team may be able to help on a No Win No Fee basis.

For expert legal advice, call our brain injury experts on 0800 884 0777, email info@novumlaw.com or complete our online enquiry form.