College With a Concussion

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Scranton chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of The University of Scranton.

I never thought I’d have worse mood swings than when I’m PMSing, but here we are. 

Over the summer, my sister and I got into a pretty bad accident when I was visiting her in California. Of course, two days into my vacation was the perfect time to roll a very heavy, very new GMC truck, and I am so glad we both made it out alive. Since we rolled and slid and all that jazz, I am still concussed two months later. I don’t know anyone that has had such a severe experience, so I hope those of you reading that share my experience feel seen and heard. 

My biggest issue, of course, is memory. As the Editor-in-Chief of an on-campus literary magazine, if my staff tells me they’ll be absent, I will not remember. I’ve also forgotten some of the basic procedural things we do every meeting, and I’ve been on staff for two years. I have much more trouble remembering what I’ve read and often have to read things repeatedly. My advice here would be: communicate with your professors. They get it, and they want to help you. 

I am still really sensitive to light and sound, and fast movement makes me dizzy. The only thing I’ve found to help are blue light glasses. And take breaks, lots of them. I never thought I would need a brain break so often, but if I don’t take a ridiculous number of breaks, I get insanely exhausted. Get the blue light glasses, try to stay away from screens, and prioritize rest. 

Another thing I did not expect was the mood swings. Mostly, I’ll just get irrationally angry. My apartment gets a little loud? Suddenly I’m the Hulk with steam coming out of my ears. Sometimes I cry; that’s really interesting. The other night I was watching couple TikToks, and I have a boyfriend, so no FOMO there, but I just started crying. Then, I saw a little boy meeting his baby sister—immediate intense sobbing. There’s no advice for this one, you just have to power through. 

I also can’t focus, and I haven’t found a solution for that other than rest. My vision gets blurry, and my mind gets super foggy. I’m having trouble focusing while writing this article, so…

Basically, lean on the people around you. They are your support system. They may not fully understand, but there are people that do, like your doctor or someone in student guidance. Also, get the academic accommodation. Seriously, don’t hesitate on it. Use the resources around you, follow the concussion healing tips, and wait it out. Your brain needs to heal; give it the time and care it needs to do so.