Brain injury affects many areas of cognitive functioning. Flooding is a very common symptom after brain injury.
Prince George Brain Injury Group Society (BIG) and Northern Brain Injury Association (NBIA) created a manual called Rebuilding After Brain Injury. This manual is used in a 24-week group at BIG called Rebuilding which I am currently attending. Through this manual and the group, I've learned that flooding occurs when injured survivors become overwhelmed and their brains shut down.
Filters in a healthy brain can sort out sounds, sights, questions, problems, demands etc. And the filters can tune out things that are not important like the furnace humming, people and vehicles going by and other people's conversations. After a brain injury, these filters don't work properly so all of the information enters the brain at once. It's like an explosion inside the head. This overwhelming force creates a strong stress response, which results in flooding.
Although flooding is a temporary situation, it should be avoided as much as possible. It can take hours or days for the brain to rest and recuperate. Flooding can delay the healing of the damaged neurons in the brain. Like many of my peers, I've experienced flooding on a regular, daily basis.
Before injury, I was a social worker with incredible multitasking, problem-solving and organizing abilities at my job. It was the same in my personal life.
Now, when people try to talk to me about negative and stressful subjects, my brain shuts off. This is extremely frustrating for survivors like me who were well versed at taking on a multitude of challenging tasks. When I'm flooded, I can't remember what I said or did. I've literally walked away from highly emotionally charged conversations. Of course whoever I was having a conversation with would regard my actions as extremely rude. The worst part is I can't remember. Considering what I used to do for a living and how highly functional I was outside of work, this has been a huge loss for me and the people in my life.
As much as survivors grieve because they can't manage what used to be simple, every day interaction, family and friends can become frustrated and angry about this huge behaviour shift. I've been accused of ignoring people, not caring, not making an effort to reach out to people who are struggling.
For me, it's quite frightening because when I'm flooded, it's like being in a blackout. People have had conversations with me and I don't recall what they said. I've said and done things that have upset people and I have no memory of the incidents. In my previous column I covered energy crashes. After flooding, I'm in bed anywhere from 24 to 72 hours.
Brain injured survivors can experience flooding in different ways. My peers have described feeling confused, panicky, can't concentrate, lost for words, sweating, spewing angry comments at loved ones and many more reactions. When survivors become flooded, we feel horrible because we can't control how we are going to act. And we feel even worse when the people in our circle make negative comments. But can you blame them? Unless boundaries are set, this will remain a vicious cycle.
To avoid further damage for survivors and the people around them, firm boundaries are a necessity. It can take survivors a significant period of time to recognize what their triggers are for flooding and what flooding feels like. This took me months to sort out and I'm still on a learning curve after a year and a half post injury.
Survivors of brain injury must avoid situations and environments that can lead to flooding. Examples of survival strategies are to avoid certain people, minimize taking on too many requests or activities, limit time spent in busy public places, fluorescent lights and stressful, emotional interactions. The world can become very small but it's a tiny price to pay to reduce conflict and strained relationships.
When triggered, survivors must retreat to a quiet, calming place to avoid flooding. My home is my sanctuary and I could stay here and never venture out into the world. But I know this would not be healthy because connections to people and the community are important to healing the brain.
My next column will focus on a day in the life of a brain injured survivor.
