Brain Injury and Mental Health

At Eastbank we work closely with Herefordshire Mental Health Team, Probation Services and Hereford Social Care Services to provide a quality service to adults with Acquired Brain Injury and Mental Health Issues. Our team of highly skilled and experienced staff members work tirelessly to improve the lives of the individuals we support.

Understanding Brain Injury

We know that the brain controls everything we do. This means that an injury to the brain through illness (encephalitis, brain haemorrhage, stroke, brain tumour) or trauma (road traffic accident, assault, fall) can result in a wide range of difficulties across areas of cognitive behaviour, emotion and social functioning, depending on the nature and severity of the injury. Brain injury does not discriminate and can happen to people of any age or walk of life. 

How can brain injury affect people? A brain injury can leave a person in a state of confusion. Perhaps not being able to recognise familiar people and places or having mobility issues. It's common for a person with a brain injury to have difficulties with memory that may impact on daily functioning. Poor organisational and communication skills, decision making and a lack of self awareness can be present. The individual may not recognise or understand their environment,which can be very distressing for them and their loved ones. Families are instrumental in playing an important role in reassuring the individual - both initially and in the long term - helping them remember their former self and/or develop a new self, to support the rehabilitation process.

Mental Health

• Depression is a low mood that can last a long time or keep returning, affecting your everyday life.
  
• Anxiety is a feeling of stress, panic or fear that can affect your everyday life physically and psychologically.
  
• Schizophrenia is a severe long-term mental health condition. It causes a range of different psychological symptoms.
  
• Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that comes and goes in a seasonal pattern. 
  
• Social anxiety disorder, also called social phobia, is a long-term and overwhelming fear of social situations. 
  
• Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a condition that affects your moods, which can swing from one extreme to another.

Addiction

Addiction is most commonly associated with gambling, drugs, alcohol and smoking, but it's possible to be addicted to just about anything, including:

• Work - some people are obsessed with their work to the extent that they become physically exhausted; if your relationship, family and social life are affected and you never take holidays, you may be addicted to work.
• Internet - as computer and mobile phone use has increased, so too have computer and internet addictions; people may spend hours each day and night surfing the internet or gaming while neglecting other aspects of their lives.
• Solvents - volatile substance abuse is when you inhale substances such as glue, aerosols, petrol or lighter fuel to give you a feeling of intoxication.
• Shopping - shopping becomes an addiction when you buy things you don't need or want to achieve a buzz; this is quickly followed by feelings of guilt, shame or despair.

What causes addictions?
There are lots of reasons why addictions begin. In the case of drugs, alcohol and nicotine, these substances affect the way you feel, both physically and mentally. These feelings can be enjoyable and create a powerful urge to use the substances again.
Gambling may result in a similar mental "high" after a win, followed by a strong urge to try again and recreate that feeling. This can develop into a habit that becomes very hard to stop.
Being addicted to something means that not having it causes withdrawal symptoms, or a "come down". Because this can be unpleasant, it's easier to carry on having or doing what you crave, and so the cycle continues.
Often, an addiction gets out of control because you need more and more to satisfy a craving and achieve the "high".

How addictions can affect you
The strain of managing an addiction can seriously damage your work life and relationships. In the case of substance misuse (for example, drugs and alcohol), an addiction can have serious psychological and physical effects.
Some studies suggest a person's risk of becoming addicted is partly genetic, but environmental factors, such as being around other people with addictions, are also thought to increase the risk.
Behaviours such as substance misuse can be a way of blocking out difficult issues. Unemployment and poverty can trigger addiction, along with stress and emotional or professional pressure.

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