What is Cognition?
The definition of cognition is to know how to perform more straightforward tasks such as all aspects of personal hygiene. The more complex tasks in life could be a job you recently had to leave due to a brain injury after a negligent accident and retraining for that job must be done. Brain injuries happen at different levels, from mild to severe and from a host of different situations. Cognition goes much deeper, such as,
- Perception
- Awareness
- Discernment
- Apprehension
- Learning new concepts or old concepts forgotten due to brain injury.
- A brain injury can create depression or other mental health issues.
Cognition Therapy
Specified cognitive therapy techniques can help a person with a traumatic brain injury improve their quality of life. Cognitive therapy techniques can help a person relearn forgotten tasks. However, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy may not be beneficial to someone who has a severe brain injury because this therapy requires an element of self-awareness skills.
Those with severe traumatic brain injuries due to the negligence of another person may never reach the level of living before their accident. These persons may require custodial care for the rest of their life. Conditions such as a traumatic brain injury can cause signs and symptoms of depression. These patients require help to cope with the emotional and psychological ramifications of this injury.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Strategies
The therapist takes an in-depth look at the person with a traumatic brain injury to decide what the person needs to improve. If improvement is needed in simple everyday personal hygiene tasks such as washing their face, combing their hair, or brushing their teeth, the therapist works with the person to improve their ability to do these necessary everyday tasks. If the person needs help with more complex tasks, the therapist works to improve their abilities. The therapist examines what the person wants to improve.
The person and their family and friends need to understand that any traumatic brain injury causes some emotional and behavioral changes that the person never displayed before their accident. No matter how severe the brain injury, the person needs ongoing medical care, and it would be best if the person gained some adequate and sufficient compensation for their injuries. They need help paying for these services beyond what their insurance pays. Traumatic brain injury patients may struggle with different changes in their life such as,
- Emotional issues that cause extreme mood changes
- Anxiety disorders that take the shape of obsessive-compulsive disorders or panic disorders
- Depression signs and symptoms
- Orbitofrontal Syndrome causing impulsive behaviors
- Lack of social skills
- Lack of empathy
- A flat affect on personality
It makes no difference in the level of these changes; they end up causing unnecessary suffering for the person with a traumatic brain injury. Some of these changes can halt recovery. It is vital to find a cognitive-behavior technique that works for the person as soon as possible. Families and the patient discovers that they must learn to manage the effects of their brain injury. They need to understand why they are behaving in specific ways. If the person does not do this, then these changes continue to dictate their life. The person must know that their beliefs create feelings, and their feelings dictate these behaviors. The therapist helps the person to uncover and understand their unhealthy thinking episodes.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy is a form of psychotherapy treatment proven successful in many patients with TBI through the retraining of their brain.
- The therapist helps the patient think positively and eliminate any negative thoughts.
- The therapist may perform the following approaches.
- Restructure the patient’s cognitive thinking
- Train the patient to identify automatic and dysfunctional thoughts
- Works with the patient to increase their motivation to overcome more straightforward tasks before mastering more complex tasks.
- Encourages the person to perform activities such as getting outside for simple tasks such as a walk. Staying inside the majority of the time only stands to make symptoms worse due to isolation and inactivity.
- The therapist works with the patient to develop appropriate lost skills through skills training, such as becoming more assertive, solving problems, and relearn social skills and communication.
A traumatic brain injury will not change their situation, and the person must learn to accept their situation positively and realize that their situation is what it is. If the therapist believes that cognitive-behavioral therapy can improve the patient’s condition, the therapist must hear from the patient that they are willing to work hard to regain control over their lives at the highest possible level. At this point, the patient begins to accept their situation and work with the therapist.
The patient must create a new commitment to reach the highest possible level of living. As the patient works with their therapist, they create more positive thoughts, are increasingly mindful of the present day, show increased clearer thinking, and sort out what is important to them.
This therapy shows successful progress in thousands of people with TBI and helps increase their independence in daily living activities, gives them a new motivation with newly set goals, and gives the person with TBI hope for the future.
A Call to Action for Compensation Due to the Negligent Actions of Another Person
If you or a family member has a traumatic brain injury due to someone’s negligent actions, please give us a call as soon as possible. Those suffering from TBI will have,
- Mounting medical debt
- May lose their income due to not being able to work
- They Will need ongoing therapy for months to help them cope
- May need to enter into a rehabilitation facility to recover
- May need in-home nursing care.
- May need to redesign a home to meet disability needs.
The mounting debt this person experiences is more than they can take care of out of their pocket. This person needs legal representation to help with a fair and just settlement to pay for all these added and unexpected expenses in addition to living expenses.
