09/10/2026
I would be remiss if we talked about brain health and brain injury without talking about one of the least acknowledged, yet most profound experiences many people carry: grief.
Grief changes the brain, and I mean that quite literally.
During grief, the brain’s stress systems can become more active. Areas involved in emotion, threat detection, memory, attention and decision-making are all affected. Stress hormones can remain elevated, sleep is often disrupted, and the brain has to use more energy to process what has happened and adjust to a new reality.
That is part of why grief can feel so physical.
You may feel foggy, exhausted, forgetful, distracted, emotionally overwhelmed or unable to make even simple decisions. Your brain is working hard behind the scenes.
For someone living with a brain injury, this can be especially significant.
Their brain may already be using more effort for things like attention, memory, emotional regulation, communication and everyday functioning. Add grief to that, and the cognitive and emotional load can become enormous.
And often, they are grieving far more than the injury itself.
They may be grieving the life they had before.
The person they remember being.
Abilities that changed, relationships that shifted, roles that disappeared, plans that suddenly look different and a sense of identity that may no longer feel familiar.
That kind of grief is profound because the person is trying to understand who they are now while their brain is also physically adapting to change.
Sometimes we look at frustration, withdrawal, anger, low motivation or difficulty engaging and immediately think about behaviour, cognition or the injury itself.
Sometimes grief is sitting underneath all of it.
There is a person trying to make sense of a life that changed, while their brain is working to reorganize, regulate and find a new sense of safety and familiarity.
Brain health support has to leave room for that.
Sometimes supporting the brain starts with simply recognizing the grief it is carrying. 💚
