Why does this happen?
Traumatic brain injuries often result in damage to the frontal lobe. This area of the brain used in reasoning, problem solving and controlling our more basic impulses and emotions such as anger. An individual who has sustained a brain injury has often lost these skills. This means they may have trouble controlling their response to feelings of anger. This can result in violent outbursts with minimal provocation and little warning. In many cases, brain injury affects social judgement and the ability to know what is appropriate in different situations.
Examples include:
- an adolescent who spits in his mother’s face when told he can’t go out
- a grandfather who screams constantly at a niece he used to adore
- a husband who hits his wife whenever he doesn’t get his way.
Brain injury also affects self-awareness. This means that a person may feel justified in saying others were responsible for provoking their anger.