Brain injury and mental health are often seen and treated as two entirely separate
diagnoses, or sometimes confused as being the same thing. However, both can be true;
brain injury is sometimes an entirely separate issue to mental health, whereas other times
brain injury can lead to mental health issues developing. It may also be that you had
mental health issues prior to the injury, and that the brain injury exacerbates your
pre-existing mental health symptoms. There are therefore different ways in which mental
health and brain injury can overlap.
This overlap can occur because all cognitive, psychological, emotional and behavioural
skills come from the brain, and both brain injury and mental health issues occur because
of some dysfunction of the brain.
If you need help with your mental help there are professional services that can help:
Samaritans – www.samaritans.org
116 123
• Rethink – www.rethink.org
0300 5000 927
• Mind – www.mind.org.uk
0300 123 3393
• Online help – the NHS Choices website has a list of mental health services that
can offer online support to people experiencing a range of mental health
issues. For more information, visit www.nhs.uk/conditions/online-mental-healthservices/pages/introduction.aspx
If you are experiencing a mental health crisis and you are not under the care of a
mental health crisis team, call 999 or go to your nearest Accident and Emergency
department.