For the millions of Americans who have traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), the difficulty of living with disabilities no one else can see is daunting and discouraging. TBIs are often called “invisible injuries” for this very reason. Many people with moderate to severe TBIs can suffer from symptoms for years, having difficulties with speech, memory and behavior.

Family members, friends and work associates may be unable to understand why a person they once knew is now having trouble remembering tasks, organizing thoughts and controlling emotions. It is not the same as suffering from a broken arm or being burned, where the injury is visually apparent. For this reason, TBIs can carry a stigma. It can also be very difficult for the person with a TBI, who can look into a mirror and see nothing wrong, but know they are not the same anymore. The experience is frustrating for all parties involved.

How Are People Affected By Invisible Injuries?

In a CBS article titled ‘Invisible Wounds of War”, we can see how “invisible injuries” have affected veterans returning from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. One veteran interviewed for the article discussed how he would rather have a leg amputation than a brain injury. After returning home from Iraq, the veteran locked himself away in a dark room, and his wife could not understand what was wrong. She only knew her husband had become a different person.

Doctors diagnosed the veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder due to his brain injury, and it affected his life for years. The TBI cost the veteran his dream job teaching at West Point and caused years of pain that the military, doctors and others around him could not see.

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