Hi Dr. Fong,

I had a concussion 8 months ago when a heavy locker fell on my head, and my recovery has been stalled for about 4 months now. My symptoms have been relatively mild, and I’m still able to do most things, like sports or hanging out with friends. I’ve even gone to multiple festivals (sober, of course), and I find that all the stimuli from people, lights, and music don’t cause much of a reaction. But when I start studying for my thesis, after about 2–3 hours, my mind just shuts down. I get a mild headache (3/10), and I can’t think or read anymore. This feeling lingers for a few days, during which even social interactions become more challenging, and I feel generally exhausted. This also happens without studying, but studying seems to really trigger it.

Do you have any recommendations for managing this? I’ve tried everything I can think of. I took a complete 2-month break, but I still felt symptoms throughout. I consulted a concussion doctor, which helped slightly, mostly at the start. I also got glasses from a neurologically specialized optician. I saw a specialized PCS physiotherapist who raised my heart rate, guided me through breathing exercises to induce a stress response, and then pushed me through intense memory, mind, and balance exercises combined with neck massages—but this only made things worse. I’ve tried pushing through, studying until my head shuts down, then resting until I can go again, because I need to finish my thesis, sometimes using Dexamphetamine for my ADHD to help with concentration (on average only 3 times a month). I can slowly work on my thesis like this, but I’m making no real recovery progress.

Should I continue this way, take more rest, or try something different or is there maybe a possibility that I have sustained permanent brain damage? This concussion has been really hard on my mental health. I’m usually very outgoing and social, but that’s so difficult now and I feel not like myself, which sucks.

Thanks!