This is a part of the Hot Topic podcast series from the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center on TBI and Depression. Dr. Samantha Artherholt discusses Why It's Critical to Treat Depression in People with TBI.

I think there’s so much that goes into that in terms of depression after brain injury. We know it’s exceedingly common. There’s so much that can be at play there in terms of the actual brain injury itself, but then all of the myriad changes that happen in somebody’s life. This is one of those things that impacts literally every facet of a patient’s life. It’s their relationships, their work, their finances, their, you know, recreational life, everything.

And so I think when you have a change of that magnitude, it’s really hard to make sense of it without it having an emotional impact. It’s clearly going to impact people emotionally. So, depression is something that often just is part of the picture in terms of the recovery. So, that’s why I think it’s so important for a patient to be able to recognize that and to seek treatment for it as it is before it becomes something that really is, you know, making their recovery that much more difficult.

There’s already enough that is on their plate. We don’t need a clinical depression on top of it to make it even more challenging.

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