my grandson 23 was in a car accident and suffered a concussion . He was in the hospital for an hour and sent home to be watched for 3 days. Two days later he set fire to his room and tried to kill himself. He is now in the hospital lock up room and hears voices. No alcohol or drugs in his system at either time. He has been depressed before all this happened and won t tell his parents why. Are the voices and attempted suicide from the accident alone?
Hi and welcome to Chat Doctor. Thanks for your question... Since you say that he had been depressed even before the accident, it is more likely that his current psychiatric symptoms are related to the depression. When depression becomes severe, psychotic symptoms can appear (like hearing voices, false beliefs, etc.) Moreover, since he was well enough to be sent home after the accident, it is unlikely that he would have suffered from any significant brain damage.  Depression can be caused due to neurochemical imbalances in the brain and need not be stress related always. So, it is not surprising that he did not reveal anything to his parents. With appropriate medication and close follow up he should be able to come out of his depression. Best wishes,-