How to Cope with Trauma After an Accident + The Question Of Compensation
It is extremely important that you take care of your emotional health in the aftermath so you can move forward.
Researched, written by 
Amber & The Team
Updated on July 9, 2023
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After a car accident, most people only focus on the physical injuries.
However, many car accident victims soon realize the trauma that has been created.
Emotional trauma following an accident may cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, or other emotional impacts.
It is extremely important that you take care of your emotional health in the aftermath so you can move forward.
How Do Car Accidents Affect Mental and Emotional Health?
Because accidents are sudden and frightening, they can greatly impact your mental health.
However, it’s not something you can see from the outside.
You may appear just as you normally do but have flashbacks of the accident or fear driving.
You may fall into a depression over your injuries, the mounting medical bills, and the stress surrounding the entire situation.
Victims of car accidents often have symptoms such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, hopelessness, anger, irritability, embarrassment, insomnia, nightmares, chronic pain, fear of driving, social withdrawal, and exhaustion.
If you have any of these symptoms, you may find it difficult to concentrate or participate in life.
If you are experiencing these symptoms following a car crash, you should get a professional assessment from a licensed therapist or a doctor.
It will also serve as documentation should you pursue compensation for emotional trauma.
Tips for Coping with Trauma Following an Auto Accident
Around 10-15% of people who have had a traumatic experience, such as a car accident, suffer from PTSD.
You will likely need to try therapy and several kinds of exercises to help reduce your trauma.
Driving Lessons
Many people in a car accident lose their confidence on the road or become fearful of driving.
Taking lessons can help you feel more comfortable behind the wheel and move on from the aftermath.
Anxiety Exercises
It’s also common for anxiety levels to be higher for those that have just been through a car accident.
Performing anxiety exercises can help you stay calm while driving or when anxious moments arise.
A therapist can teach you these valuable techniques, such as deep breathing, muscle relaxation, visualization, and counting.
Therapy
One of the best ways to help you improve your emotional and mental health is to seek therapy.
A therapist can help you manage your depression, anxiety, and other symptoms.
It is especially helpful if there is a fatality in the crash, as you will have a wide array of emotions.
Get Support From Friends and Family
You should never bottle up your feelings when you are going through emotional trauma.
If you have a friend or family member that can lend a sympathetic ear, you need to let those emotions out in a safe space.
Having a support system of people you can count on is one of the most important things, as they can help hold you up when you feel like you’re falling down.
Should You Seek Compensation for Your Emotional Trauma?
When you have been in a car accident, long after any physical injuries have healed, you may still be grappling with your emotions and mental health.
Car accident victims can be compensated for their emotional damages.
The severity of those traumas will impact how much compensation you receive.
Since emotional damage is hard to prove, working with a personal injury attorney experienced in handling car accident cases can help.
Your attorney will advise you on what to do in this situation.
Ideally, you will want to take notes about how you’re feeling.
Documentation from your doctor or therapist can also help, especially if any physical injuries are present, as they can contribute to the decline of your mental state.
While physical injuries can present many challenges, mental trauma can last even longer.
You may have already returned to work in your normal physical capacity, but the lasting emotional impacts from the accident could take months or years of recovery.
Compensation for car accident trauma is a complicated issue, so documenting these details can help your case.
Some people will have emotional anguish stemming from permanent physical changes or disfigurement due to the accident.
Other times, short or long-term injuries may make you unable to interact with your spouse or children as you did before.
You may be left with chronic pain or an inability to enjoy your life.
All of these things can impact your mental health.
To understand more, contact reputable law experts (for example, Fort Walton Beach car accident lawyers) to learn about non-economic damages and how to gain compensation for the traumas you’ve suffered due to someone else’s negligence.
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