According to the WHO’s road safety facts, about 1.25 million people perish on the road each year due to car accidents. That is an average of 3,287 deaths per day due to damn automobiles. What a spine-chilling scenario!
But while car accidents are frequent, one can never prepare for a car accident. It can strike anytime. And it’s this uncertainty that makes car accidents damaging to mental health. Unfortunately, most car accident victims never seek psychiatric care after receiving physical treatment. But traumatic brain injury (TBI) can lead to various mental health problems such as:
Depression
300 million people in the world already suffer from depression and car accidents may make this worse because they result in financial troubles, injuries or even loss of life in the worst-case scenario. Depression and anxiety may lead one to withdraw from society, develop an intense fear of driving or traveling.
PTSD
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) does not affect soldiers only, auto accidents, especially violent ones, can be mentally traumatizing for victims. They can leave one with horrific images stuck in mind for a long time triggering PTSD. PTSD is always accompanied by anxiety and intense fear of traveling and or driving, blackouts due to flashbacks, terrifying nightmares, self-harm etc.
Dissociation
A lot of car accident victims say they no longer feel at home in their bodies. Medical experts have a term for this phenomenon; they call it dissociation. The experts say dissociation is the brain’s way of helping victims deal with trauma, the unfortunate thing, of course, is one in your thoughts and emotions won’t feel like your own due to the disruptions in memory, consciousness, perception, and awareness.
Car accidents and alcoholism
There’s a definite link between car accidents and intoxication. Car accidents lead to traumatic brain injuries, and alcoholism is a significant risk factor for TBIs, especially among grown-ups and adolescents.
Most people involved in car accidents are either driving while “high” and after hospitalization, they are likely to revert to their drinking ways. Other times, car crash victims pick up drinking habits to deal with the feeling of loneliness and anxiety.
Substance abuse makes it hard to recover and start functioning normally once again. Therefore, if you are dealing with any form of mental condition after an auto accident, please do not make poor decisions, seek help instead and here are some tips for dealing with emotional and mental issues after an auto accident:
Talk with someone
Be it family, friends or your doctor, do not be afraid of talking about your feelings with people you trust. You are not alone; you are not completely damaged; let not stigma prevent you from getting treatment.
Joining clubs or taking classes helps build new relationships; you can depend on for emotional support. Let those who have experienced what you are feeling now, help you overcome the strange emotions.
Stay active
Depression and anxiety can overcome you if you do not stick to your daily routine. Ease back into your normal routine slowly and start exercising as long as you don’t interfere with physical healing.
Stay in touch with your doctor
Regular therapy and medication can help with various emotional and mental issues. Stay in touch with your doctor for guidance on how much you can work, exercise, etc. By monitoring your recovery, your doctor knows when to refer you to a grief counselor so that you can work through your emotions.
Practice mindfulness and good health
Start by acknowledging emotions, then take charge through mindful techniques such as meditation, breathing exercises, aspiring, etc. Make regular mental and physical health practices part of your recovery journey. So, avoid alcohol, eat well, get enough sleep and talk with your trusted companions.
Be it pileup crash, head-on collision, rollover, T-bone or rear-end collision, car accident leaves victims with mental and emotional issues such as mood swings, anxiety, nightmares, fearfulness, blackouts and anguish which makes it difficult to go back to normal life. The unfortunate thing is that many car accident victims go through these nightmares alone due to a lack of official medical diagnosis for their troubling emotions.
The good news is, the world is waking up to this realization: There are now grief counselors, therapies, medication, recovery classes, and support groups to help out. Avoid becoming just another statistic, seek help after a traumatic auto accident!
In a nutshell, Stambaugh Law firm is an established law entity that has been helping millions of car accident victims get their full compensation after the event of an accident.
