After an accident, it is understandable if your instinct is to focus mainly on your physical recovery. However, some accidents can be major traumatic events, or they may have traumatic aftermaths, which means that the your mental health recovery is extremely important as well.
In fact, in some cases it might even be more important because mental scars could remain even after all the physical injuries have healed. That means that the mental trauma caused by the accident could have much longer term effects than the physical damage that you suffered.
Dealing with both the physical and mental effects of an accident can be costly. That is why an injury attorney network in West Palm Beach suggests that accident victims retain an attorney to help them get the compensation that they need. That compensation can help the accident victim pay for the treatment they need or reimburse their insurance company for any treatment they have already taken.
Mental Trauma That Can Take Place After Accidents
Some of the kinds of mental trauma that accident victims can suffer after their accident include the following:
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – This type of mental trauma is caused by a particularly stressful or traumatic incident in a person’s life. Symptoms of PTSD include flashbacks to the traumatic event, nightmares, and severe anxiety, all of which can be triggered by anything that reminds them of the traumatic incident.
Depression – This is a common form of trauma that happens after an accident. It can be caused by the accident itself or by the injuries caused by the accident, especially if they prevent the injured person from doing and enjoying things they could before. Clinical depression can cause a lot of different problems like sleep disorders, fatigue, headaches, mood changes, suicidal ideation, and more.
Dissociative Disorder – This means that the accident victim may feel dissociated or disconnected from their body, their thoughts, their surroundings, and the people around them. In other words, it can leave the victim feeling numb. Dissociation is a stress response that minimizes the person’s belief that the accident happened to them. Unfortunately, this can prevent them from properly processing their emotions and dealing with the traumatic event.
How To Maintain Mental Health After an Accident
The practice of maintaining one’s mental health after an accident will always be an ongoing process that consists of many different things, some of which include the following:
Talk to Someone – Preferably a professional like a counselor or therapist, but even just talking to friends and family can help. It can prevent you from feeling alone and can give you a way to unburden your feelings instead of keeping them bottled up.
Stay Healthy – It can be easy to fall into bad habits like binge eating or a sedentary lifestyle after an accident, especially if an injury hinders your movement. However, you will just end up feeling worse in the long run. Eating healthy is good for your well-being and exercising releases endorphins that can make you feel good in a natural and healthy way. However, you should only perform physical activities approved by your doctor.
Practice Mindfulness – Mindfulness is about the awareness of your innermost thoughts and feelings and the acceptance of your experiences. This can help you to deal with the anxiety and stress caused by the accident. You can practice mindfulness by meditating or by simply taking the time to be still, quiet, and alone with your thoughts.