A car crash may lead to several injuries, and not all of them physical. While spinal cord or brain injures are common and can be severe, emotional trauma is often a tragic part of the fallout, too. After experiencing any of these devastating impacts after an accident, it is natural to initially feel despair about the “new normal” you may have to accept.
Many people don’t realize that there are very serious mental impacts that can come with these crashes. It is hard to realize the depths of hopelessness that are commonly felt. Here are some important points to remember about the emotional impacts following auto accidents:
Some mental disturbance is normal
There is likely going to be some mental disturbance that comes with an accident of any sort. This is a natural response to the traumatic event. In these cases, the impacts will decrease over time and without much work on your part. You will find that it doesn’t really impact your life much, if at all, when it is this type.
Intense emotional trauma is devastating
When the impacts of the emotional trauma don’t abate over time, you may soon realize that you have something more serious going on. It is possible that you are suffering from depression, but there is also the chance that it is even more serious. Some individuals who have been in a car crash will suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Typically, the worse the accident, the worse the emotional trauma. If you survived a fatal crash, you may have serious mental health issues to address. Survivor’s guilt is a real challenge, so don’t think that you are the only person who has gone through this type of problem.
PTSD must be addressed promptly
You can’t let PTSD go untreated since it will likely just get worse over time until you are completely unable to function. It will take a lot of work to overcome this condition, so be prepared to truly give it your energy and focus. If it does continue unchecked, you may notice that many triggers set off reactions. Just seeing a vehicle or having to get into one can cause a panic attack. As you can imagine, this can be very limiting since you won’t be able to go anywhere easily.