Imagine driving to work or home to your family when you suddenly find yourself surrounded by chaos and drama. This is what’s it like to be involved in a car accident, and even if no one is hurt, it is a very stressful and traumatic experience that can stay with you your whole life. So, in case you get involved in a car accident, here are some tips that might help you deal with emotional and mental scars.

Emotional effects

If you get any sort of injuries in the crash, the emergency team will talk to you and take good care of your injuries right after the accident. However, even if you have no physical injuries, you can expect shock to overcome you. Some of the signs of shock are trembling, nausea, dizziness, rapid breathing, sweating and clamminess. And keep this in mind: some people enter an ‘autopilot’ mode after an accident. They do everything right (call emergency services, take photos, give coherent statements and respect all protocols) but when adrenaline goes down, they can experience delayed shock. This can hit them minutes or even hours after the accident and can last days or more.

Dealing with anxiety

When shock goes away, it sometimes turns into anxiety. People suffering from anxiety tend to replay the accident in their head over and over again or they spend time and energy on thinking how the accident could have been avoided. The best thing you can do if you’re experiencing anxiety is to talk to someone, even though you don’t want to share your concerns out loud. You can turn to a friend, family member or a professional therapist and talk about the incident and your feelings. This often helps with processing and recovery.

Seeking compensation

While money won’t solve your emotional and mental problems caused by the accident, it can certainly help you deal with various expenses connected to it. So, if you suffered any sort of injury in a car accident that wasn’t your fault, you can be eligible for compensation. While claiming for physical injury is easy since there are visible signs, emotional injuries are a little trickier to quantify even though effects can be truly deep and devastating on your life. Luckily, you can always find experienced superannuation lawyers who will offer useful advice and help you get your money. Respectable firms even have a ‘No win, no charge’ policy which means you only pay if you win the case. When you’re unable to work due to your mental and emotional state, some extra money might remove some of your stress and allow you to recover at your own pace.

Developing PTSD

If your anxiety doesn’t disappear in three months, or if the symptoms get worse, you might be suffering from PTSD. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD is a more serious mental condition. While it’s mostly associated with soldiers returning from battle, many traumatic events can trigger PTSD, serious car accidents included. In that case, make sure to seek the help of a professional who will decide whether you need medication to help you with your condition. You can also seek the support of family and friends and consider joining support groups where you can talk about your experiences and get support. The more you talk about your feelings, the easier will be to face your trauma, come to terms with everything that happened and put it behind you.

While most people usually concentrate on broken bones and crushed vehicles, we should all pay more attention to the emotional and mental aspects of car accidents. Make sure not to ignore mental health, but seek help and support. When you have someone on your side, you will get over your trauma much faster and face it in healthy ways.