People who are involved in car crashes can often suffer from physical injuries. There is a chance that they will also suffer from emotional trauma. The fact that you can’t readily see the emotional trauma doesn’t take away the impact that it has on the victim’s life.
Emotional trauma can take many forms. Some people might experience depression and others might suffer from anxiety. In the most severe cases, the person might have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
There are some common signs that can clue you into the fact that you might need some mental health help after the accident. Experiencing sleeplessness, difficulty concentrating, weight fluctuations, chronic fatigue or social withdrawal all signal that something is wrong. You might also realize that you are frightened to get into a vehicle again after the accident.
The effects of emotional trauma might be even worse if you suffered from physical injuries in the accident. Losing a loved one in the accident or other people being seriously injured in the accident might also lead to emotional difficulties.
In many cases, a person who suffers from this type of trauma will need to seek help from a mental health professional. This can be costly and time consuming, but there might not be any way around it. Ultimately, you have to do whatever is necessary to help you.
If the accident was caused by someone else, you might decide to take action against that driver. This might help you to be able to recover the costs of the mental health care and the other damages that you had to cover because of the accident.
Source: FindLaw, “Emotional Trauma After a Car Accident,” accessed Sep. 29, 2017