The Injuries You Can’t See: Mental and Emotional Implications of Car Accidents

We all know that car accidents can take a physical toll on your body and cause extensive injuries. However, one of the less discussed and contemplated potential consequences is something that no one else can see but which you can definitely feel. Regardless of visibility, mental and emotional injuries can actually remain long after your physical injuries have healed. This is magnified whenever the sufferer fails to obtain treatment which is not difficult to do since so much attention is focused on visible injuries. However, an experienced personal injury attorney is well aware of the potential presence of mental and emotional injuries as well as the fact that their impact can be more long lasting than your physical ones.

What Kind of Emotions Might an Accident Victim Feel?

Even if you initially don’t experience a range of emotions because you’re still in shock from the accident, at some point there may be an onset of different feelings especially as the shock wears off and the reality of what you have experienced becomes clear. These emotions can include:

• Anger
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Mood swings
• Fearfulness
• Numbness

How Might These Emotions Be Exhibited?

• Your appetite may be different. You may have no desire to eat, but alternatively, you may turn to food for comfort and find yourself eating substantially more than usual.
• You may have sleep disturbances. You may have trouble falling asleep at all and when you do you may experience nightmares and flashbacks of the accident.
• You may not have interest in activities. It is not unusual to lose interest in even your favorite of the activities that you used to engage in.

What Kind of Mental Implications Can There Be?

While everyone who is in a car accident does not experience mental implications, the reality is that about nine percent of the general population who are involved in car accidents develop post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. There is an even higher percentage of diagnoses for those who seek out post-accident mental health treatment. Sixty percent of these people are diagnosed with PTSD.

What Are Symptoms of PTSD?

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, PTSD symptoms may not appear for months or even years. It appears by manifesting for at least one month following a traumatic event and can include symptoms such as:

• Detachment and self isolation
• Irritable and aggressive behavior
• Flashbacks and reliving the event
• Self-destructive and reckless behavior
• Hypervigilance
• Difficulty concentrating on one activity
• Inability to experience positive emotions
• Avoidance of discussing the circumstances of the car accident

Are You Struggling After Being Injured in a Car Accident?

Then allow us to help. We can support you in obtaining the help you need for your emotional and mental struggles while we fight to obtain the compensation you deserve for your physical injuries against the person who is responsible. Contact the experienced Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorneys of The Pendas Law Firm today and we will help you recover the compensation you are entitled to.

The Pendas Law Firm also represents clients in the Tampa, Orlando, Miami, Fort Myers, Daytona, Jacksonville, and Bradenton areas.

Resource:

adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/posttraumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/symptoms

https://www.pendaslaw.com/understanding-florida-pip-insurance-and-why-your-premium-is-so-high/