Understanding Emotional Wellness Post Personal Injury Trauma
Ever had something so bad happen to you that you’ve had to take a minute to get your bearings?
A personal injury does more than physically harm you. It has a significant impact on your mental health. And believe it or not, the road to emotional recovery from personal injury trauma can take even longer than the physical one.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- Why Personal Injury Trauma Affects Your Mental Health
- The Top Emotional Issues You’ll Encounter
- Practical Strategies To Protect Your Emotional Wellness
- When You Need Professional Mental Health Assistance
Why Personal Injury Trauma Affects Your Mental Health
First of all…
Over 70% of people experience at least one traumatic event during their lives. And of course, personal injury is up there among the top causes of trauma.
In other words, injuries and the challenges and distress they bring are a big part of life for a lot of people.
Dealing with serious physical harm to yourself and the recovery process afterward is traumatic. It’s more than just the medical bills and the physical pain and discomfort. You also have to deal with the fear and the anxiety and all of the feelings you never bargained for.
One day you’re going about your life. The next day you’re in pain and unable to do the things you used to take for granted. Suddenly you have to depend on other people for assistance to get things done you never even thought twice about doing before.
If you let it, personal injury can run your emotional wellness as well as your physical body. Team up with the experienced professionals at Kaufman Injury Law to get the support you need so that you can focus on recovering from all aspects of your injury. Personal injury cases are about the whole you. Let’s make sure your emotional wellness is taken care of as well.
However, here’s the thing that makes it even worse than you might think…
Nobody really talks about the impact an injury has on a person’s mental health and emotional wellness. After an injury, people will ask you about your broken bone or your sprained ankle, but who’s checking in on you emotionally?
The Hidden Emotional Struggles No One Tells You About
Let’s set the scene for what actually happens after you get a personal injury…
Depression Creeps Up On You When You Least Expect It
You were independent, used to having your routine, and could take care of yourself.
Now? You need assistance to perform daily activities, you can’t work, and you’re confined to your home while the rest of the world moves on without you. Helplessness leads to depression in a big hurry.
Depression from an injury doesn’t look like what you see in the movies. It’s loss of interest in the activities you once enjoyed, hopelessness about recovery, isolation from friends and family, and lack of motivation to do your physical therapy.
The worse part? Depression actually slows down your physical recovery process. Your body and mind are connected – if one is injured, so is the other.
Anxiety Takes Over Your Thoughts About The Future
Here’s another thing no one tells you about recovering from a personal injury…
“What if I never fully recover?” “What if this happens again?” “What if I can’t get my old job back?”
These thoughts don’t just cross your mind every now and again. They become overpowering. It’s especially bad at night when you can’t sleep because of pain or stress. Injury survivors even develop specific phobias related to the accident.
PTSD Happens A Lot More Often Than You Might Think
Did you know up to 33% of car accident survivors develop PTSD symptoms? That’s one in three people.
PTSD from a personal injury manifests itself as flashbacks to the time of the injury, nightmares about the accident, avoidance of places or things that remind you of what happened, hypervigilance, and insomnia.
The worst part is PTSD symptoms may not occur until weeks or even months after your injury.
The Physical Pain Really Does Not Help Anything
Chronic pain is physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausting. Dealing with persistent pain in your day to day life will affect every area of your emotional wellness. You’re exhausted, you’re irritable, and the simplest of tasks are unmanageable.
Pain steals the activities away that used to bring you joy and make you happy. Isolation leads to depression. Depression in turn makes you focus on the pain more. It’s a viscous cycle that will go on and on.
How To Protect Your Emotional Wellness During Recovery
There are things you can do to protect your emotional wellness while your body is healing.
Get Professional Support Early On
Look, I understand. You don’t want to see a therapist. But here’s the deal – getting counseling after a traumatic injury isn’t a sign of weakness. In fact, it’s the complete opposite.
A mental health professional who specializes in post-traumatic stress can help you work through your feelings, give you tools to cope with pain and stress, work on anxiety and depression, and stop PTSD before it starts. The sooner you start, the better.
Build Your Support Network
You don’t have to go through this alone. Rely on your friends and family. Allow them to be there for you. I know it’s tough to let people help you when you’re an independent person by nature, but isolation only makes everything worse.
You might even consider finding a support group for injury survivors. Talking to people who have been there and who understand what you’re going through is powerful.
Stay Physically Active
Physical exercise isn’t just good for your physical recovery – it’s critical to your mental health. Of course, do what the doctor tells you, but within those parameters, move around as much as you can.
Exercise releases endorphins. It gives you a sense of achievement. It lets you know that you are in fact making progress even when that progress seems painfully slow.
Practice Daily Stress-Relief Techniques
Your nervous system has been traumatized. It needs help calming down. Do some deep breathing exercises, meditation, if your injury allows gentle yoga, or progressive muscle relaxation.
You don’t have to do all of the above. Find one or two you like and incorporate them into your daily routine.
Set Realistic Expectations
Your recovery process isn’t going to be a straight line. You’re going to have good days and bad days. That’s normal. Stop comparing yourself to how you were before your injury. Instead, look at progress in small baby steps. Celebrate the small victories.
When It’s Time To Get Additional Support
The reality is sometimes self-care isn’t enough. And that’s perfectly fine. There are some signs you need to be on the lookout for that it’s time to reach out for professional support – suicidal ideation, severe depression that isn’t getting better, PTSD symptoms that are intrusive and get in the way of your daily life, substance abuse as a form of self-medication, or complete withdrawal from friends and family.
If any of these are ringing true to you, get in touch with a mental health professional immediately.
The Factor Of Financial Stress
I don’t know about you, but one of the things no one wants to talk about is medical bills, lost wages, and the seemingly never-ending expense when you can’t work. Financial stress is a big deal. It exasperates every other emotional difficulty you’re already struggling with.
This is where good legal representation is so important. Ensure you get fair compensation. It’s not just about the money. It’s about lessening one more source of stress during your recovery process.
In Summary
Personal injury recovery is more than just setting a broken bone or patching up a wound. Emotional wellness is just as important if not more important than physical health.
The trauma of being seriously injured affects you mentally, emotionally, and physically. But with support, strategies, and the right mindset, you can recover from your injury completely. And not just physically but emotionally as well.
Recovery takes time. So be patient and gentle with yourself. Ask for help when you need it. And keep in mind, emotional difficulties after an injury are not a sign of weakness. It’s a completely normal reaction to trauma.
You got this. One day at a time.
