Things You Don’t Know About Surviving an Accident

Hopefully, not many of us have been in the unfortunate situation of being involved in a car accident. At the best of times, it can be a traumatic, prolonged, painful experience, and at worst it can mean death. Many people who have never been in an accident before thinks that it’s just an impact and you can go about the rest of your life as normal, once you get a new car of course. It isn’t always that simple.

There can be a lot more damage than expected when involved in a car accident, even if everybody looks uninjured. Many effects only start to show the next day and some of the aftereffects of traumatic accidents, don’t even manifest themselves physically, but mentally instead.

Here are some of the things you don’t know about surviving a car accident.

Managing Guilt and Other Emotions

A car accident is usually associated with some sort of physical pain. Bruises, broken bones, and lacerations are all common results of bad car accidents. What many may not know is that some of the worst damage can be to the victim’s mental state. Physical bruises are easy to heal by comparison because everything ailing the hurt individual is physically in front of you. Victims of car accidents, whether they were the driver, a passenger, or a bystander, is extremely susceptible to mental duress.

For the driver at fault, it could be an endless barrage of self-loathing for making a driving error. The passenger could be struggling with feelings of “why them?” What if they didn’t get in the car? “What if we didn’t make a quick pit stop for me? How would it be different?” Now, for the people involved in a car accident, it could be extremely difficult for them to get back into another vehicle. The anxiety of second-guessing yourself, doubting your own skills and the fear of hurting others, may prevent certain individuals from being able to drive safely.

Effects of a Car Accident on Pregnancy

Something that often gets overlooked as something to watch out for in an accident is the effects of the mentioned crash on pregnancy. A pregnant lady after a car accident should take special precautions the following days. Miscarriages, preterm labor, and placental disruption are all potential risks following a car accident. The effects of a car accident during pregnancy can last well after the initial accident. Most women following a car accident are placed in the “high-risk pregnancy” category. According to legal professionals, these cases aren’t even that unusual and could be very difficult to settle in court as there are just too many factors at play. A woman’s maternal instinct can cause the woman in question to start stressing about her unborn child leading to further stress during the pregnancy. It is important to go and check up on yourself and the baby following any sort of impact in a vehicle. All impacts can have serious repercussions, even the ones that didn’t seem that bad at first.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

There are folks out there that have been involved in a car accident and are otherwise unhurt. However, these same people, might not ever get into another car again. The stress of being involved in an accident is sometimes too much for people to handle and the brain just refuses to cope. This is a very serious condition that affects so much more than just car accident survivors.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD, is a mental health condition that’s triggered by a terrifying event by either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event. This type of mental disorder can cause enormous disruption to somebody trying to go about their normal day. A person can be driving down the road, then all of a sudden a certain event can trigger a panic attack which leads to another dangerous situation on the road.

To Sum up, Car accidents can cause a great deal more damage than just physical pain and broken bones. It is possible to develop serious mental injuries from a traumatic event such as a car accident. The stress, and anxiety that these conditions can cause you can be life-altering and very serious in nature. Just as we don’t see our mental scars, we also can’t see what is happening to a child in the womb after a serious event. The stresses the mother feels are directly felt by the baby too. It is extremely important to remember to check with the doctor about yourself and the health of the unborn child after even the smallest of accidents.  Always look out for yourselves on roads and safe driving!