Some people assume that if they can walk away from a car crash, they haven’t developed any life-altering injuries. That isn’t always true. People can have traumatic injuries with delayed symptom onset that they only identify days or weeks after they first get hurt.
Others may have psychological trauma that could affect their lives for years to come, especially if they don’t receive treatment. Mental or psychological trauma can be as debilitating as a physical injury in many cases. Getting proper support is often the best option, as people may otherwise have long-term limits on their day-to-day lives because of what happened in a crash.
How can those involved in a crash, and people close to those involved in a crash, identify the warning signs of trauma afterward?
Watch for changes in behavior
Many people feel cut off from life or other people after experiencing a traumatic event. Feeling numb or detached from day-to-day life is a common response to intense psychological trauma. People withdraw from their relationships and stop engaging in activities they previously enjoyed.
Other times, people may become more emotionally volatile. They may have intense reactions to seemingly minor issues and may become unpredictable because the trauma affects their ability to self-regulate.
Other warning signs of trauma include:
- difficulty sleeping
- a desire to sleep regularly to avoid life
- repetitive nightmares
- waking flashbacks where people re-experience the trauma
- aversion to certain smells, sounds or locations
- enhanced startle reactions
- reckless, risky behavior
- feeling or expressing more negative than positive emotions
- aversion to discussing the crash
- physical reactions including sweating and heart palpitations
The behaviors and symptoms associated with psychological trauma can damage an individual’s relationships and could also damage their career prospects. The way they behave because of their trauma could further damage their mental health, as they may judge themselves for their inability to simply move on with their lives.
Treating trauma can be expensive
Post-traumatic stress disorder and other trauma-related mental health challenges are particularly difficult for people to treat. There aren’t any medications that work for everyone coping with psychological trauma. The same is true of different types of counseling.
Some people respond well to forms of therapy that focus on desensitization, such as EMDR. Mental health care can be very costly, especially as it may take years to get someone’s symptoms under control. Those involved in car crashes who spot warning signs of trauma may need to consider the possible cost of obtaining mental health support when negotiating an insurance settlement or taking legal action against the driver who caused the crash.
Compensation can help cover not just the financial impact of physical injuries caused by a car crash but also the consequences of emotional or psychological trauma. Those who recognize how a crash have affected them are in the best position possible to mitigate the losses they may have incurred.
