Accidents and Trauma
Based on “Stress Free Living,” by Powell Travor, OK Publishing, 1997
We all experience accidents. But not all accidents lead to trauma.
Trauma is experienced when an accident we experience or witness undermines one or more of our fundamental beliefs.
For example, if you drove a car for years without getting in an accident, you may come to believe and expect you would never be in an accident. Then, if you one day had a car accident, that experience would undermine your belief that you would never be in an accident.
The more an accident goes against one of your fundamental beliefs, the more likely you’ll experience trauma.
Physical Effects of Trauma
When we experience an accident that causes trauma, there may be obvious physical effects, such as bruises or broken bones. At the same time, other physical effects may be less obvious, such as:
- Feeling tired or low energy
- Inability to concentrate or remember events accurately
- Pains and headaches due to increased muscle tension
- Feeling over aroused, sleep problems, including nightmares and flashbacks
Emotional and Social Effects of Trauma
Trauma-causing accidents can lead to emotional and social effects that are also often less than obvious, such as:
- Fear of another accident occurring, or of how you will cope
- Guilt over surviving or being better off than other victims of the accident
- Regret for things not done
- Shame over how you “failed” to respond to the accident, or over having an “emotional” response
- Anger toward what happened, who caused it, or others’ lack of understanding
- Disappointment over unfulfilled plans made impossible by the accident
Returning to Normal
Recovery from a trauma-causing accident involves attending to issues across the entire spectrum of your life:
- Emotions: Express your emotions in order to work through them, even allowing situations to trigger memories of the accident. The feelings associated with the accident will take time to soften, so allow yourself to explore the feelings you have, even if what you feel is numbness.
- Relationships: Your relationships may shift due to the accident or due to you viewing yourself differently after the fact. Be open in your communication with the people in your life, especially children who may be experiencing emotions similar to yours.
- Physical: Rest, relax and eat well. Your body may need more time to recover than you expect, being more deeply hurt than you know.
- Routine: Keep active, but not overactive. Try to maintain your pre-accident activities if comfortably possible.
Your Trauma and the Law Offices of Steven D. Weier
If you are experiencing trauma due to a personal injury, you need time, rest and support to recover.
At the Law Offices of Steven D. Weier, we emphasize handling personal injury cases . As a result, you can focus on getting better while leaving the details of your personal injury claim to our highly experienced attorneys.
If you are looking for the trauma relief you need, contact us today.