Youth Incorporated Magazine

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Getting back to your regular life after a car accident can be challenging. Your daily routine is not the same because your body needs rest, and the physical pain and stress make the recovery seem like an endless process. Even if it’s not your fault, you have to cope with the physical and psychological traumas that come after this incident and find efficient solutions to improve your health.

About mental health

A car accident has a significant impact on your mental health. During the healing process, you can experience emotional distress, anxiety, and PTSD. It’s essential to recognise the warnings that your body gives regarding these mental issues and seek professional advice. Here are the most common psychological consequences after a car crash:

• Anxiety: after a car accident, the response of your body can result in an over-reaction leading to anxious thoughts that create fear. A lot of worries come to mind after a car accident. You have to be prepared for what your recovery process takes, the sleepless nights thinking about your car damages and trying to find solutions in order to get compensation for the damages of your vehicle and your physical injuries. These pervasive thoughts are increasing your stress level, and it might seem like an endless nightmare. Anxiety can develop phobias related to the traumatic event; for example, you could experience a deep fear regarding cars and choose to avoid driving for a long period of time.
• PTSD: post-traumatic disorder is a long-term mental health disorder that a lot of people are exposed to shortly after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. It’s a severe problem diagnosed after a psychological examination. It is recognisable by:

• Lack of sleep: anxiety and overthinking can be the cause for sleepless nights due to uncontrollable thoughts.
• Feelings of frustration and guilt:  victims can think negatively about people involved in the accident or blame themselves for the crash.
• Intrusive thoughts: disturbing memories and fear are a challenge you might experience.
• Avoidance: victims of PTSD usually avoid discussing the traumatic event or avert situations that involve  car driving.
• Self-destructive behaviour: consumption of alcohol and drugs abuse to cope with the pain
• Depression: A wave of deep sadness that is hard to avoid that leads the victim to lose hope of healing.
• Flashbacks: caused by triggers (driving the car again, crossing the road), relieving the traumatic event, losing the sense of reality

As we said before, seeking professional advice for these mental disorders is crucial. To cope with psychological trauma, therapy is the best solution to make your healing process easier and prevent further complications that can impact your life permanently.

Eat healthy

Eating healthy after car accident is essential to speed up the recovery process. Experts say that a healthy diet is one of the most efficient solutions to speed up your rehabilitation, thanks to the vital benefits of fruits and vegetables containing vitamins that stimulate your body’s natural healing. These are the most efficient nutrients that your body will need:

• Protein: having a diet based on protein will reinforce your muscles and tissues. Poultry meat, fish and eggs are the best sources of protein to avoid the loss of muscle mass during your healing process.
• Omega 3: Fatty acids reduce inflammations caused by injuries. Besides that, omega-3 supplements help treat and prevent mental health problems you might experience after the accident.
• Vitamin C: it speeds up the healing of wounds and helps you clear infections in the body. It can be found in food sources like Tomatoes, white potatoes, strawberries and cruciferous vegetables.
• Zinc: it boosts your immune system, accelerates wound healing and decreases inflammation. You can find it in food sources like fish, eggs, brown rice, asparagus and mushrooms.
• Vitamin D: it’s vital for your organism during your recovery process because it plays an essential role in supporting the immune system and also decreasing the risk of depression. It can be consumed through salmon, beef liver, shrimp, egg yolk and oatmeal.

Besides a healthy diet, another crucial effective solution for your healing process is drinking water. Staying Hydrated is essential for your body to reduce inflammation and mitigate the symptoms of fatigue.

Physical therapy

Physical therapy is a crucial step for your rehabilitation. Even if immediately after the crash, you don’t feel the pain due to adrenaline, during a severe car accident, your body could suffer multiple injuries that might not seem relevant at first, but some symptoms are not immediately apparent. The blood flows to the injured area, to stimulate  healing, and this process causes painful swelling that, if not treated right away, the inflammation will persist and aggravate, leading to a chronic issue. Physical therapy helps you regain strength, improving mobility and body functions that, balanced with the prescribed medications from your doctor, will reduce the pain and quicken your recovery. These are the essential types of physical therapies that will help you get back to your everyday life faster:

• Physical exercise: it’s the best way to encourage healing with simple and slow exercises instructed by your therapist, like body stretching and side-to-side head rotation.
• Ultrasound: ultrasound waves target damaged ligaments, tendons and joints penetrating the skin to reduce inflammations and increase the blood flow.
• Massage: massage therapy improves blood circulation, helps reduce muscle tension and increases flexibility to improve range of motion. Furthermore, massage therapy helps you recover your emotional balance, promoting relaxation.

The bottom line

Being the victim of a car accident can cause long-term damage physically and emotionally. The recovery process takes patience, personal effort and emotional strength, but you are not alone. Physical therapists, psychologists and your loved ones will encourage you to heal faster and get back to your normal habits, you will understand that your health is the most precious thing  and you will learn to be grateful for your everyday life.