Emotions that you may experience after a car wreck
Only those that were been in a serious car wreck will know the emotions that you are going to have just after the accident and it can last for a couple of weeks. It is important that you know what you are feeling and you need to know the reason why you are feeling this way. It can be anything from post-traumatic stress to just a normal reaction to the trauma.
This is why you make sure that what you are feeling is normal. These are all the information that you will need about the emotions that you will feel after an accident, and those emotions that might be a sign that something serious is wrong.
Why all these emotions
The first question that you might have, is why do you feel all these different emotions. And, is these emotions normal? When your body experienced shock and trauma, it is normal to feel different emotions. It can go from shock, to anger, and to stress. However, there are some of these emotions that might be caused by something serious as well. This is why you should make sure that you are getting assistance from an accident doctor to rule out that there is nothing medically wrong. It is normal to feel these different emotions, and you need to work through it in order to put the whole ordeal behind you.
What are the different emotions that you are going to feel after a car accident
Shock and anger aren’t the only emotions that you are going to have. There are so many different emotions that you can struggle with after a car accident. It can be hard to understand it all. These are all the different types of emotions that you can deal with, just after an accident, or even a couple of weeks after a serious accident:
Shock, denial, and disbelief is the first emotions that you might feel
The first emotions that you might feel after a car wreck, is shock, denial, and disbelief. Although, the degree of these emotions will depend on how serious the accident. And if there were any deaths in the car accident.
However, if you are the one that was responsible for the accident, these emotions will be a lot worse. It is important to understand what you are feeling is normal. You should work through it.
Anger, irritability and even agitation
Anger, irritability and even agitation are the next emotions that you might experience. It can intensify if you weren’t responsible for the accident. You will be really angry towards the person who caused you this trauma and even might be the reason why you have lost a loved one. With these feelings, you need to be careful that you don’t act on what you are feeling. You might want to hurt someone. It is normal to feel this way, but you need to know that you should make sure that you don’t act on your anger.
Guilt, shame and blaming yourself
These feelings you will feel when you are the responsible one, or even when someone in your vehicle has died. You might be feeling guilty because you survived the accident while others didn’t. Or, you might be blaming yourself because you didn’t sustain any injuries, while there are other people that were seriously injured.
Know that it isn’t your fault that this happens to you and your family. And, that it isn’t your fault that you walked away from the accident while others might be hurt seriously. If you are blaming yourself because you were the cause of the accident, you might be considering to get assistance from a professional that knows how you should deal with your guilt.
Fear, worry, and anxiety
Now, you might start to get worried about repairing the vehicle, all the medical bills that you need to pay. Or, you are anxious because you need to drive the car for the first time after the accident.
This is normal to feel this way within three months after the accident. However, if you are still feeling these emotions after three months, then you might want to see a professional for PTS syndrome. It means post-traumatic stress syndrome, and it needs medical treatment as soon as possible.
Sadness and hopelessness
Sadness about what happened and hopelessness because you can’t bring your family member back, or take their pain away is something that you might be feeling. This is your body’s way to get rid of the trauma and the stress that was caused by the trauma. Again, this is normal, but if this continues after a couple of weeks, then you might want to get some professional assistance so that you can work through the feelings. You might be feeling all these emotions, or you might just feel one of these emotions. It is important to know that these feelings are normal, but when it escalates or keep on for more than three months, it is something that you should take seriously and go see a professional.
Children
Children, while they might not be physically injured, may suffer emotionally. I have seen children who were afraid to get into a car after an accident. I have spoke with parents who have told me that they refuse to ride in a car for fear of getting into another accident. Children’s emotions are far different than an adults. They may need immediate help after a car accident from there pediatrician or other professional.
When should you get help from a professional
When you start feeling that your emotions are getting the better of you, or that it doesn’t feel normal to you, you should talk to an accident doctor. They will make sure that there aren’t any medical reasons why you are feeling this way. However, if you are medically cleared, they will recommend that you are going to talk to a counselor that will be able to assist you in working through your feelings.
Many people feel ashamed to go talk to a professional. They don’t feel normal and want to hide it from their friends and family. It is quite normal to feel this way, and this is a sign that you need to see a professional right away.
How can you deal with the trauma of a car accident?
There are a couple of things that you can do to deal with this after an accident. By pretending that it isn’t there, is only going to make things worse. These are some of the things that you can do, to deal with the emotions after an accident a lot better:
- You need to take care of yourself. Getting enough sleep and eating healthy is important. Even, if you feel that you don’t want to eat at the moment.
- Try to stick to your normal schedule, however, this may not be possible if you are at home recuperating. Going on with your life is making the trauma better. It will be easier for you to get through all these emotions faster.
- Talk to your friends and family. Tell them how you feel and what happened to you. This is the only way that you can deal with the trauma and work through it. If you keep it inside you, your emotions are going to get worse.
- When a child was also involved in the accident. Speak to their teacher and tell them what happened. They will be able to assist the child and make sure that he is doing fine. And, if he isn’t dealing with the emotions, the teachers will be able to assist him, or letting you know.
When you are in a serious car accident, you won’t just be injured physically. There are going to be emotional issues that you should deal with as well. It is essential to know that these emotions are normal.
If this is going on for too long, or the intensity of the emotions is increasing. It might be time to see a professional. This is the only way that you can put the accident behind you, and go on with your normal routine.