Did you know that close to 40 percent of people who have car accidents end up with PTSD? This debilitating condition can impact survivors of both minor fender-benders and life-threatening accidents.
PTSD after car accidents can lead to high anxiety and other negative changes in your behavior and mood. If not treated, you may find it difficult to continue your daily activities and suffer from flashbacks that get more severe over time.
Try these five tips to better handle PTSD from car accidents.
1. Get Some Exercise
While car accident PTSD can make you feel paralyzed sometimes, you can actually reduce your anxiety and stress if you simply get up and move around. You don’t need an intense workout either since doing yoga or taking a scenic walk can help you deal with car accident trauma.
Along with helping your mental health by giving you something positive to focus on, exercising will keep your body healthier as well. That means you can reduce your chance of getting conditions like high blood pressure in the process.
2. Try Relaxing Meditation
Trauma after a car accident leads to a busy mind that can be full of negative, racing thoughts. Stopping to relax and meditate can help you clear your head and boost your mood.
For an easy meditation exercise, you can slowly breathe in and out and focus on each breath. You can also download an app on your phone that has guided meditations with audio and images.
3. Seek Help From Professionals
When you have car accident anxiety, you often need to find help. For example, dealing with injury claims can bring headaches and confusion, while mental health symptoms may warrant professional treatment.
You can consider hiring a car accident attorney to take the weight of the claims process off your shoulders. A therapist can offer counseling and possibly prescribe medications to help with PTSD symptoms.
4. Limit Exposure to Triggers
Sometimes you need to reduce the triggers that cause your car accident PTSD symptoms. This means determining what makes you feel so anxious and panicked and avoiding those things in a reasonable manner.
While avoiding driving entirely may not be possible or recommended, you can control how you react to memories of the accident. For example, maybe it’s a certain road where you had the accident or a certain noise you heard.
Find ways to limit exposure to these things without disrupting your life significantly.
5. Join a Support Group
You’re not the only one who’s suffered from trauma after a car accident. So, look online for car accident PTSD support groups and discuss your feelings with others.
Members may have additional tips on handling PTSD or direct you to good therapists who can help further.
Use These Tips to Handle PTSD After Car Accidents Along with using these tips for PTSD after car accidents, remember to take the time needed to care for yourself. This means you should cut yourself a break and not force yourself to just snap out of it.
Continue to try to do things you enjoy and spend time with others who can support you. Also, care for your body through self-care, a good diet, and leisure.
Check out our other posts for more health and wellness advice.
