PTSD and Mental Health Issues Often Go Untreated
Imagine riding safely and you’re hit be a negligent motorist. Maybe the changed lanes and sideswiped you, maybe they ran a stop sign, or perhaps they turned left in front of you. However it happened, you end up with minor injuries; you got off lucky, right? But in the coming weeks you find you’re unable to sleep, you wake from nightmares. Sights, sounds, and events trigger flashbacks. You develop anxiety over the road, work suffers, and you end up not wanting to do anything but stay in the safety of your own house.
It’s not the physical injuries that set you back. It’s the mental anguish that you can’t see, don’t understand, and are unable to heal from without professional help that are the issues. The Car Crash Captain explores these concepts.
PTSD and Mental Health After a Wreck
Emotional trauma and mental anguish are two very real injuries that people suffer after a wreck. PTSD is one of those traumas that can occur and severely diminish your quality of life.
PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is often seen as something those coming back from war experience. Those times in the middle of battler, are certainly traumatic, and the memories and effects can linger for years.
However, a wreck can be just as traumatic. PTSD symptoms can include:
- Flashbacks
- Anxiety
- Nightmares
- Avoidance
- Hypervigilance
These symptoms get worse depending on the severity of the accident, the extend of the injuries, and if someone lost their life in the wreck. They can create issues in relationships, diminished ability to work, and overall an inability to enjoy life the way you did before the wreck occurred.
Toughing them out might seem like a reasonable thing to do, however, that can cause the PTSD and mental health issues to linger for years. By taking care of the issues right away, life can be restored to as close to normal as possible.
Texas Law Regarding Mental Health After a Motorcycle Wreck
If you’ve been in a wreck, the insurance companies will likely take a look at the damages to your motorcycle and your property, then look at your medical expenses, and offer you a settlement. On the surface, it might look like your needs are covered – you get paid for the damage to your bike, lost wages, medical bills, and the like are all accounted for. If you accept that settlement, though, you might not have your emotional damages covered.
Here in Texas, if you’re injured in a wreck, you can file a claim that includes mental anguish as well as those physical injuries that are easy to see. These hidden injuries can include:
- Mental Anguish
- PTSD
- Loss of Consortium
- Pain and Suffering
You need to heal from physical injuries and mental injuries. Neglecting one or the other doesn’t account for total healing.
How to Heal from Emotional Trauma
If you broke your leg, you wouldn’t just wrap a bandage around it and hope for the best. If you sliced open your arm, you wouldn’t just tape it up and hope it heals. If you are hurt mentally, why would you be expected to cover over it and think it will go away on its own?
After a wreck, your emotional trauma needs to be addressed.
Seek help from a professional therapist, psychiatrist, or a counselor. Work through the issues with them. Be fully transparent and honest; if you’re having issues sleeping, or performing in bed, don’t diminish those aspects. You’re the victim, these issues are the result of something that happened to you, not because of you.
Keep track of all medical bills and costs, including those that are directly related. Travel costs, missed work, and any costs you incurred that wouldn’t be there if you hadn’t been injured all need to be accounted for.
Stay consistent with your therapies, and let Herbert Law Group use the law to ensure you are reimbursed adequately.
Herbert Law Group Helps Motorcycle Accident Victims in Texas
The most important thing to remember after you’ve been injured in a wreck: you shouldn’t go at this alone.
Your body is injured, your mental health is injured, and you have a lot on your plate. Will you be able to dedicate the time to learn the law, argue and negotiate with insurance companies, determine what a proper settlement will look like, all while you’re healing?
That’s why we are here.
Let’s chat about what happened, and determine our best plan of attack. Call the Herbert Law Group office at 214-414-3808 (or fill out the contact form on our site), and let’s have a free conversation.