After the Hospital: Caring for Your Mental Health After a Car Crash

Car crashes can be life-changing experiences. Some accidents are minor, while others are horrific. But what happens after the hospital visit when the physical bruises are healed? Healing the mental and emotional bruises of a car crash can be much more difficult.

Car Crashes and Mental Health Crises

While many can walk away from car accidents, there can be long-term impacts that are less obvious. Justin Kenardy, a psychology professor and the director of the Centre of National Research on Disability and Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Queensland, tells Live Science, that “up to 30 percent [of people in car accidents] will develop more long-lasting symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other psychological issues such as depression or anxiety.” One study also found that 15 percent of survivors had a phobia of driving after their accident.

Kenardy adds that car crashes pose unique mental health challenges because the “victims have two or three times the date of PTSD of the general population.” Considering that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration cites that 2.34 million Americans were injured in car crashes in 2014 and 32,675 people died, car crashes do represent significant mental health crises.

Coping With Mental Health After a Car Accident

If you or a loved one have experienced a motor vehicle accident, then it's worth seeking psychological help, too. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA), half of the survivors who develop PTSD without seeking treatment actually “continue to have symptoms for more than six months or a year.” Don't underestimate the power of your mental recovery in your physical healing.

When Should You Seek Help?

Alan Steinberg, the director of research at the UCLA Trauma Psychiatry Program, tells WebMD that survivors should seek professional help “if two or three months have passed since an accident and you still feel anxious, avoid certain driving situations, of have persistent thoughts or dreams about the accident.”

The USDVA recommends the following treatments in caring for your mental health after a car crash: behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, chronic pain specialists and medications. Anxiety management and breathing and relaxation exercises might also form part of your mental health recovery.

Car crashes are traumatic, but you can still be in the driver's seat of your mental health. Don’t let cost deter you, either. According to some Boise accident lawyers, compensation for a car accident doesn’t have to end at replacing your vehicle. You may be entitled to compensation for hospital bills as well—including bills for mental health services. You don't have to suffer alone. You don't have to suffer in silence. It's okay not to be okay. It's okay to ask for help.