While a car accident may leave a person with physical injuries, there is also a chance that a person might suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from going through a traumatic car accident. If this is something you feel like you might have, here are several things to know about it.
Signs that you have PTSD
PTSD is a psychological disorder that often affects military workers who fought in combat, but it is also something that can affect people from other events. Any traumatic event in life could actually cause you to develop PTSD, and you can often suspect that you have it if you have some of the common signs. Some of these signs can include experiencing nightmares after an event, struggling with depression, or having flashbacks. When you suddenly start experiencing things like this after a car accident took place, these can be signs of PTSD.
You should get diagnosed
You cannot know for sure if you have PTSD unless you get diagnosed, and you may need to visit a therapist for this. The therapist can run a variety of tests, which are often composed of questions, to determine if you have this. Next, the therapist will try to correlate the diagnosis with the accident. If the therapist diagnoses you with PTSD and can directly correlate it to the accident you were involved in, you could possibly receive compensation for this.
It may affect your life in many ways
Unless you have PTSD, it is very hard to understand and grasp the effects it can have on life, but it can affect a person's life greatly. People with PTSD are prone to having panic attacks and trouble sleeping. They are prone to feeling tired and unmotivated. They often have feelings of fear and will avoid triggers that remind them of the accident they were in. In addition, PTSD often causes people to seek peace by turning to drugs and alcohol. In many cases, people with PTSD will have trouble holding a job and managing normal relationships in life. There are also situations when people will have suicidal thoughts when living with PTSD.
Struggling in any way after a car accident is something you might be able to file a claim for, including PTSD. If you need help with your case, talk to a personal injury lawyer about it, and if you need help with PTSD, seek help from a therapist.