A car accident can result in serious injuries that render you unable to go back to work, take care of duties at home and live a normal daily life temporarily or even permanently. If you sustained serious injuries in a car accident, you may wonder if life will ever return to normal.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2020, 2.1 million people in the U.S. visited emergency rooms for car accident injuries. Although you may feel like the majority of your focus is on healing from your physical injuries, you should also engage in strategies to help you care for your mental health.
Ease back into normal routines
You may want to return to normal daily routines as quickly as you can, but you should not rush this process. Go easy on yourself, especially in the first few days and weeks after the car accident occurs.
Seek emotional support
You may not feel like talking about the car accident and what happened, but doing so can help with the healing process. Consider working through your emotions with a close friend, family member or therapist.
Take care of your physical self
How you feel physically can affect how you feel emotionally and vice versa. After the accident, make sure you are taking care of yourself physically by eating nutritious foods, getting enough sleep and engaging in light physical activity, if possible.
It can take time for you to feel like you have healed emotionally from a car accident. In the meantime, remember that the healing process will not happen completely overnight and take steps to protect your mental, physical and emotional health.