A car accident can be an extremely traumatic moment. You may have been severely injured or lost someone because of a crash. This can leave you with a lot of physiological scars that aren’t immediately apparent.
Trauma can cause you to develop mental illnesses. Here’s what you should watch for:
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can occur from traumatic events, often seen in soldiers who’ve been to war. PTSD can cause people to flinch or freeze from a trigger that might cause people to remember their traumatic experiences. PTSD may cause additional issues such as insomnia, eating disorders and mood swings.
Major depressive disorder
Major depressive disorder is common among people who’ve been in car accidents. Depression can cause someone to feel like the world is falling apart around them – which could be set off by losing someone close in a car accident. Depression affects how people function and feel, causing people to have low energy and isolate themselves.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental issue that causes people to act out in detail-oriented ways, almost ritualistic. OCD could be set off by the belief that a motor crash was caused by something specific, for example, not looking left three times at a stop sign, causing the victim to repeat this pattern at every stop sign.
If you were recently in a car accident, you may be experiencing mental disorders that have further disrupted your life. You may need to reach out for legal help for your losses and treatment bills.