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Counseling and Personal Injury
Guest blog Article by Erik Hill of The Benenati Law Firm
Suffering an injury can be a traumatic experience. In fact, those who are involved in serious accidents often develop a series of psychological conditions following the accident, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety. While standard medical care that is aimed to treat the physical symptoms of an injury–like surgery, medication, and rehabilitation–is an absolute must, it may be more effective when paired with counseling. The power of the mind is great; therapy after a personal injury can prove very effective.
How Personal Injuries Affect Emotions and Psychological Health
There are a number of reasons why personal injuries may take a toll on our psychological health. To begin, the accident itself may be traumatic. For example, a person who is injured in a car accident may have not only been hurt themselves, but may have seen others, including loved one, sustain serious or fatal injuries. Accidents often involve loud noises and uncontrollable amounts of force, which can be jarring to the system and result in PTSD and anxiety.
The injuries that result from an accident can also be psychologically and emotionally draining. If a person suffers a serious injury, they may be prevented from returning to work and earning an income, resulting in feelings of inadequacy or even shame. Disabling injuries may also prevent an individual from being able to do the things that they love, and could be disfiguring. This can have an effect on a person’s self-confidence and feelings of self-worth, quality of life, and even relationships.
How Working with a Counselor Can Help
Counseling can be an effective tool for almost everyone, but can be especially relevant to those who have suffered some sort of trauma and are coping with the emotional aftermath. Not only can counseling help to improve one’s mental and emotional state, but it may even help to improve one’s physical state as well.
To be sure, an article published in Psychology Today speaks to the benefits of counseling/therapy for patients suffering from PTSD. The article explains that treatment by a qualified professional can allow individuals with PTSD to live more “balanced and functional lives.”
As counseling pertains specifically to injuries, a study published on ScienceDirect that focused on psychological interventions and sports injuries found that such interventions are often associated with “decreased negative psychological consequences, improved coping, and reduced re-injury anxiety.”
What’s more, the psychological effects on wound healing are well-documented, with evidence showing that psychological stress can modulate the wound-healing process, and that a reduction in stress (and depression and anxiety) may ameliorate physical symptoms.
Talking about an injury and accident can also help you to process the events and your emotions surrounding the events, which can give you more confidence and ability to deal with any future events. Another technique includes working with an Orlando personal injury attorney; when you confront your accident by pursuing compensation from the at-fault party, you may obtain a sense of closure, which can be a critical part of healing emotionally.
Schedule an Appointment Today
There is no doubt that a serious accident can be traumatic, and that living with injuries can be emotionally taxing. While therapy may sound intimidating or even scary, working with an experienced counselor can provide relief and improve your mental health. Schedule an appointment now or call us to learn more if you’ve been in an accident.
