GOING THROUGH DEPRESSION AFTER A MOTOR VEHICLE OR CAR ACCIDENT

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Queens Accident Lawyer)

Traffic accidents refer to an automobile striking a human (or a bicycle) or animal or another vehicle or car, truck or bus. According to the World Health Organization, motor vehicle accidents kill an estimated 1.2 million people worldwide each year, and injure about forty times that number. Driving is far more dangerous than sailing or even flying. Accidents may occur at any place and at any time to anyone, even at the most unlikely of moments.

Imagine a car accident. In every crash or collision there may be several parties involved, but there is only one bottom line, everyone gets hurt one way or another. The injury can be small, large, physical or serious personal injury, emotional, or material, but still, there would be damage.

Let us say you were fortunate, and after an accident you were the one who had the least severe injuries and damages. You may have minimal, or no, physical pain and discomfort. But the damages in a motor vehicle accident may extend farther than just that. The psychological effects that a car accident brings to an accident victim can vary from just experiencing mild depression to a more severe emotional trauma.

Depression is a state of mind influenced by several factors, including prolonged stress at work or at home, separation from an important person, or loss of a loved one. Negative thoughts and events can affect a person's state of mind, and can hurt their health as well. Depression from traffic collisions or car accidents can trigger an emotional state of intense sadness. In a major depressive disorder an accident victim may feel melancholy or despair that has advanced to the point of disrupting that person's daily activities and social functioning. Flashbacks to the event that has transpired may cause feelings of sadness and increase the depth of a person's depression.

A traumatic event like a car accident can dish out more distress for one person than for another -- to an extent that could change a person's life.

Recovering from depression can be affected by the traumatic event, in this case a car accident. The more difficult and stressful the ordeal of the accident, the more depressed a person becomes. For example, if a family member is in a coma for several days from a car accident, it would prolong the state of depression of his/her other relatives as well.

Car accidents do happen everyday, and it may happen to anyone you know. Keeping safety first, fastening seat belts, and having extra precautions on the road are little things help in preventing vehicular crashes. As far as we know, depression often goes along with sadness, and by preventing accidents, one may also help prevent the feeling of depression.