If you’ve been involved in a car accident, you know firsthand how incredibly long and difficult the process of recovery can be. Car accidents can sometimes have extremely serious consequences, and even when the consequences of an accident aren’t life altering, it’s likely that you’ll still have to deal with financial, mental and physical issues before you’ll completely feel like you have your old life back.
Helping you get your life back on track is exactly what this article aims to do. We’ll discuss some of the key points of any accident recovery plan and present some ideas that can help you get back to living a normal life.
Get Help Sorting Your Financial Affairs
After a car accident, it’s likely that you’re going to have some unexpected expenses relating to car repairs, a rental car and medical care. If you were injured in the accident, you may even miss some work. The only way to keep your sanity during this trying time is to get your financial affairs sorted and to enlist as much help as possible.
- Get your insurance claim filed right away. You’ll want to be prompt about this, both because your memory of the accident is still fresh and because it’s what your insurance company requires. Also, depending on the specifics of your policy, your insurance company may be able to help with your car rental and medical expenses along with any extra expenses incurred from missing work.
- Contact a personal injury attorney – especially if it seems likely that your expenses stemming from the accident will be greater than what your insurance policy covers. Many personal injury firms will work without advance payment and will only take a cut if the case is decided in your favor.
- Contact an accident clinic. Accident clinics are set up to bill insurance companies for the services they provide, and they’ll generally take you on right away even if your insurance claim is still pending.
Begin Healing Your Mind
Regardless of whether you were at fault, it’s likely that you’ll have some mental health issues to sort through after an accident. You may struggle with feelings of guilt or anxiety. It is extremely common for people to experience bouts of depression after car accidents. If you are experiencing any of those emotions – or fear is making it difficult for you to get back on the road – you should speak to a therapist. There is no shame in admitting that you need help processing what’s happened.
- If the accident happened because you were driving while distracted – perhaps you were texting while driving, for example – you need to make a firm commitment that you will avoid distracted driving from now on. If you find it impossible to ignore your phone while driving, put it in your glove box.
- If the accident happened because you were driving while intoxicated, you need to make a serious life change immediately. Get help.
Here are two resources that you may find useful.
Get Your Body Back on Track
As mentioned above, one of the best things that you can do if you’ve been hurt in a car accident is to contact an accident recovery clinic. Accident clinics aren’t like regular doctors’ offices; they only work with accident patients, and they generally only bill insurance companies and will not ask for payment from you.
The other reason why you’re likely to find an accident clinic helpful is because a clinic that specializes in accident recovery has already worked with hundreds – or possibly thousands – of other patients with essentially the same symptoms that you have. An accident clinic addresses auto injuries in a holistic way and will often have several different types of healthcare providers under the same roof. Those providers may include a massage therapist, an acupuncturist, a chiropractor, a physical therapist and a medical doctor. The clinic will recommend an appropriate treatment regimen based on the type of injury you’ve experienced.
You may find that an over-the-counter remedy can help with the low-grade aches and pains that you experience after an accident. The Crescent Canna CBD Freeze Roller, for example, contains 1,000 mg of CBD derived from organic hemp along with menthol, camphor and arnica to soothe aches and reduce inflammation.
Take Care of Your Health
Treating your body right is the best way to maximize its ability to heal itself – and in a way, getting your mind and body on the road to recovery after a car accident is a bit like recovering from an illness. Make a special effort to eat healthier foods and to get as much sleep as you require. Exercise as much as possible. If you were injured in the accident, ask your doctor what forms of exercise you can do without aggravating the injury. Minimize your consumption of alcohol. If you smoke, quit. If you take these simple steps, you’ll begin feeling better much more quickly. Taking care of your body can also help your mind to get back on track.
Get Back on the Road
Eventually, you’re going to have to resume driving again. When you do, bring another driver that you can talk to if you have any feelings that you need to express. Having another driver around also means that you can hand the wheel off to that person if you have a bout of anxiety or have difficulty completing the drive for any other reason. Begin with short local trips until you build your confidence back up. Save the longer drives for later.If you find it difficult to get your confidence back after you resume driving, you should strongly consider taking a defensive driving course. Many defensive driving classes can be completed online, and the tips that you learn while taking the class will give you the confidence that comes with knowing how to handle unexpected situations on the road. An additional benefit of taking a defensive driving course is that many insurance companies will give you a substantial discount for doing so.
