Living With the Effects of a Serious Injury

After you have suffered a serious injury in an accident, you are adjusting to a new reality. Your life will not be the same as it was before. Even if you can fully recover eventually, you will have to go through a period of uncertainty where you live with the effects of the accident.

Although you are likely going through one of the most difficult periods of your life, you can improve your quality of life. Your legal right to compensation can alleviate financial stress in your life.

Below are some tips for life with a serious injury. If someone else caused your injuries, consult a personal injury lawyer right away about a possible legal claim that could pay for the help you need to recover and regain as much independence as possible.

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You Do Not Have to Surrender Control After You Suffer Injuries in an Accident

While it may sound easier said than done, you can exercise some control over parts of your life, even when your physical condition seems like it will deny you that opportunity. You can take some steps to help you cope with your new reality, even when you are still undergoing the rehabilitation process. Although there is much that you do not have control over, adopting healthy habits and taking care of your emotional health can help you better handle the challenges that are coming your way. These measures can help you both now and in the future.

Financial compensation for your injuries can only do so much for you. You will need to do things for yourself to improve your life. When you can take the first several steps, the next ones may come more easily.

Your Own Perceptions After an Accident Are Crucial

Much of dealing with your injuries depends on how you view your own situation. Although you may be struggling with some type of post-traumatic stress disorder, you must also accept the reality of your situation.

Many people blame themselves for their accident as their first instinct. Alternatively, they may be extremely angry, knowing that the accident was not their fault. Either way, you should try to look at your life right now or look forward instead of looking backward. Your priority should be how to adjust to your life right now.

You should also recognize that many other people have been in a similar situation before you. Although you may have limitations, you should not let them overcome your life. You should adopt the attitude that you will make the most of your current abilities as they stand right now. Even if you cannot do what you did before the accident, you should still try to do whatever you can do at present.

Try to Add Healthy Habits to the Fullest Extent Possible

In addition, you should also try to take on some new and healthy habits to improve your life. The first healthy habit is a more nutritious diet. The foods that you eat can impact how you feel. Foods that are ultra-processed or have additives can affect your mood. On the other hand, a diet that is rich in vitamins and minerals can help you heal and promote your mental health.

Experts will recommend a diet high in protein because it can help reduce inflammation in the body. Certain vitamins and minerals can also heal the bones and connective tissue. In addition, steadily drinking water can help flush out the toxins from your body.

On the other hand, you should avoid foods high in sugar or starch. Sugar may give you a temporary energy boost, but you will feel much worse after the initial rush fades. A sugar high is artificial, and the crash afterward can lead to an even lower low.

Although you are suffering from physical injuries, you should try to do whatever exercise you can. Research shows that the endorphins released from exercise can help improve your mental state. You might not exert yourself and perform the physical activities you did before the accident. However, anything that you can do will help with your self-perception and your ability to concentrate.

Performing all the exercises from rehab will help you physically and mentally. Even if you are not in active rehabilitation, you can still do the exercises you learned. If you cannot fully walk, try to do some exercises with your arms. Chances are that there is something that you can do to increase your heart rate.

Worry About What You Can Control

There will be many things that you cannot control after your accident. You certainly cannot go back and undo what happened to you. Further, you do not have ultimate control over your physical condition. Try to focus on the parts of your life that you can control. For example, you can control how you think about your own situation. Physical injuries mean struggle, and what you are going through is normal for accident victims.

You should find as much as you can in your daily routine that you can control. For example, you can do a certain activity at a set time each day. Even if you cannot adhere to a set routine each day, you should strive for as much normalcy as possible. Routine can help you when an accident uproots your entire life.

Focus on Your Mental Health, Too

Taking care of yourself mentally is as important as tending to your physical health. Your physical injuries may have left you more prone to depression and anxiety. As an accident victim, you are not only dealing with the pain but also struggling to understand that you may not live the life you did before. You should not expect to weather the storm without any bumps in the road. You may have good days and bad days. How you deal with bad times can determine the extent to which you can regain your quality of life.

Never hesitate to reach out and get help from mental health professionals when you feel you need it. They can help you process what you are going through and develop strategies to deal with your emotional issues. It is certainly acceptable to admit that you cannot handle your ordeal on your own.

A therapist or psychiatrist is often an integral part of your care team. See them regularly and stick with the recommended treatment. If you have been prescribed medication, you should take it as prescribed. Taking care of your mental health is an investment of time and money, but it is well worth it.

Treat Yourself as Well as You Can

In the meantime, you should do everything you can to be kind to yourself. What you are going through is not your fault. There are reasons why you cannot do what you did before, and you do not owe anyone an apology for it. Do not blame yourself for your current situation or take things out on yourself. Even though nobody else knows the full extent of what you are going through, and it is easy to give advice, positive thinking works.

Although money may be tight, and you may not afford to buy yourself things, you should also try self-care as well as you can. Try to do little things for yourself here and there. Even if you are sticking to a strict diet, you can treat yourself to something every now and then. When you adopt the mantra that you are worth it, you may feel better about yourself.

Seek Compensation for Your Difficult Experience After the Accident

Financial stress is difficult to overcome following an injury, especially with piling medical bills and lost wages. When someone else caused your accident, you deserve financial compensation for the financial, physical, and emotional effects of your injury.

In a personal injury settlement or jury award, you can receive pain and suffering damages for the ordeal you have endured because of your injuries. The amount of money you can receive depends on your medical diagnosis and prognosis when you file your claim or lawsuit. The insurance company or jury will review your medical records to understand the extent of your injuries and what they may mean for your life going forward. Nobody will give you the benefit of the doubt. If you do not fully tell your story, you may not receive what you deserve.

Pain and suffering will compensate you for both the physical and psychological impacts that you are dealing with after your accident.

Here is some of the long list of accident impacts that fall under the heading of pain and suffering:

• The physical pain that you are feeling
• Embarrassment and humiliation
• Depression and anxiety from your accident injuries
• Loss of enjoyment of the life that you led
• Scarring and disfigurement
• Emotional distress and trauma

This is just a partial list – many more things are part of pain and suffering.

Your Lawyer Will Value Your Pain and Suffering Damages

Your subjective experience is part of your pain and suffering from the accident. Even seemingly minor injuries can cause serious pain and suffering, and this is a damage that victims should never overlook. However, unlike medical bills and other economic damages, calculating intangible pain and suffering is significantly more challenging.

You need an experienced personal injury lawyer to calculate how much you may be due in pain and suffering damages because this may be a large part of the money you are due. The insurance company will likely both understate the extent of your injuries and underestimate the effects that you experience from them.

The insurance company will try to use some “objective” formula that will not result in you getting the money that you deserve. Your personal injury lawyer’s job is to stand up for you, so you can get the settlement you need and deserve after your car accident.

Hire an Attorney so You Can Focus on You

One way to free up your mind and time to focus on yourself is to contact a personal injury lawyer to handle your case as soon as possible. Then, you will not need to get involved in the details of the claims process and the stress that comes along.

Your attorney will handle the day-to-day dealings with the insurance company and all the work necessary to put you in a position to receive financial compensation for your injuries. You will not even need to pay anything out of your own pocket to hire an attorney. They are paid only from the proceeds of your case if you receive any money.

If you try to handle your legal process on your own, not only will it cost you money, but you can also feel extraordinary stress. You will waste the energy you should use to try to improve your life by fighting the insurance company. There is no reason for you to do this, especially when you can hire an experienced personal injury lawyer.

Seek out a free consultation with an injury law firm near you. The initial meeting alone might relieve stress and allow you to focus on improving your life in light of your injuries.

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