Being the one with the responsibility of helping friends and family get over the trauma of a road accident is more challenging than is often understood. You may find yourself on one hand blurting out the wrong words, or on the other being selective when you talk, so you don’t say anything that reminds your family member of the painful incident.
Luckily, if you’re a mother, then you’ve got this. Moms are some of the best people at playing that role, because having been there for their children through every hardship, they always seem to know exactly what to say.
There’s so much that moms can do to help after their children or other family members have been in a road accident. As difficult as it may be to provide consistent support for your beloved family member, for moms it comes naturally. Here are some ways moms can be extremely helpful in these situations.
Talk About It Rather than Avoid It
Sometimes we may think that avoiding the subject altogether is the better approach when dealing with people who need to heal after an accident, but this is not always true. Avoiding the subject only creates an elephant in the room; everyone can see it, so it’s best to address it.
Talking about the accident also allows the person to figure out how they feel and express themselves. This is one of the best ways to help them heal mentally and psychologically after the incident.
Help Them Find a Good Lawyer
Anyone who’s been involved in an accident will probably need a lawyer in order to get the compensation they’re entitled to, especially when they’ve been in a truck accident.
Truck accidents usually lead to severe injuries that may take a long time to heal, and sometimes the injuries are permanent. This may even cause great financial problems, especially in circumstances where there is a loss of employment. The victim could also become disabled due to severity of injuries. In such cases, professionals at the Pisegna & Zimmerman Law Firm advise consulting a long-term disability lawyer and seeing what options you have to get compensation for your loss of work.
Furthermore, if the individual impacted is a student, there’s a huge chance their education will be delayed.
The city of Gainesville in Florida is one of the nicest cities in the state, and it’s quite popular since it houses the University of Florida. The unfortunate part is that many students are exposed to road accidents, and in, particular truck accidents. These students need their mothers’ support to hire a good truck accident lawyer in Gainesville to ensure the truck driver is held accountable, and compensates for the money spent on recovery and lost school time. These students are just kids who probably have no experience in hiring a lawyer, so as a parent, the responsibility lies with you.
Don’t Put too Much Focus on the Experience
As important as it is to help your loved ones talk about their feelings after their traumatic experience, it’s important that you remember to encourage them to get back to their normal life.
Even though accidents may result in serious injuries that can cause drastic changes to a person’s lifestyle, parents can help greatly by trying to do their best to make their loved ones feel that, for the most part, they still have the normal daily routine that they’re used to.
In order to do that, you need to focus on treating the victim as you normally would. Giving too much attention to the victim and making them feel as though you’re overly worried about them can adversely impact their recovery, whether physical or mental.
If they have sustained severe injuries that change their lifestyle, your job is to do your best to make them feel ok about these changes and cope with them.
Give Them Space If This is What They Need
In some cases, the best way to support a family member after facing a road accident is to give them their space. Some people need their own time to process what happened, and figure things out, so give them this space.
This includes understanding that they may have aggressive responses when you talk to them, or they may be irritated by anything you do or say. Always keep in mind that it’s not about you. Don’t take it personally; they’re just processing the changes that happened or the trauma they faced.
Part of giving people space is to not mention how they responded previously, no matter how hurtful their response may have been. Always remind yourself that they don’t mean to hurt you, they’re just extremely confused and are taking their time in sorting through the confusion.
Encourage Them to Seek Professional Help
As a result of the unfortunate event and the injuries that may either be temporary, or may lead to a permanent disability, it’s quite common that your loved ones may suffer from depression, anxiety, and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) as a result. Though statistically when considering male vs female data, more women than men suffer from PTSD, it is something to be aware of and to seek help from irrespective of gender.
You need to understand that even though you may have read about the symptoms of depression and anxiety, you’re still not a professional. All you can do is listen to them, show them how much you love and care for them, and continuously reiterate that they need a professional to help them deal with the situation.
You may also need to help them accept that they’re not ok and that this state of not being ok is perfectly understandable.
It’s always challenging when you want to show support for a loved one who’s going through a difficult time since you’re probably worried about them, but you try to hide how you feel. Mothers especially find this to be difficult since part of their nature is to worry about their children, no matter their age.
What mothers need to always remember is that worrying doesn’t change the current situation, but doing your best to think positively and find practical solutions is the best way you can help. Find out what your loved one needs and take the right steps. Whether they need to talk to you or to a friend or even to a professional, help them get what they need.
Another thing mothers need to know is that just being there can be considerably helpful for their family. Your presence and unconditional love gives the best support, so don’t be afraid to show how much you care in a constructive and meaningful way.
