Advice on Family Recovery After Going Through a Big Accident
When a family is confronted with a crisis, each member of the family will react differently. It’s natural to experience significant emotional or physical reactions in the aftermath of a traumatic occurrence.
However, these responses usually fade away as part of the body’s natural reparative process. When family members share a traumatic incident, they frequently get closer and respect each other more. Recognizing distress emotions and how they affect family relations might aid in coping.
If you suspect your family is having trouble recovering, don’t be afraid to seek expert help.
Help Is Near
Accidents may happen to anybody, and they can happen at any moment. A home fire is undoubtedly one of the most distressing. Being a victim of a home fire may be terrible. You may go from being comfortable to not knowing what to do or where you will live next in an instant.
The good news in a horrible circumstance is that if you have been the victim of a house fire and are searching for aid, help is available. There are disaster relief organizations where you can find help dedicated to assisting you and your family during this terrible time.
The Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are just a few examples of organizations you may contact and trust to assist you if you are involved in an accident. Another potential source of assistance is the local community; neighbors and other people may hear about your situation and wish to assist you and your family in getting back on your feet.
When to Seek Professional Help?
In some people, traumatic stress can induce severe responses and even become chronic (ongoing). If you can’t handle the intense feelings or physical sensations, don’t have normal feelings but still feel numb and empty, don’t feel like you’re getting back to normal even after several weeks, have physical stress symptoms, or have trouble sleeping or having nightmares, you should seek professional help.
Repetitive thinking or repeatedly viewing gruesome pictures can overload your neural system, making it difficult to think coherently. Read, watch a film, cook, or play with your kids to keep your mind occupied so you don’t devote all of your energy and attention to the unpleasant occurrence.
Reduce the Media Exposure
Although some victims or eyewitnesses of catastrophic events believe that viewing media coverage of the tragedy or seeing the recovery effort helps them regain control, others feel that the flashbacks are distressing.
High levels of exposure to pictures of a horrific incident, such as watching video snippets on social media or news sites frequently, has the potential to cause traumatic stress in individuals who were not directly affected by the incident, as well as retraumatize those who were.
Reduce your exposure to the horrific incident in the media. Avoid watching the news or checking social media right before bedtime, and avoid watching unpleasant material again.
Embrace Your Feelings
Traumatic stress may make you feel a variety of difficult and unexpected feelings, such as disbelief, wrath, and shame. These are natural responses to the loss of safety and security that follows a tragedy. Healing requires accepting these emotions and allowing yourself to feel what you’re feeling.
Be Active
Exercise may be the last thing on your mind while you’re dealing with acute stress, but it might help you feel better by burning off adrenaline and releasing stimulating endorphins. Physical exercise done deliberately can also help you move on from the traumatic incident by rousing your nervous system from its “fixed” state.
Try a family workout that works both your arms and legs. Walking, jogging, swimming, or doing some sport together are all excellent options for you and your family members to cope with the stressful period.
Take Care of Your Diet
Your mood can be improved or worsened by what you eat, and your capacity to cope with severe stress can be influenced by that. Processed food, refined carbs, and sugary snacks can exacerbate traumatic stress symptoms.
In contrast, a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, protein, and good fats, particularly omega-3 fatty acids, can help you cope better with the good and bad times that come with a sad event.
Preparing wonderful meals and spending quality time together may also be a terrific way for you and your family to reconnect and forget about the terrible experience.
It’s important to remember that rehabilitation takes time. Prepare your family for a period of stress by reducing superfluous expectations and conserving everyone’s energy.
Don’t only concentrate on the issues. Otherwise, the tension will not go away until you set aside time to be together and unwind. Remember to continue to communicate. Make sure that everyone in the family is aware of what is going on and how they can assist.