The violent, crashing explosion of a car accident hardly summons to mind the symptoms of depression. Yet, as an auto accident lawyer can tell you, depression commonly creeps in for car accident injury victims. And don’t think that depression is a minor affliction—if left untreated, depression is a disease that can fester, immeasurably altering the victim’s personality. With experience handling car accident cases, Toronto personal injury lawyers know the devastating effects of depression.
What is Depression?
You probably think of depression as prolonged sadness. But while everyone feels sad sometimes, clinical depression is far more intense. Depression usually extends beyond sadness to include despair, discouragement, and a loss of enjoyment and pleasure. And where normal sadness is unpleasant but manageable, clinical depression is pathological in that it affects the sufferer’s life outside of their internal thoughts. Symptoms of depression include:
- Feelings of worthlessness, guilt, and loss;
- Loss of concentration;
- Decreased energy;
- Loss of appetite;
- Sleep problems (e.g. insomnia, excessive sleeping); or
- Suicidal thoughts
Managing Your Depression
Some public opinion is of the (dangerous) belief that you can simply get over depression by bearing down and focusing on being happy. That might as well be like saying: “Cancer? Get over it, pal. Everyone feels a little cancer-y sometimes, alright? Just stop it.” The best option for managing depression is to seek out therapy. However, there are methods you can undertake personally and in tandem with treatment:
- Start a daily routine;
- Be open to the support of others;
- Engage in activities (e.g. a sports league, book club, etc.);
- Make an effort to remain social; and
- Exercise regularly.
Depression can be a wicked cycle, though. Because depression often causes lethargy and lack of motivation, keeping up with these active personal management strategies can be difficult, nigh impossible. If depression as a result of a car accident starts to negatively impact your life, contact an auto accident lawyer. Experienced Toronto personal injury law firms know how to handle compensation for any car accident injury.
Sources:
http://www.brainline.org/landing_pages/categories/depression.html