Let’s talk about your accident
When you have an accident, they are often unexpected and scary experiences.
And at the moment things are probably very different to how
they normally are…
You might be feeling very different to how you normally feel.
You might be thinking:
Lots of children ask these questions after an accident and its very normal.
Do other children think and feel the same as me?
There are many different ways you might feel after your accident.
You may feel very different to how you did before.
You may feel very upset – this is completely normal and to be expected.
You may feel:
- Angry
- Sad
- Grumpy or annoyed
- Tired – You may be having a lot of trouble sleeping at the moment due to nightmares or pictures of the accident popping up in your mind
- Sick or not very hungry
- Forgetful
- Confused
- School and homework is a little harder than usual
- That you don’t want to be around your friends and family as much
- Worried or afraid to be alone
How long will these feelings last? Will I be okay?
You may be feeling some of these things already, or they may happen later on after you return home from hospital.
If you do have these feelings don’t worry! A lot of children have these feelings and they usually don’t last long.
Things you can do to help yourself:
Remind yourself it is ok to have strong, sometimes upsetting feelings after something bad or scary happens.
You may find it helpful talking to someone like your mum, dad or teacher about how you are feeling.
How Psychology can help…
Sometimes it may not always be easy to talk to mum and dad about how you are feeling…
And this is ok, but it is important that you know you can speak to someone else – this is where a Clinical psychologist can help! Clinical psychologists help people talk about their problems.
They can be very understanding and can help you deal with difficult thoughts and feelings you have after an accident.
Clinical Psychology – here to help
We offer help to anyone who may need someone to talk to after a big accident!
We are here to talk to people about their problems and understand that after a scary accident things may be a bit different. You can say as little or as much as you like.
What we offer
We can see you on the ward while you are in hospital or after you have gone home in our outpatient clinic.
We can see just you, or you can come in with someone from your family. We can meet with you just once, or lots of times.
What can we help with?
- Coping with nightmares, frightening pictures of the accident, popping up in your mind or upsetting thoughts.
- Coping with injuries / illness following your accident
- Help support you, if someone
- you loved has died
- Coping with your
- medical treatments
- Panic attacks