How to stay positive after an accident

If you’ve had an accident or trauma, it can be difficult to know how to stay positive in the face of depression and uncertainty. This is especially true if you’ve had life-changing injuries or you’re now disabled.

Here are some tips to help you stay positive after an accident:

Replace fiction with facts

The first step is to learn how to focus on the positive things in your life. To do this, you need to know how you can stop that negative self-talk in its tracks. The more time you give to negative thoughts, the more power you’re giving them. Whenever you find yourself truly believing the pessimistic and negative thoughts from your inner voice, grab a pen and a notebook and write them down. This allows you to get them out of your head and evaluate them logically. Most of the time these statements simply won’t be factual. This is especially true if you’re writing down words like ever, worst, always and never.

Find a positive

After a serious accident, it can be difficult to focus on the positive things you still have in your life. Even a small positive thought will give you something else to think about and refocus your attention. This can be challenging when your mind seems to be constantly flooded by negative thoughts, but try to identify at least one positive thing from your day, or even the day before.

Make life easy for yourself

After an accident, it can be tempting to shut yourself away and refuse help from friends. Instead, embrace your support system to help you get through the day. The same goes for basic, everyday tasks. Anything you can do to make life easier should be embraced. If you can no longer navigate stairs without help, it may be a good idea to get a stairlift installed so you can retain your independence. It may also help to get a mobility scooter and widen your doorways so you can more easily get around.

Practice Gratitude

Research has shown that having a grateful attitude can reduce your stress hormone, improve your mood, and increase your sense of wellbeing. Many people do this by using a gratitude journal and writing down a few things they’re grateful for every day. These can be simple. You could be grateful for your dog, your spouse, or the flowers in your garden. As you’re out and about, focus on finding things you can write about in your gratitude journal at the end of the day.