Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) aren’t easy to deal with. Besides the physical pain, there’s emotional pain to deal with. Many people who suffer from these injuries do have difficulties when trying to adjust back to a normal way of life.
Just learning that you have to live with paralysis is enough to devastate anyone, but as the victim, you may need time to cope. It’s not unusual to develop anxiety or depression as you adjust to living in a new way. You may have to let go of old goals and arrange new goals for your future as a result of a single accident.
If this sounds like your situation, understand that depression is a normal effect of the impact of an SCI on your life. Adjusting to paralysis is more than just finding new ways to do things. You have to adjust to being reliant on others and finding balance. In the short-term, being upset or depressed is expected. Over time, though, this should let up as you begin to move toward new goals.
If you can’t overcome the depression associated with your injury, that’s when there is trouble. At that point, you may want to look into treatments available to you like pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy or a combination of the two. The person responsible for your injuries should be liable for any costs associated with these treatments, so you can get as much help as you need. Our site has more about what you can do to make sure you get the compensation you need to get the best possible treatments.