If you’re involved in a car accident that involves the death of another person, then you could feel guilty about surviving. This is a common emotion that many people experience after this type of accident. There’s no time frame for dealing with this feeling, but there are ways that you can deal with your emotions to help decrease the mental and emotional pain that you might feel.

Grieve

Don’t let anyone tell you that you shouldn’t grieve over someone else. Even if the person who died in the accident was a stranger, you should take as much time as you need to grieve for the person who lost their life.

You were involved in an event that has changed your life in many ways, and you need to be allowed to process what happened and to deal with the situation in a way that is healthy for you.

Talk it Out

Talk to someone about the accident and how you feel. You can reach out to a personal injury lawyer to discuss the legal ramifications that you might have to face regarding the accident, especially if you were responsible.

There are support groups that you can join and counsellors you can talk to about grief and guilt. You want to reach out to someone you trust. If you don’t seek professional treatment, then consider talking to trusted friends or family members.

Personal Care

Make sure you take the time to provide the necessary care for yourself that you need in order to stay healthy. Eat healthy meals, drink plenty of water to stay hydrated, take soothing baths to help you relax, and take any medications that have been prescribed to help with injuries sustained in the accident or to help with any anxiety or emotional distress that you might feel.

Getting Through

There are ways that you can remind yourself that you can get through this situation in your life. Aside from talking to someone, some ways include:

• Writing in a journal
• Placing notes with encouraging messages on surfaces in your home
• Remember that humans are strong

Not a Clear Answer

Any kind of accident can result in the death of someone who is involved. Even if the accident wasn’t severe, someone can die from an underlying health issue that’s triggered by the stress of the accident or another health issue that occurs due to the impact.

After collecting all of the evidence available, there might not be a clear answer as to why someone died in the accident. Although death is a tragic event, there is often nothing that you can do to stop it from occurring.

Create Purpose

Instead of sitting at home and feeling guilty about the death of someone after a car accident, consider using the situation to promote safety or to promote something else that’s close to your heart at the time and that is associated with the accident. This can help you reach other people who might feel guilty about surviving a deadly car accident. It may also help other drivers stay aware while they are on the road to decrease their own risk of accidents.

Routines

Keep your daily routine as normal as possible so that your body and mind stay active. When you sit down for long periods of time or stay in bed all day, then it can be difficult to focus on other things in your life aside from the accident and the death of the person involved.

Try to find a few activities to do that are relaxing or that you can do with your family so that you spend as much time with them as possible, ensuring that they know that you love them at all times. You can’t change what happened, but you can change the way you cope with it going forward.