In August of 1973, there was a horrific accident at the Obion County Fair in Union City, TN, in the northwest corner of the state, in which one teenager was killed and eight other youngsters were injured. A mechanical failure caused a ride called ‘The Spider’ to collapse, resulting in some severe injuries plus the one fatality in just a matter of seconds – but the emotional damage of the aftermath lingered for years in the minds of locals, especially for young persons from the area.
It can be extremely difficult to erase those powerful images from your mind, which often get burned in during those intense few moments when a terrible personal injury occurs, but somehow you have to get beyond the incident and go on living. Here are a few thoughts on how you can recover from a horrible disaster which befalls you or someone you know and regain strong mental health.
It’s best to avoid the incessant media coverage which generally follows a traumatic event because it forces you to re-live the details over and over again. When you do this, it continues to place excessive stress on your system for a prolonged period of time, and that inhibits your recovery. If you simply must learn about details associated with the event, read a newspaper so as to avoid the powerful images of television coverage.
This may sound odd, but some people prolong their suffering by forcing themselves to try and get over something, rather than letting the healing process play out naturally. Understand that whatever you’re feeling is normal and acceptable, and give yourself time to heal from the powerful feelings triggered by the event. Don’t feel guilty about anything you’re feeling during the recovery period.
When you’re recovering from a traumatic injury, it’s natural to want to withdraw and become somewhat stationary, but this is something you should try and resist. It will be much more beneficial for you to stay active and become involved with life around you. Simple exercising every day can burn off some of the anxiety you might be going through, and as the scientists tell us, it releases endorphins into the system which are responsible for the ‘feel good’ sensation associated with strong activity.
This is another way of resisting the withdrawal tendency that many people have after suffering severe trauma from an injury. The simple act of talking with another human is generally very therapeutic in itself, and when those other people are supportive in their own way, it can be even more helpful. The best approach is to become involved with friends and relatives, doing activities that have no relationship to the traumatic event itself.
If you can manage it, one great way to connect with others is to volunteer for some community project or public well-being activity – helping others who are suffering can help you forget about your own problems, and it can remind you that others suffer every day from their own private little traumas.
After spending his secondary years of study at The McCallie School in Chattanooga, G Turner Howard III earned his BA at Tulane University. A member of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association, he received his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. Before becoming an attorney, he earned a Master’s and Doctor of Divinity at Andrews Theological Seminary and Columbia Theological Seminary. He also served as a 1st Lieutenant in the US Army in Vietnam. With more than 20 years of experience, his firm has helped clients receive millions of dollars for personal injury, and in many cases, much faster than they ever expected.
