With more people traveling during the holiday season, along with the arrival of winter weather conditions, auto accidents are at their peak. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that collisions are consistently more common during holiday periods due to increased travel, excessive alcohol use, and more occurrences of reckless driving behaviors like speeding. If you are involved in a car accident or witness one on the road, the impact may be much greater than you initially realize. Along with putting a damper on holiday travel and potentially causing physical injuries, you may experience a decline in your mental health with new stress and anxiety symptoms brought on by post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
Understanding PTSD
PTSD is often associated with veterans—in fact, it used to be commonly referred to as shell shock or combat fatigue. However, PTSD may be experienced by anyone who has experienced or witnessed a traumatic event. PTSD is particularly common following life-threatening situations, such as car accidents, but it may be related to emotional or mental trauma as well.
People with PTSD tend to have difficulty distancing themselves from the traumatic events that have affected them. They may continually have nightmares and flashbacks; experience intense periods of sadness, fear, or anger; or avoid settings and situations that remind them of the traumatic event. Therefore, it may become difficult to complete your daily commute and participate in your normal routine if you are affected by PTSD after a car accident.
Following a traumatic event, anyone may experience stress and intrusive thoughts or sleep disturbances, which are characteristic of PTSD. However, for PTSD to be diagnosed, symptoms must be present for at least a month and interfere with a person’s daily life.
Who is at risk for PTSD after being involved in a car accident?
Not everyone copes with trauma the same way. Therefore, not everyone who is involved in or witnesses a serious car accident will experience PTSD. There are a few key factors that make PTSD more likely. These include:
- Family history of mental health disorders, including anxiety disorders.
- Disassociation during or immediately after the event.
- Lack of social support.
- Perceived threat to one’s own life or the lives of others (common with more serious auto collisions).
- History of prior trauma.
Behaviors to Watch For
There are four categories of PTSD symptoms to be aware of:
- Intrusion – Intrusion refers to intrusive thoughts, which often take the form of nightmares or vivid flashbacks.
- Avoidance – Avoidance behavior includes refusal to revisit the site of a traumatic event, associate with certain people related to the event, or even interact with certain objects. In the case of a car accident, avoidance may involve refusing to drive on the highway or take specific routes on the road. In more extreme cases, someone struggling with PTSD after a car accident may refuse to travel by vehicle at all. Avoidance may also involve refusal to discuss the accident or talk about feelings surrounding it.
- Alterations in Mood – Intense feelings of fear, guilt, stress, anger, and sadness are common with PTSD. One may also feel unable to feel positive emotions at all or engage with others like they used to. Distorted beliefs related to misplaced blame—thoughts such as “this was all my fault” or “I could have stopped this”—are also common.
- Alterations in Reactivity – Individuals struggling with PTSD may seem quick to anger. They might also be more likely to engage in reckless behavior. Substance abuse is frequently seen as a form of self-medication for PTSD.
Symptoms may not all appear at once, and they may become worse over time as they go unaddressed.
Coping With PTSD After a Car Accident
It is important to seek help if you are experiencing any symptoms of PTSD following a car accident. Even simply witnessing a car accident can trigger changes in your emotional and cognitive state. Working with a mental health provider can help you overcome those negative feelings and get back to your life. EMDR, or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, is an effective treatment for PTSD that involves reprocessing traumatic memories in the brain through bilateral stimulation with taps, tones, or eye movements. This type of therapy can be beneficial because it does not involve detailed discussions of past traumas. Instead, it allows the body and mind to naturally process and heal internally. Working with a therapist can help you determine if EMDR is right for you or if you may benefit from a different type of trauma therapy, such as cognitive processing therapy.
If you are struggling with PTSD, it can be difficult to see a light at the end of the tunnel. However, there are many effective therapies that can help. Integrated Behavioral Health can help with therapy and mental healthcare services from licensed, experienced, compassionate providers. With eight clinic locations across Alabama and telehealth appointments available, we provide accessible, patient-centered care close to home. Contact us today to request an appointment.