MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT

 
 

Motor vehicle accidents can signify sudden and intense trauma, often leading to anxiety, hypervigilance, and long-term emotional distress related to safety and control.

When we experience a motor vehicle accident, it can leave us feeling shaken and vulnerable, with lasting effects on our sense of safety and emotional well-being.

Fender benders are a common occurrence on city streets. If you’re a driver or ride in a car, it’s quite likely that you’ll experience being in a collision at some point in your life. Thankfully, most of these motor vehicle accidents are not serious (no injuries or little to no damage to vehicles).

Most people are affected for a brief time even after a minor collision (say, driving a little slower, making sure to shoulder check more than once when changing lanes, covering the brakes when going through an intersection, etc.) but these practices don’t last long and don’t interfere with everyday life. Of course, there are very serious collisions that have catastrophic outcomes for those involved. If you’ve survived one of these accidents, you may have more than just physical healing to deal with. It’s not uncommon for people who’ve been involved in a serious collision to suffer from trauma or PTSD.

Symptoms

You may be experiencing some or all of the following common symptoms:

  • Flashbacks to the accident

  • Flashbacks to the medical treatment that took place immediately after the accident or during the acute recovery phase

  • Sleeplessness

  • Feelings of powerlessness

  • Inability to move forward

  • Fear of driving or riding in a car

  • Worrying about loved ones getting into accidents

  • Nightmares

  • Grief

  • Survivor’s Guilt (if anyone in the collision did not survive or was seriously injured)

  • Self-destructive behaviour (problem gambling, excessive porn use, gaming, etc.)

  • Depression

  • Anxiety

  • Thoughts of suicide

  • Explosive outbursts of anger

  • Feeling emotionally numb

  • Feeling disconnected from loved ones or friends

  • Avoiding people, places, or events that might remind you of the accident

We have the tools to help you heal and move beyond the pain.

The accident already impacted you when it happened – don’t let it continue to impact you. Talking with a therapist and committing to a treatment plan can help you move past the event and put it in your emotional rear-view mirror, where it belongs.

You can get help to alleviate the symptoms of the trauma caused by the accident. The Grief and Trauma Healing Centre has a team of therapists in multiple locations in Alberta who can help!