PTSD after an accident

PTSD is a term we often associate with the armed forces and war. However PTSD or to give it it’s full name Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is exactly that – a stress (or anxiety) disorder that has come about as the result of experiencing trauma.

Traumatic experiences can include anything that makes the sufferer vulnerable and feel extreme fear. This could be as a victim of crime, a natural disaster, witnessing an extremely frightening thing, or as we are aware war. In this article we will be exploring the effects of an accident.

Symptoms of PTSD

PTSD can effect people in different ways, it usually manefests itself with severe anxiety related to the initial trauma or anything athat reminds the sufferer (conciously or subconciously) of the event/s.

This can be in the form of flashbacks, panic attacks, nightmares, insomnia, reliving the experience in a variety of ways. This can lead the sufferer to avoid situations and even people that stimulate this triggered response.

Accidents and PTSD

Anything event or trauma in whch a person fears for their safty, body, security or that of someone they love, can create an anxiety response. Accidents especially can cause the feeling of being out of control, anxious and helpless, these feelings can then take hold in the form of PTSD or other anxiety disorder, long after the physical scars may have healed.

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Case study

If we take John as a case study – John has experienced a motorcycle accident. Before the accident he felt invincible, like many of us, unaware of his own mortality. John would live and act in a carefree manner, interacting with the realistic, but non-threatening world around him. However, when John experienced his accident all that changed.

It wasn’t just John’s perception of motorcycles, but the whole world around him. In the face of extreme fear, and physical frailty after the accident, John experienced anxiety. This anxiety impacted the way he viewed life, all life, not just that which posed an actual threat. No longer could John act in a carefree way, now John saw danger. In places there once was joy, there was now confusion and fear. Flashbacks and panic attacks grew so bad John could not face the world outside and agoraphobia ensued.

Life after PTSD

John is not alone. There are many thousands of people who experience accidents and suffer the emotional and psychological scars. An accident or trauma of any sort can leave the victim with deep scars that, just like scars on the body, need help to heal.

With the right help John and thousands of other accident victims have been able to rebuild their lives. This is not a weakness, this is a disorder that can be healed and treated if we speak out and get help.