PTSD After a Car Accident: Signs, Symptoms, & How to Cope

Can You Get PTSD From a Car Accident?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from a car accident can develop after experiencing or witnessing a frightening or life-threatening crash. Like other forms of PTSD, car accident trauma can be debilitating and impact various aspects of life. Many may struggle with emotional shock as they attempt to make sense of the event, often reliving the experience through frightful flashbacks.

Signs of PTSD After a Car Accident

After a car accident, PTSD symptoms can develop for some individuals. Those who experience trauma after a car accident, whether physical or psychological, are at an increased risk of traumatic shock and developing PTSD.¹ Some individuals experience resolved symptoms within a few days to a month. Other individuals may experience car accident PTSD symptoms that last longer and require intervention.

Below are common signs of PTSD from a car accident:¹

• Intrusive thoughts, images, or flashbacks of the accident
• Vivid or disturbing dreams about the accident
• Avoidance of triggers, such as refusing to drive or to ride in a car
• Feeling disconnected from self or others
• Exaggerated startle response
• Increased irritability
• Increased anxiety
• Trouble falling or staying asleep
• Moodiness or feeling on edge

Symptoms of PTSD From a Car Accident

PTSD symptoms can begin acutely—within a month—or may not develop/manifest until up to a year after the traumatic event. These emotions may remain or worsen long after the car crash has occurred. After a car accident, there may be feelings of shock and disbelief. Other normal reactions include anxiety, fear, guilt, and sometimes relief if injuries don’t appear serious.

Potential symptoms of PTSD after a car accident include:²

Hypervigilance

Hypervigilance can develop as a car crash PTSD symptom, appearing as a constant state of fight or flight and actively scanning an environment for perceived threats. Commonly, an individual may continue to perceive neutral stimuli, such as a car horn honking, as dangerous.

Intrusive Thoughts

Individuals often experience intrusive thoughts after a traumatic accident, like a car crash. These unwanted and unexpected thoughts often contain disturbing content, such as fears of experiencing another accident when riding in a vehicle.

Flashbacks

Individuals traumatized after a car accident may experience PTSD flashbacks where they re-live the event. Specific situations, stimuli, and noises may trigger these symptoms, like hitting a bump in the road or being tailgated.

Anxiety

Anxiety can present as mental trauma after car accidents, whether before, during, or after triggering situations. For example, a person may experience increased anxiety before entering a vehicle, while driving or riding in a car, or after exiting the vehicle.

Self-Isolation

PTSD symptoms from car accidents may manifest as self-isolation. Some individuals isolate themselves to avoid triggers like loud noises or over-stimulating environments. This symptom may also allow them to detach from the experience. Unfortunately, self-isolation can lessen support options often necessary for addressing PTSD.

Sleep Disturbances

The emotional trauma after a car accident can contribute to sleep disturbances, such as difficulty falling or staying asleep. Some people also report vivid or disturbing dreams about the accident, often increasing anxiety, irritability, or insomnia at nighttime.

Suicidal Thoughts

Passive or active suicidal thoughts may present after experiencing or witnessing a car accident. Passive ideations may include individuals not wanting to wake up or wishing they could cease to exist. Active thoughts may present as planning to complete suicide. Loved ones should be aware of this possible symptom and look for signs of suicidal thoughts.

Avoidance Behaviors

Individuals may use avoidance behaviors to cope with their PTSD. For instance, they may entirely refuse to drive or ride in the car as a passenger. Many people experience anxiety around vehicles after a car accident, but persistent avoidance behaviors warrant professional evaluation.

Depression

Some individuals may experience depression in the wake of their emotional shock after a car accident. These symptoms may result because of high emotional intensity, sometimes manifesting as emotional numbness or detachment from others. Individuals may be unable to complete routines and experience difficulty participating in life.

Anger

One of the common emotions after a car accident is anger, often directed toward the self for not preventing the event. Anger may also be expressed toward others, especially if this person was at fault for the accident. Many individuals present surface-level anger to mask much deeper psychological pain.

What Triggers PTSD From a Car Accident?

Various things can trigger PTSD after a car accident, but many relate to memories of sights, sounds, and smells that occurred at the time of the event. People may re-experience the psychological shock after a car accident when engaging in driving-related actions (possibly as panic attacks while driving).

Common triggers of PTSD symptoms after a car accident include:

• Smells of gasoline, smoke, or fire
• Hearing sirens from ambulances or fire trucks
• Seeing first responders, firefighters, or emergency medical technicians (EMTs)
• Picking up car keys
• Getting into the driver’s seat
• The act of driving
• Being a passenger in a car
• Driving on the road where the accident occurred
• High volume traffic
• Witnessing another car accident

10 Ways to Cope With PTSD From a Car Accident

The first step in learning to cope with PTSD from a car accident is to recognize and identify your symptoms. Many people deny their experience, inhibiting their ability to heal and move forward. Prioritize patience, self-love, and social support when overcoming mental and emotional trauma from a car accident.

Ten ways to cope with PTSD after a car accident are:

1. Be Patient With Yourself

Cultivate patience toward yourself following a car accident, especially if you exhibit PTSD symptoms. PTSD can sometimes generate shame for not having the same emotional capacity as you did before the event. Staying patient helps re-direct energy toward recovery.

2. Seek Social Support From Loved Ones

Support systems are vital in the PTSD recovery process. Continued social support from loved ones can help you experience emotional validation. These networks can also act as sounding boards for your thoughts and offer different perspectives when struggling with emotional pain.

3. Practice Mindfulness Techniques

PTSD often encourages individuals to live in the past with their trauma. Mindfulness or meditation for PTSD helps you ground yourself in the present moment, drawing your attention to the here and now. Remaining present allows you to fully experience life and learn to leave your trauma in the past where it belongs.

4. Increase Your Resilience

Some individuals cannot handle their everyday routines and functioning after traumatic accidents. However, recovering individuals can also experience post-traumatic growth and increase their resiliency. Post-traumatic growth is just one way you can face challenges and heal.

5. Enroll in Driving Classes

Enrolling in driving classes may be one way to cope with PTSD after a car accident. You may encounter these in therapy, such as exposure therapy, as you re-introduce yourself to triggers. Enrolling in driving classes could help you view driving as a neutral stimulus again.

6. Follow Up With Your Doctor About Injuries

Following up with a doctor about your injuries is essential when coping with PTSD after a car accident. The mind-body connection is powerful–having a doctor assess your physical wounds ensures you feel empowered to address your emotional wounds.

7. Consider Alternative Forms of Transportation

You may want to consider alternative forms of transportation for a while, especially in the midst of PTSD treatment. Doing so may lessen the pressure of learning to drive again if your vehicle was your sole method of transportation.

8. Stay Physically Active

Trauma often makes individuals feel a lack of control over their lives. Exercise and movement can help you regain a sense of control and confidence that can translate to your recovery process.

9. Allow Yourself to Grieve

Experiencing grief after a trauma is common. The accident may have shattered your sense of safety, and grieving your prior self can be influential in recovery. Allowing yourself to feel the full extent of your grief can help you rewrite the narrative in your psyche.

10. Prioritize Self-Care & Recuperation

Prioritizing self-care can help stabilize recovery efforts when recovering from PTSD. Your mental, emotional, and physical well-being may need extra care and attention after a car accident. Attending to yourself ensures you the best fighting chance in recovery from trauma.

How to Treat PTSD After a Car Accident

Recovering from PTSD after a car accident can seem overwhelming. However, you can cope with symptoms by seeking professional support and taking prescribed medications for PTSD (when applicable).³ Treatment for PTSD often focuses on working through your trauma and learning to cope with triggers. You can find a therapist specializing in trauma in an online therapist directory.

Therapy for PTSD after a car accident may include:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT for PTSD helps people change negative thought patterns and beliefs, allowing them to address unhealthy behaviors associated with trauma.
• Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR): EMDR for PTSD helps people alter and reprocess traumatic memories by revealing them in segments. Individuals can then change how they feel about and react to triggers.
• Supportive therapy: This treatment encourages clients to discuss their feelings with trained mental health professionals who can help them process, understand, and cope with these emotions.
• Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT): ACT helps reduce avoidance behaviors so individuals can face their triggers and heal from trauma.
• Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT): DBT for PTSD incorporates skills training so people can manage and cope with emotional distress.

Final Thoughts

PTSD from car accidents is difficult to understand and cope with. Try to honestly assess your emotional recovery and overall functioning after the traumatic event. Don’t wait to seek help because driving anxiety and PTSD can significantly impact your life. The longer you postpone finding support, the longer these symptoms will persist and perhaps worsen.