If you’re a regular driver, the chances of being involved in a road accident are pretty high. Whether you’re responsible for the accident, or you were unexpectedly involved in someone else’s accident, the trauma that comes after the incident can have a big impact on your life going forward, especially if you don’t seek treatment.
Arrive Alive describes this sort of trauma as ‘a bodily and/or mental injury caused by an external agent.’
The symptoms of untreated trauma from an accident, can be debilitating and are considered to be the biggest cause of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
“Anyone can become traumatized. Even professionals, who work with trauma, or other people close to a traumatized person, can develop symptoms of ‘vicarious’ or ‘secondary’ traumatization,” says Arrive Alive.
If you’ve been involved in a car accident, we urge you to take car and get yourself seen to, even if you think you’re okay. You can also follow this great advice from Arrive Alive, below…
What is the difference between stress and emotional or psychological trauma?
One way to tell the difference between stress and emotional trauma is by looking at the outcome-”how much residual effect an upsetting event is having on our lives, relationships, and overall functioning. Traumatic distress can be distinguished from routine stress by assessing the following:
- how quickly upset is triggered
- how frequently upset is triggered
- how intensely threatening the source of upset is
- how long upset lasts
- how long it takes to calm down
If we can communicate our distress to people who care about us and can respond adequately, and if we return to a state of equilibrium following a stressful event, we are in the realm of stress. If we become frozen in a state of active emotional intensity, we are experiencing an emotional trauma-”even though sometimes we may not be consciously aware of the level of distress we are experiencing.
Causes of emotional or psychological trauma:
Our brains are structured into three main parts, long observed in autopsies:
- the cortex (the outer surface, where higher thinking skills arise; includes the frontal cortex, the most recently evolved portion of the brain)
- the limbic system (the centre of the brain, where emotions evolve)
- the brain stem (the reptilian brain that controls basic survival functions)
With the development of brain scan technology, scientists can now observe and reveal that trauma actually changes the structure and function of the brain, at the point where the frontal cortex, the emotional brain and the survival brain converge.
What are the symptoms of emotional trauma experienced by accident victims?
It is important to note that developing symptoms is never a sign of weakness. People who go through traumatic experiences often have certain symptoms and problems afterwards. How severe these symptoms depend on the person, the type of trauma involved, and the emotional support they receive from others. Reactions to and symptoms of trauma can be wide and varied, and differ in severity from person to person. A traumatized individual may experience one or several of them. Sometimes these responses can be delayed, for months or even years after the event. Often people do not initially associate their symptoms with the precipitating trauma.
Also read: Are you too afraid to drive?
Common personal and behavioural effects of emotional trauma:
- substance abuse
- compulsive behaviour patterns
- self-destructive and impulsive behaviour
- uncontrollable reactive thoughts
- inability to make healthy professional or lifestyle choices
- dissociative symptoms (“splitting off” parts of the self)
- feelings of ineffectiveness, shame, despair, hopelessness
- feeling permanently damaged
- a loss of previously sustained beliefs
Common effects of emotional trauma on interpersonal relationships:
- inability to maintain close relationships or choose appropriate friends and mates
- sexual problems
- hostility
- arguments with family members, employers or co-workers
- social withdrawal
- feeling constantly threatened
Additional Symptoms Associated with a Severe Precipitating Event
Re-experiencing the trauma
- intrusive thoughts
- flashbacks or nightmares
- sudden floods of emotions or images related to the traumatic event
Emotional numbing and avoidance
- amnesia
- avoidance of situations that resemble the initial event
- detachment
- depression
- guilt feelings
- grief reactions
- an altered sense of time
Increased arousal
- hyper-vigilance, jumpiness, an extreme sense of being “on guard”
- overreactions, including sudden unprovoked anger
- general anxiety
- insomnia
- obsessions with death
Source: Arrive Alive
