[googley]

I have PTSD from earlier, but I am having problems with a new thing. I was in a car accident a couple of weeks ago. I am starting to have anxiety when I am driving any time I go over a pothole or manhole cover. Any time it feels like my car isn't 100% on the ground (ie going through potholes). It sucks because there are a lot of potholes where I live and I had to get a new car so now I feel every bump in the road that i didn't used to in my old car. I start to feel panicky when this happens. I see a T (but we are on break right now since I had to spend all my money on the car stuff.) I don't know if I should bring this up with her or just hope that it goes away with time when I see her again as there are other important things that I need to cover with her. Ugh. Any advice is very welcomed.

[billieJ]

I, too, have fears of driving and understand something of what you are saying. My fear is that of having a wreck [have had quite a few relatively serious ones; drove into someones living room one time. Boy did they come to the door!]. I feel sure that I will never be able to make car payments and that this one will have to last my lifetime [insurance blue book amounts would very small if car was totaled, as it usually have been]. This is especially true out on the interstate, where huge trucks zoom by inches away, one after another. I think it is probably natural to be panicked somewhat for a period of time after a wreck, but continuing practice makes perfect, and by getting "back on the horse," you will learn that you can do this. With empathy - billieJ

[Yoda]

I understand what you are talking about, googley. Last year I was backing out of my driveway and one of my kittens ran behind me and I ran over her and killed her. I still have a phobia when I back out even though it has been a year.

Talking to your T couldn't hurt. I have talked to my son because he was with me when it happened and he and I both were upset but we can't change history.

(((((googley))))) You will get through this.

[suzzie]

i think it would be good to talk to your t about it. i was in an accident a year ago and i still cant drive through that intersection. i get really scared and nervous when ever i am driving toward it and look for a nearby street to go around it. i get scared if i go through it the accident will happen again.

[Open Eyes]

Hey, that is usually my line, get back on the horse. LOL

Ok, this is a normal reaction to a bad experience. Once we have something bad happen, our brains never forget it. It is a natural process that takes place in our brains. And the brain also tells the body, to fear or have a reaction or compultion to do something whenever there is a reminder.

So, that being said, I would not run away from driving or going over bumps. You have to acknowledge that yes, something bad did happen, but you also have to tell your brain that everytime the eyes view the road or the body feels a bump that the brain is only remembering an incident.
Therapist call this gounding as we allow ourselves to remember by sight or a feeling but we consciously tell ourselves, it is ok, it is not happing now, it is a memory or reminder nothing more.

Everytime you do this, you actually repair the fear or the damage or trauma caused to the brain. You will form a new connection within the brain that can give a reason or give an acknowledgement that it will not happen everytime something is seen, felt, or remembered.

This is what many people do not understand, this is how the grounding method really works. We are giving a solution to our brain. Whenever the brain has experienced and event, that is a question or a start, the brain needs help to find the result or a solution. If all we do is focus on the startle, event, question, experience, then the brain will not rest or begin to resolve unless we allow it to do the full processing. This is what happens when we have nightmares, flashbacks, triggers etc. It is our brains constant question looking for a solution. The path to solution is acknowledgement and accepting it as a passed event, not a present or future event.

Open Eyes

[googley]

Thank you everyone. I think it is a good thing that I have to drive to work (and actually pass where my accident happened.) I know that the experience of driving is good for me to do. But that isn't what gets me. I still have a couple of weeks before I see my T again.

[splitimage]

Googly,

I think it's totally normal to be a little nervous after an accident. I was in a near head on collission last July that totalled my car. Even though I was in a rental driving within four hours of the accident, thanks to an efficient insurance company, I was far from fine. But getting back driving so quickly did help me get over it. That being said, every time I make a left turn in that intersection, which I have to do a couple of times a week, I get really nervous and can feel my heart rate speeding up. I just don't let it stop me, and Ifigure it'll get better with time.

--splitimage

[Open Eyes]

For anyone who comes here in wonder, how do I?

I have posted a TRUE STORY about something I did. It has a message in it that supports my message here.

Now, sometimes my posts get pushed aside. So, you can also go to my statistics and read it. I posted it this morning under Survivors of Abuse and it is answering a thread How to quit feeling like......

I hope it inspires you to think of possibilities and that you can overcome.

Open Eyes

[Perna]

Originally Posted by Open Eyes

Hey, that is usually my line, get back on the horse. LOL

One thing I do along those lines when I'm in a scary driving situation is pretend I'm at an amusement park on a roller coaster That gets me to relax a little, knowing that I will get through it and the being scared was just part of the experience but not the "main" part (the actual being safe when driving that route/problem). It puts it back in perspective so I can see it is "just" pot holes or construction, bridges or tunnels or other "normal" driving issues this time.

[(JD)]

I have additional issues as well... and find that always driving in an outside lane which has an emergency lane to pull into and stop, helps me.