Horrible experience

I

Imoe

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On the 25 July 2012 I was involved in a serious accident in Rooihuiskraal. I was in a coma for 3 weeks and suffered head injuries, lung injuries, abdominal injuries. Thankfully I recovered quite quickly and was discharged a few days back to start my recovery at home.

The problem now is dealing with anxiety, which I am really struggling with. I cannot determine what is causing this feeling, but at times it drives me crazy

I am thankful I survived the accident, according to witnesses, many thought I would not make it. Everyone is also shocked and surprised that I recovered so quick, I do not recall anything about the experience, just the last week or so.

If anyone has been in an accident and experienced similar problems, advice will be appreciated.

Regards
 
Nope, no advice. i don't know what to say.

All I want to say is that ... a car accident is something I would NOT want to wish upon my worst enemy.

I wish you all the best.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
See a psychiatrist. It might be physiological or it might be psychological, but either way you will need to sort it out professionally if you're feeling like this. Is there anything in particular that you're feeling anxiety about or is it just a general feeling of anxiety?
 
Go see a shrink. This reaction is not unexpected. My mom developed a paralysing fear of driving on the open road after our accident and her being in hospital for 3 months. She seeked help and to a degree it helped.

Glad to hear about your recovery. :-)
 
Imoe said:
On the 25 July 2012 I was involved in a serious accident in Rooihuiskraal. I was in a coma for 3 weeks and suffered head injuries, lung injuries, abdominal injuries. Thankfully I recovered quite quickly and was discharged a few days back to start my recovery at home.

The problem now is dealing with anxiety, which I am really struggling with. I cannot determine what is causing this feeling, but at times it drives me crazy

I am thankful I survived the accident, according to witnesses, many thought I would not make it. Everyone is also shocked and surprised that I recovered so quick, I do not recall anything about the experience, just the last week or so.

If anyone has been in an accident and experienced similar problems, advice will be appreciated.

Regards
Click to expand...

When does it come up? What triggers it? When does it feel worse? Where do you feel it in your body?
Oh and see a psychiatrist.
 
You know the term "bomskok"? It was a reference to soldiers who were active in war and close to a place where a bomb went off. It caused them such mental trauma that even after being back in society they get shocks from loud sounds such as doors slammed or things falling to the ground and this can not be controlled without treatment. Same scenario with you. You may have suffered subconscious trauma and you need so see a shrink.
 
Been there, I broke my femur and damaged my entire left side in the crash, occupants (2) in oncoming car were killed but afterwards I was fine no anxiety whatsoever, think you should definitely seek trauma counselling though.
 
as has been said, you need trauma counselling / psychological assistance.
i had something quite traumatic happen to me, and shrugged it off. It took me a long time to get over it, and I wished i had done the counselling as early as possible.

I recommend trauma type counselling to anyone involved in accidents, life threatening incidents or serious illness as soon as i can.
things like this can honestly mess up your life without you knowing about it.

Your symptoms could be something physical as well, although thats less likely.
 
tau1z said:
as has been said, you need trauma counselling / psychological assistance.
i had something quite traumatic happen to me, and shrugged it off. It took me a long time to get over it, and I wished i had done the counselling as early as possible.

I recommend trauma type counselling to anyone involved in accidents, life threatening incidents or serious illness as soon as i can.
things like this can honestly mess up your life without you knowing about it.

Your symptoms could be something physical as well, although thats less likely.
Click to expand...

^ this. You don't need a psychiatrist (who deals with mental illness), rather see a trauma counsellor.
 
Imoe said:
On the 25 July 2012 I was involved in a serious accident in Rooihuiskraal. I was in a coma for 3 weeks and suffered head injuries, lung injuries, abdominal injuries. Thankfully I recovered quite quickly and was discharged a few days back to start my recovery at home.

The problem now is dealing with anxiety, which I am really struggling with. I cannot determine what is causing this feeling, but at times it drives me crazy

I am thankful I survived the accident, according to witnesses, many thought I would not make it. Everyone is also shocked and surprised that I recovered so quick, I do not recall anything about the experience, just the last week or so.

If anyone has been in an accident and experienced similar problems, advice will be appreciated.

Regards
Click to expand...

Someone I know was in a fairly serious accident a month ago. She also has issues with anxiety, especially when it comes to driving any car again.
I wish you the best and hope you recover to your fullest. All I can say is that you are extremely fortunate to have come out of the coma as well. So if I were you I'd be very thankful.

All the best :)
 
Had 3 accidents one where I broke my femur when we hit a cow on the bike and 2 minor ones when we hit a horse and when I hit a bakkie cause I aqua-plained down the hill.

Out of the 3 the Cow one affected me the most and won't go on motorcycles anymore, but with the other accidents it hasn't really affected me too much so I guess its the severity of the accident.

Personally now I prefer driving myself than being a passenger, since I trust myself :D.
 
joelus said:
^ this. You don't need a psychiatrist (who deals with mental illness), rather see a trauma counsellor.
Click to expand...

It might very well be physiological in which case you'd want a medical professional and if it requires a prescription, his medical history will be very important to understand, and you're bypassing a middle party in that case as a trauma counsellor cannot prescribe a thing. There is no possible way someone can suddenly assert a diagnosis that it is psychological based on that short post, or anything posted on the net for that matter...
 
Imoe said:
On the 25 July 2012 I was involved in a serious accident in Rooihuiskraal. I was in a coma for 3 weeks and suffered head injuries, lung injuries, abdominal injuries. Thankfully I recovered quite quickly and was discharged a few days back to start my recovery at home.

The problem now is dealing with anxiety, which I am really struggling with. I cannot determine what is causing this feeling, but at times it drives me crazy

I am thankful I survived the accident, according to witnesses, many thought I would not make it. Everyone is also shocked and surprised that I recovered so quick, I do not recall anything about the experience, just the last week or so.

If anyone has been in an accident and experienced similar problems, advice will be appreciated.

Regards
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about your experience.

I've had anxiety for a few years now and the trick to dealing with it sounds completely absurd but is pretty simple: don't fight it; let it happen. It's difficult, when you're having a panic attack, to just accept that everything will be okay and that nothing bad is going to happen but that's precisely what you have to do.

Just try to allow your body go through the experience. Try to will yourself to "freak out" more--let your heart race, let yourself feel scared and just find comfort in the fact that you're not going to die and that what you're feeling is completely normal. If you start feeling afraid of fainting or feel like you can't breathe or are afraid to swallow for fear of choking, then just let it happen. Don't let the anticipation (what anxiety essentially is all about) control you.

The longer you suffer from anxiety, the more difficult it becomes to let go of it, "take a step back" and let yourself experience it and sort of condition your brain into realising that nothing bad is actually happening to it.

You've been through a lot, it's natural that all sorts of defence mechanisms are kicking into gear.

I agree with what other folk have said: speak to a professional who can help you if you can't get through it alone--they deal with this sort of thing every day and know how to help.
 
Imoe said:
On the 25 July 2012 I was involved in a serious accident in Rooihuiskraal. I was in a coma for 3 weeks and suffered head injuries, lung injuries, abdominal injuries. Thankfully I recovered quite quickly and was discharged a few days back to start my recovery at home.

The problem now is dealing with anxiety, which I am really struggling with. I cannot determine what is causing this feeling, but at times it drives me crazy

I am thankful I survived the accident, according to witnesses, many thought I would not make it. Everyone is also shocked and surprised that I recovered so quick, I do not recall anything about the experience, just the last week or so.

If anyone has been in an accident and experienced similar problems, advice will be appreciated.

Regards
Click to expand...

It's trauma.
Same happened to me when I was mugged and nearly killed in the process, same happened in both the car accidents I have been involved in, same happened after having the house broken into while we were at home (barricaded ourselves into the bedroom and listened to them emptying the house).

Time will heal it, a psychiatrist will do it a little faster (and prescribe drugs to help you till then).
 
OP, I know that everyone in this thread means well and probably want the best for your recovery, but please don't accept an internet diagnosis. A trauma counsellor cannot diagnose you and there is no way to rule out physiological damage that is causing this. I'd recommend seeing your treating physician first as they would have dealt with this many times before, and take his/her advice as to the next steps...
 
DJ... said:
OP, I know that everyone in this thread means well and probably want the best for your recovery, but please don't accept an internet diagnosis. A trauma counsellor cannot diagnose you and there is no way to rule out physiological damage that is causing this. I'd recommend seeing your treating physician first as they would have dealt with this many times before, and take his/her advice as to the next steps...
Click to expand...

Definitely this. You want to make sure that you follow the professional advice by your practitioner.
 
See your GP, they can handle acute anxiety due to traumatic events. No need for an expensive psychiatrist

Most likely they will put you on a benzodiazepine like Urbanol, ativan or rivotril
 
DJ... said:
OP, I know that everyone in this thread means well and probably want the best for your recovery, but please don't accept an internet diagnosis. A trauma counsellor cannot diagnose you and there is no way to rule out physiological damage that is causing this. I'd recommend seeing your treating physician first as they would have dealt with this many times before, and take his/her advice as to the next steps...
Click to expand...

I understand what you are saying, but a decent trauma counselor knows their limits, and will recommend psychological help if it is necessary.

If you do see a psychologist, dont skimp, and go to someone who actually gives a damn about you and not how much money they make off you.
 
tau1z said:
I understand what you are saying, but a decent trauma counselor knows their limits, and will recommend psychological help if it is necessary.

If you do see a psychologist, dont skimp, and go to someone who actually gives a damn about you and not how much money they make off you.
Click to expand...

A trauma counsellor shouldn't be the first port of call for someone who has had massive damage, been in a coma and is having issues during recovery. Trauma counsellor are psych students who couldn't make it into masters and they are far from qualified to be dealing with this. This is forgetting the fact that something of this serious nature should be dealt with by the treating physician in the first place imo...
 
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