Poll Have You Had A Car Accident After PTSD, Due To PTSD Symptoms?

[bluecat]

My accident wasn't due to dissociation and it was more of a near miss. It happened when a physical flashback came over me just as I was about to make a turn off of a highway. I only drove off the road, nothing was broken and nobody got hurt. After the flashback stopped I pulled myself together and drove home.

I've also had problems with parking when anxious. I can normally parallel park on a spit, I live in a city, so you learn how to do that pretty fast. But if I am anxious, forget it.

As a rule, I don't drive if I am having one of my breakdowns. I know I can't keep it together enough to drive safely in that case. Its not worth it.

 

[just me here]

My PTSD is caused by accidents and violent deaths that resulted from them, being a survivor of a very serious accident myself, and seeing so many accidents as a volunteer fire fighter/ EMT.

If I personally knew someone that thought they were in an accident that was a direct result of their mental disorder, I would feel like less than a friend if I didn't do all in my power to stop them from driving until they could be certain it wasn't going to be a problem.

This is the internet, I don't know anyone on here personally, and I am not going to ask you to stop driving, everyone makes their choices and all I am going to ask is that you try to make good ones for your own safety and for the safety of others.

I never counted how many times I heard an accident victim say "how did this happen to me? I never thought this would happen to me!" but I heard it alot. I still hear it in my dreams. I would hate to hear any of the people that responded to this poll in the affirmative say it, ever. With total respect to all here, please be safe, be aware and know your limits.

 

[nie]

I can think of two accidents that I have been in (rear ending someone else), where I think I may have been dissociating. I was not tired, was awake, and was not using a cell phone or radio, and then was hitting someone that I didn't even realize was there.

 

[PerfectEmpire]

The main way that PTSD has affected my ability to drive is that I suffered a brain injury from my first suicide attempt.

It took me a few years to be able to respond appropriately to red lights, green lights, and yellow lights. I would drive through red lights all of the time without noticing. My passengers would scream and be terrified and I would be like "what's wrong???" But for some reason I would often stop at green lights and wonder why everybody was beeping at me. And yellow lights made me feel really, seriously confused so I would just slowly drive through all paranoid.

It took about a year to make sense of my depth perception and peripheral vision again. I didn't notice my surroundings so I relied heavily on other people telling me when to turn, when to merge ect.

I avoided driving, especially alone, and was okay.

That was 7 years ago. I rarely experience those issues now.

 

[ams]

I had a major accident on november 28th, 2008, one month after being assaulted for the second time. my pre-existing ptsd was all over the place, and I'm pretty certain I was dissociating and the police report says I pulled out in front of someone, but I think I was already sitting in the island when I was hit. Now I have PTSD symptoms relating to that car accident, as well as from the assaults.

 

[Unhinged]

After I was diagnosed and before I was medicated I had an "incident" that I feel was from Dissociation. I lost contol of my truck and went off the road. There was no damage luckily. I have pretty much given up driving all together now because I'm terrified of traffic and living in a new city I have no idea where I am/going. When I do go out my husband drives and it takes everything in me to just stay in control of myself and not cry from the way the other cars are. If I drive anywhere it is just 2 blocks on a back road to the corner store for smokes in the middle of the night. I even sold my truck.

 

[anni]

Hi,

I only clicked on this because my first reaction was 'Oh Lord yes', then wondered how many other members will say the same thing? I tend to dissasociate terribly when driving sometimes, fortunately also haven't had damage. I'd have to say the worst which has happened is that I'll end up NOT where I wish to be. I don't drive at all at night, however, since the panic expereinced when this occurs in the dark is just too much to deal with.

I'm sorry you had to give up your truck. It does sound as if perhaps some panic attacks might also be adding to the whole awful problem for you at this point. Is it possible to for you to get into therapy, if you're not at the moment? Sometimes it's just awfully helpful to have someone sort all this out with us, you know? You deserve to not be so unhappy, anxious and stressed over what should be a normal part of life.

Do take care,

Anni

 

[Unhinged]

Thanks Anni,

I am currently working on getting a new therapist and psychiatrist. I met with my new general practitioner this past thursday and he is helping me find someone here (I recently moved). My life exisits in the form of panic attacks now days, just the severity seems to change a little.

Just now my husband and I went out to get some munchies in the form of fresh Krispy Kremes and he did a little jerking back and forth on the steering wheel jokingly... I of course didn't think it was funny so now I am hiding in my room and he is not speaking to me... again. Oh well, nothing can be done about that tonight so I'm just not going to fight anymore and hide until I meet the new doctors.

 

[anni]

I have a squirt gun filled with water I use for such miscreants in my life. Also a camera. I do have a very supportive husband BUT he's also rather um, fond of practicle jokes so one must be well-armed! Not long ago, he couldn't sleep because of my reading light, so reached over to the clean laundry basket by the bed and invented himself a sleep mask in the form of a pair of his own underwear over his head. WELL. After he went to sleep, did I get a great shot or WHAT! I backed it up on the computer since he instantly deleted it as I knew he would be HEE! The next time he pulls something, I'm sending it to his cousin. Either that or going on Snapfish and having a set of mugs made.

Krispy Kreme! I have a lot of triggers, too, but I'd give serious thought to driving at night if there were a Krispy Kreme shot in the vicinity.

I am sorry you're having these panic attacks. I do know my T has helped hugely with them, since boy, the reactivity which follows them is just SO intrusive, I know!

 

[Unhinged]

Just added "Squirt Gun" to my shopping list. I have a ton of pics and videos of him sleeping silly. Most involve the cat laying across his face to block out the light. Or him snoring like a chainsaw.

My new mother in-law is giving me an old Isuzu Amigo to rebuild. It has been sitting unloved in her yard for a few years. I'm kind of excited about it, I love working on trucks and this one will be all mine. Hubby and I discussed it and agreed that it would be nice for me to have a truck again. Doesn't mean I have to use it, but it will be there if there is an emergency like that dog needs the vet or i'm out of smokes while he is at work. Best part is, if I wreck it it won't matter, the truck has already been totalled by the insurance company.

 

[anni]

Hee! I'm glad someone else does this sort of thing because I have TWO snoring videos, plus, he HATESSS cats. He thinks they are for 'wussies', so it's more than hysterical that ours thinks he walks on water. This cat drapes itself over him affectionatly whenever he's motionless, and I have like 20 pics of THAT, also. I realize some ninnie of a T would describe all this as passive aggressive, but he's the one who walked in when I knocked the dam Christmas tree over and instead of helping pick it up- took pictures. So ha- this is WAR, not aggression.

I'd love to be able to fix an entire engine all by myself. I understand how various things work, and can deal with some aspects but God, it would feel amazing to potter around an entire engine, transmission and drive-whatever and make it all GO. I can now replace brakes myself, since my husband lets me watch and pester him him with 'well why does that go there?' questions, and a few other things but that would be SO satisfying. I'm a techno-ninnie, which makes me insane because I just plain LIKE knowing how things work. I'd have to think ( and not to annoyingly bring this all back to PTSD ) being able to be absorbed in doing that kind of work competantly makes one feel just kind of good, you know? I just have a thing about that, and this PTSD, that being competant with anything is helpful. Someone who understands the dynamics of how healing happens would have to explain WHY, it just feels that way to me.

 

[Unhinged]

I love it when I can build or rebuild something useful, validating. I have been slowly remodeling the house since I moved in. Doing the dishes or laundry isn't noticed until you miss a day, but a new spare bedroom or study gets some nice feedback. Atleast it used to, now I all I hear is "When are you doing the living room? Well I think it would look better if we do it this way, I think you're wrong about that costing 3x as much. etc. etc." A project is only rewarding until its made into your job or a negative thing. That could be why I'm so excited about getting the truck, be another totally different project I can work on.