Undiagnosed New To The Forum, Car Accident Ptsd

[Ptsd2015]

Hi, I'm brand new to this website and new to dealing with PTSD. However, dealing with anxiety is very familiar to me.
I was in a car accident about 7 weeks ago and about 2 weeks after the accident I started feeling anxiety and stress. I've dealt with bad anxiety already for the last few years, so I knew right after the accident that getting over this would be tough.
I can see how much this trauma is affecting me, and I feel discouraged. I have had the worst nightmares of my life this last month and just want them to stop. I get anxious on days when I spend vet much time driving, and I'm definitely on edge being in a car.
The worst part is that being in an accident that so many people have said should have killed me, is all of the thoughts going through my head afterward. Of course this experience has made me think so deeply about everything and what is really important in my life but it's just stressing me out! Some days I feel down because the little things just don't seem as important to me anymore.
So far I've noticed that eating well and getting exercise are really helping me feel better, and I am starting counseling next week. Fingers crossed that this will be a good thing.
Any advice or sympathy would be really great, hopefully this forum will help me figure things out!

 

[Sighs]

Hi there and welcome to the forum.

Your trauma is very recent - so recent that you cannot yet be formally diagnosed with PTSD. Its great that you are getting counselling so early and hopefully you are able to fully recover without developing PTSD Eating well, exercising and sleeping well (as much as you can anyway) are essential too. You are doing all the right things. Good luck!

 

[Ptsd2015]

Yes, I am really hoping to get a hold of this before it can get worse! I slept a ton right after the accident, probably because my body was recovering from physical injuries, but I've still been making sure to get enough sleep at night and sometimes I even nap during the day as well.

 

[darrenS]

if it is so recent , then i would suggest if you feel it is already affecting you to deal with it , anxiety is not ptsd, and anxiety can be a stand alone condition or co mingled with many other things, i have to ask why you would want to label something ptsd so quick whilst you have the perfect chance to recover is beyond me , seriously if you have the perfect chance for recovery if it is actually ptsd , then i would spend every second in dealing with it and making sure i get the proper professional support to gain not only a diagnosis, but some pretty intensive therapy to nip it in the bud while i could

 

[Ptsd2015]

I'm not labeling it as PTSD yet I guess. I don't know how it works, but I would say I'm experiencing severe stress from a traumatic event. I dealt with different kinds of anxiety before my accident - mostly panic attacks over some OCD. Now I've had stress where I am very on edge when I drive, and just over all feel more distant from things. I'm hoping to learn strategies to cope with the feelings I have - the nightmares and non-stop thinking about the accident- before this becomes a full blown disorder that could stay with me long term. I feel like in the past when I started dealing with anxiety, if I had tried to cope with it and gone to counseling right away, I could have treated it much better than I did on my own, where I just tried to avoid every trigger possible, and making it much worse.
I've heard that people with existing anxiety before an accident are more prone to PTSD, so I want to do everything I can to prevent that.

 

[Notsowild]

I am a car accident survivor. I developed PTSD about three weeks after the accident. I also had pre-existing anxiety due to childhood abuse. You could have Post Traumatic Stress from the accident. It hasn't become a full blown disorder. It's great you are getting therapy. I found exposure therapy worked well for me. I could not drive or even be a passenger for a long time. Good luck. I definetly understand what you are going through. Are you working?

 

[Sighs]

@Notsowild - I mean no disrespect but you could not have developed PTSD three weeks after your trauma. The diagnostic criteria require that the symptoms be present for at least 6 months.
@Ptsd2015 - what you are experiencing may be post traumatic stress, but cannot yet be considered PTSD. What this means is that your symptoms may well resolve - particularly with counselling - before ever meeting the criteria for PTSD.

 

[Notsowild]

@Sighs...no respect back but you make no sense. 6 months before the accident or after??? You are sadly mistaken

 

[Sighs]

I stand corrected - it appears that the DSM5 diagnostic criteria require that the symptoms be present for at least one month, not six months as I stated earlier. PTSD is considered acute if symptoms have been present for less than 3 months and chronic if they have been present for more than 3 months.

I was trying to give some hope to the OP that this may not be permanent PTSD, but instead a temporary reaction to trauma. I'll bow out now because I do not have the energy to argue a moot point.

 

[Ptsd2015]

@Notsowild : I am not yet working, but I am looking for a job. I am a little physically restrained still, but hopefully can find something. I am taking a couple classes at a community college though.
It has technically been a month since I started experiencing symptoms of stress from the accident, but they have varied so much each week that I think I haven't reached a point where I would say that it is a disorder. I have had trouble eating because I just lost my appetite and couldn't hardly get myself to eat for about a week. I'm doing a little better now.
This whole thing has brought new kinds of anxiety on me right when I was starting to manage my other difficulties. I am confident I can work through all of this if I am more proactive about it.

 

[Notsowild]

I had already experienced anxiety and panic attacks before the accident. It brought on lots of crazy symptoms like flashbacks, insomnia and nightmares. Then I got hypervigilance and exaggerated startle response. It took me 6 months to get into to see a psychiatrist. And the psychologist my insurance company sent me to was not a trauma specialist. So she was no help. Make sure you see a trauma therapist. It's been over a year since the accident and I'm a lot better some days. I have had a lot of bad days too. Still struggling with driving but I do drive I just have to stay alert and do lots of breathing especially diaphragmatic. I find mindfulness and yoga help alot. Are you on any meds? If I can think of anything else I'll text you. Good luck on your journey.

 

[Ptsd2015]

@Notsowild I am not taking any meds, and so far am pretty adamant about not going on any. I've always learned to control my anxiety naturally, and am hoping to do the same this time.
I have really been thinking about yoga, it seems like it could be very helpful. When I am in a little better physical condition, I definitely plan on finding a class.