Of the millions of people involved each year in automobile accidents, a large percentage will suffer serious bodily injury and significant psychological distress. Any event which is threatening to life or body can produce traumatic stress in the victim. Normally the body has a “fight or flight” response which is employed to protect individuals against such threats, however when fight or flight is impossible—such as during a sudden car accident—the threat remains, causing the victim to essentially “freeze,” and PTSD to develop.
How Common is PTSD?
Estimates put the number of those who will suffer post-traumatic stress disorder following an automobile accident at somewhere between ten and forty-five percent. The broad range stems from the fact that many victims are too embarrassed to report their PTSD. Women suffer more often from PTSD following an auto accident than do men, and this psychological trauma can actually interfere with a person’s daily functioning abilities. Many times, even when there is not full-blown PTSD following an auto accident some people may experience non-specific troubles on the job and in school, have problems maintaining friendships and be unable to enjoy their hobbies and leisure time.
Psychological Trauma is Often Overlooked
Typically broken bones and soft tissue injuries are the issues which are immediately attended in an emergency room following a car accident. Doctors set broken bones, stitch up cuts, attend to scrapes and bruises and check for internal injuries. Victims may have facial lacerations which require further plastic surgery, or may even require major surgeries just to survive. Of course the body must be attended to, yet often the psychological damage resulting from a traumatic car accident can be just as devastating as the physical.
Once you are physically stabilized and on the mend, your mental state may be pushed aside and not taken as seriously as it should be. Most of us are required to drive each day, simply to get to and from work, take our children to school or run necessary errands, therefore if one suffers severe anxiety simply from getting into a car it can become a serious handicap.
Primary Symptoms of PTSD
Victims of auto accidents who experience PTSD may find themselves re-experiencing the accident over and over. They may have recurring dreams of the accident, or even frightening flashbacks while they are awake. Post-traumatic stress disorder victims may try to avoid any type of stimuli which is associated with the original trauma or may find themselves become numb or showing a decrease in normal responsiveness. This numbing can bring about a loss of interest in formerly enjoyable activities, and can cause people to feel detached from others.
There can be intense physical reactions when reminded of the original event such as a pounding heart, rapid breathing, sweating and nausea. People who are suffering from PTSD can also be extremely irritable, have unprovoked outbursts of anger and may be unable to concentrate on the task at hand. PTSD victims often feel extremely helpless and out of control, and should they not take the psychological symptoms seriously and get the necessary help, PTSD can worsen over time.
Getting the Help You Need
A relatively new tool, known as a magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a non-intrusive way to measure the magnetic fields in the brain, and definitively diagnose PTSD. It is believed that this test can correctly identify PTSD patients with a 90% accuracy rate. If you are having symptoms of PTSD, it is necessary to have a psychologist who is trained in the disorder to thoroughly evaluate you and run tests such as the MEG to back up your claims of psychological trauma. Victims who experience significant PTSD symptoms following a car accident may be able to seek compensation for their psychological injuries therefore should hire an experienced personal injury attorney who is skilled in proving such claims and can assist in obtaining damages for injuries, both physical and mental.