Exploring Civil Case Proceedings

Dealing With Unseen Injuries - PTSD And Phobias After A Serious Accident

21 April 2016 by Becky Freeman

If you have been involved in a serious accident, it may have been easy to identify your physical injuries. What may not be as easy to identify are the psychological and emotional complications that may be caused by your accident and injury. Unfortunately, it is known that serious injuries can cause PTSD and certain types of phobias. These unseen injuries can be just as debilitating, if not more so, than some of the physical injuries you incurred. Understanding what some of these are, the symptoms you may experience, as well as the types of treatment available, may be the first step to helping you to get better.

What Is PTSD?

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, is often used in conjunction with military related accidents and injuries. In all actuality it can be brought on by any type of traumatic event, including a serious accident.

PTSD is different than the normal stress-related anxieties or emotions that you may experience immediately following your accident. This is a pathological anxiety disorder that will continue to linger and typically does not go away without some type of intensive treatment. It can even be a contributing factor to some of your symptoms of chronic pain. Symptoms of PTSD include:

• Intrusion - You may continue to have flashbacks, or recurrent recollections of the accident over and over. These flashbacks may happen when you are awake as well as when you are asleep.
• Numbing - You may feel detached, or an emotional distance, between you and the everyday events that are happening to you and around you. You may have difficulty in engaging in everyday activities. This may lead to depression, feelings of hopelessness, and apathy.
• Arousal - You may experience hyper-vigilance, or the inability to turn off. This can affect your sleep, your ability to stay focused, and cause paranoia.
• Avoidance - This symptom may affect people, places, or things that you associate with the accident. This may lead to the development of social phobias, and panic or anxiety attacks.

There are two basic types of treatment for PTSD. These are medication and psychotherapy, or counseling. While one form may work better for some people, others respond better to a combination of them both.

What Are Accident Related Phobias?

Sometimes in lieu of PTSD or even addition to this condition, you may develop phobias or fears as a result of your accident. These too can be brought on by exposure to a traumatic or distressing event. Many times the exact phobia or fear you experience will have a direct relationship to your event. 

For example, if your accident almost caused you to drown, you may develop Aquaphobia, or an abnormal fear of water and water related activities. For some, these fears may even extend to bathing and showering, while others may be able to engage in everyday water related activities but have difficulties with large bodies of water.

A really bad dog bite may lead you to experience Cynophobia, or a fear of dogs, or even Zoophobia, an overall fear of animals. This is one of the most common phobias that is experienced by people. Some people only fear a certain class of animals, such as those that they deem to be aggressive or dangerous, while others may fear any type of animal.

You may develop a fear of having another accident altogether, or Dystychiphobia. This can have a significant impact on your daily life and cause you to avoid common, everyday situations that may make it difficult for you to leave home.

A few other phobias may include:

• Agoraphobia - a fear of situations or locations you are unable to escape from.
• Claustrophobia - a fear of tight enclosed spaces
• Acrophobia - a fear of heights
• Hemophobia - a fear of blood
• Nyctophobia - a fear of nighttime or darkness

There are many others. Many people who experience one or more phobias may experience physical symptoms when they are exposed to the stimuli that causes them a certain level of anxiety. Some of these symptoms include:

• Increased heart rate
• Shortness of breath
• Excessive sweating
• Trembling
• Anger
• Chest pain
• Dizziness or lightheadedness
• Nausea or vomiting
• Inability to speak and more

Treatment for phobias much like PTSD may involve various therapeutic techniques, medications, or a combination of these. With proper treatment, most people are able to at least learn to manage the fear that a phobia can cause and return to a productive life.

What Do You Need To Do?

If you have suffered PTSD, or developed some type of phobia as a result of an accident that was not your fault, immediately seek the services of an experienced personal injury attorney, such as those at Roberts Miceli LLP. You deserve to be compensated for this, but these types of emotional injuries may require that your case remain open for an extended period of time. Many of these symptoms do not manifest themselves immediately, and treatment often takes time. Do not agree to settle your case until you have a full understanding of what treatment will be required, and the long term impact that this is going to have upon your life. 

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