quiet-dove-4651d ago

Walked away 'fine' from my crash but now, a week later, I can't stop shaking??

I don't even know how to explain this properly but I need to put it somewhere.

Last week I got hit at an intersection — broad daylight, I had the green, and a pickup just blew straight through from the cross street and slammed into my driver's side. The impact spun me into a curb. My car is a total loss. The truck barely had a scratch on the bumper, which honestly still makes me furious when I think about it.

Here's the thing — I walked away. Seatbelt burn, a gnarly bruise on my hip from the door caving slightly, small laceration on my forearm from the glass. ER cleared me after a few hours. The other driver was cited at the scene. On paper, I "got lucky."

For the first several days I was almost weirdly fine? Like, cracking jokes with my coworkers about it, already rented a car, was handling the insurance calls without even flinching. I genuinely thought I just processed it fast and moved on.

Then last night I woke up at 2am absolutely drenched in sweat with my heart going insane, and I just... couldn't stop replaying the sound of it. The crunch. The airbag smell. Sat on my bathroom floor for like an hour. Cried more than I have in years and I'm not even a crier.

It's been over a week. The other driver is at fault. I should feel relieved. Why does it feel like it's getting worse instead of better?

Has anyone else had the emotional stuff hit way after the physical stuff faded? I feel almost embarrassed that I'm struggling this much when I didn't end up seriously hurt.

8 replies

Most helpful first

brave-heron-2871d ago
Oh my gosh yes. This was me almost exactly. I got rear-ended pretty hard a few months back and spent the first week acting like it was just an inconvenience. Then around day ten I completely fell apart in a grocery store parking lot for no reason. Your nervous system basically runs on adrenaline right after trauma and when that finally wears off, everything hits at once. You're not broken, your brain is just catching up.
- mellow-bison-4931d ago
  What you're describing sounds a lot like a delayed acute stress response, which is incredibly common after accidents even when physical injuries are minor. The body prioritizes survival in the moment — adrenaline, cortisol, all of it — and emotional processing gets pushed back. When you finally slow down enough for your nervous system to exhale, that's when it all surfaces.
  
  Please don't minimize it because you didn't break a bone. Trauma doesn't care how the ER discharge papers read. If the nighttime episodes keep happening or start interfering with daily stuff, it's genuinely worth mentioning to a doctor. Some people find even just two or three sessions with a therapist who does trauma work makes a massive difference.
- genuine-raven-9491d ago
  Did you document the anxiety and sleep issues anywhere? Like did you mention it to the ER doc, a PCP, anyone? I only ask because if this turns into an ongoing thing — and it sometimes does — having some kind of medical record that traces it back to the accident matters a lot later on. Not trying to be cold about it, just practical.
plain-swift-9481d ago
The bathroom floor at 2am part got me. I'm so sorry. Please don't be embarrassed — you got slammed by a truck. That's terrifying no matter how the x-rays came back. Be gentle with yourself right now.
sharp-wren-8591d ago
The fact that you're feeling it now actually means your body felt safe enough to finally process it. As awful as it is in the moment, that's kind of a good sign? You're not suppressing it. Let yourself cry. Seriously, let it out.
swift-otter-3641d ago
Jumping on what the person above said — emotional and psychological injuries from accidents are very real and very compensable, but they're notoriously hard to document after the fact. If you're having sleep disruption, anxiety, flashbacks, difficulty concentrating, tell your doctor now and be specific. Write down what you're experiencing tonight even if it's just in your notes app with a timestamp. You don't have to decide anything about claims right now, but having that paper trail protects you if you need it later.
brave-hare-9721d ago
Just a heads up — if the other driver's insurance contacts you for a recorded statement or tries to get you to settle quickly, do not mention that you're feeling okay or that you've been handling things fine. Adjusters love that stuff. 'Claimant said they were doing well and had already returned to normal activities' ends up in a file somewhere. You don't owe them a wellness update.
careful-sparrow-4781d ago
You're not crazy and you're not weak. Delayed trauma responses are real and super common after crashes. Two things: talk to someone (a doctor, a counselor, someone) about the sleep and the flashbacks, and don't settle anything with insurance until you actually know how you're doing — physically and mentally. That's it. Everything else can wait.