Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an emotional/psychological condition that is the result of a traumatic experience. PTSD leaves someone who is no longer at risk with pathological anxiety because their nervous systems cannot return to a relaxed state. In short, they are forever in a panicked, fight-or-flight mode.
What Causes PTSD?
Any sort of stressful, traumatic or fear-inducing incident can cause PTSD. And, the PTSD-causing incident need not just be one event. Long-term trauma (like war and ongoing abuse) can lead to PTSD as well. The fear and sense of helplessness that come with a car accident can also cause PTSD.
Symptoms of PTSD
Typical symptoms of PTSD include:
- Arousal. This is a constant alertness to danger and may include paranoia, sleep problems, hyper-vigilance and an inability to focus.
- Avoidance. This is an avoidance of people, places and situations associated with the trauma, and it may include the development of debilitating social phobias, panic and anxiety.
- Numbing. This is when PTSD victims keep an emotional distance between themselves and the world around them, experiencing a growing inability to feel emotions.
- Intrusion. This is an unhealthy obsession with the event, with ongoing recurrent recollections of it.
It’s important to remember that PTSD symptoms present differently for different people. One person may experience bad dreams and hallucinations while another may become overcome with anxiety in group settings or crowded places.
PTSD and Car Accidents
It is estimated that every year between 10% and 45% of those people involved in car accidents develop PTSD. Considering that there are typically three million people involved in auto accidents every year, there are a lot of potential PTSD sufferers. And, women as well as people with pre-existing anxiety disorders and depression are more prone to develop PTSD, regardless of whether or not they are in a car accident.
Are You Suffering from PTSD After a Car Accident?
If you seem to be experiencing any of the symptoms of PTSD following an automobile accident, you should contact your doctor and discuss it right away. Based on the circumstances of your car accident, you may be a candidate for a personal injury lawsuit that will help you recover monetary damages for your ongoing pain, suffering and losses.
Get a Free Legal Consultation for PTSD from Car Accidents
If you or someone you know is suffering from PTSD following a car accident, seek the advice of Milwaukee personal injury lawyer Karl Gebhard. Karl Gebhard offers free legal consultations, and because he works on a contingency basis, he will not accept any fees for his legal services until he successfully wins a case.
For your free consultation, call today at 414-873-6550.