Everyone at least once in their life faced a traumatic situation that caused not only physical trauma, but also stress. Therefore, everyone should know how to survive stress not only with the help of psychologists, but also how to do it on their own. ;According to statistics, about 80% of accidents occur due to the fault of vehicles. Many drivers after an accident discuss the complexity and cost of car repairs, forgetting about psychological trauma. After an accident, a person may experience a feeling of fear of death, a sense of threat to his life, he may have obsessive ideas. If you do not turn to a psychologist in time, then such disorders can lead to serious problems.

There are times when people after an accident are afraid to get into transport at all. And how to overcome stress after an accident? Many psychologists advise getting back behind the wheel as soon as possible, or at least for a start you need to drive a car next to the driver. in this case, the person who had an accident will again begin to get used to the car, the road, and only after that you can get behind the wheel. Do not treat stress with alcohol or pills, in such cases serious health problems can arise. ; ; ; In no case should you reproach yourself for the accident, especially if the car was driven by a pregnant girl. in this case, you need to as soon as possible; try to forget about it.

And how to defeat stress and depression, not only psychologists, but also friends can tell. For example, it is enough for a person who has an accident to fence himself off from criticism. It is better to stop communicating with those people who will constantly remind you of an accident. As for relatives, they can be warned that this topic temporarily closed and that it is not worth constantly discussing it. If relatives get into such a situation, then they need to be supported and provided with psychological assistance. This will help a person get rid of the fear of getting into an accident again. To learn how to relieve tension and stress yourself, you can paste this query into a search engine and find articles about it.

The head was intact and retained complete clarity of thought. When the glass cut the femoral artery, Lyudmila felt that life was flowing out of her along with the blood. She tried to pinch the artery until her fingers weakened. Already on a stretcher, with tourniquets applied, she found the strength to emerge from oblivion and name her blood type.

The operation went well. The doctor said that she was born in a shirt: no mobility restrictions are expected, no crutches - perhaps even a slight limp will not remain. Of course, recovery will take time.

Lyudmila herself, like many after returning "from there", felt euphoria: she dreamed of filling life with new meaning, enjoying every moment, not worrying about trifles ...

The body was healed for the first five months. Between procedures, she read a lot, including poetry, the existence of which she had forgotten for twenty years. She remembers this time as very happy: a renewed, bright feeling of life. It seemed that after what she had experienced, there was nothing to be afraid of.

But the very first attempt to get behind the wheel again presented problems. From a short trip around the city, Lyudmila returned in a cold sweat. All the dangers that await the driver on the city streets seemed to her so vivid and real that she crossed every intersection, as if under shelling. There was a sudden threat around every corner.

The next test was the sound of breaking glass. The bottle thrown by the boys into the garbage container plunged her into a state of panic: her heart was pounding, her skin became wet ... Then she noticed that all sharp and shiny objects frighten her - not only broken glass, but also kitchen knives, tools ... In rainy weather at night, with a strong gusty wind, she lay awake, waiting for the wind to squeeze out the window panes and scatter them around the room.

Gradually, her fear spread to a variety of things that had nothing to do with the misfortune experienced. Crowding in the subway, a low-flying plane, Chinese fireworks, even just taking the elevator...

Like many survivors of a disaster, attack, war, or other terrible event, she lost her faith in a safe and predictable world. The normal nonchalance that most of us wear like body armor has left her. It seemed to her that the barrier between life and death had become as thin as a cobweb.

She did not think that all her countless fears were somehow connected. She didn't know the phenomenon had a name: PTSD.

Where is the fear?

According to statistics, three out of four face a traumatic event at least once in their lives. And a quarter of those who have experienced trauma experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress: excitement, haunting memories, nightmares, insomnia, detachment, insensibility.

For most people, symptoms resolve within a week, month, or year. For some, they get worse over time. At the same time, the possibility of their treatment is reduced.

For the first time this phenomenon began to be studied when American doctors working with veterans encountered the syndrome. Vietnam War. However, it was known to physicians in the last century, not without reason, after two world wars, the term "traumatic neurosis" appeared.

Two or three decades ago, most psychiatrists considered PTSD to be a purely emotional reaction to an event. Few have thought about whether there is a connection with the neurochemistry of the brain.

Since the mid-1980s, a new generation of specialists has emerged, trained in both psychiatry and neuroscience. It was they who discovered that moments of extreme horror change the chemistry and perhaps even the structure of the brain. And it doesn't matter if it was momentary horror during an accident or prolonged stress during a war.

Biochemistry

Transformation begins immediately at the moment of a threat to life. Our nervous system, knocked out of normal mode into survival mode, releases a powerful dose of adrenaline and other substances that prepare the body for fight or flight. Everyone who has experienced at least once an “adrenaline attack” knows this feeling of clarity of consciousness, speed of reaction, an unexpected surge of strength, thanks to which people with the most modest physical abilities literally set speed records, jump over two-meter fences, climb tall trees along a smooth trunk. ..

When life is endangered for a long time, the body releases other hormones, including cortisol and endogenous opiates. They suppress inflammation, muffle the pain.

But these life-saving biological mechanisms in extreme situations can have a negative impact on the brain. Excessive doses of adrenaline can impair memory and learning ability, in some cases they can cause amnesia.

The state of biochemical "anxiety" persists in people who fought in "hot spots" many years later. Doctors have discovered elevated levels of adrenaline in the urine of traumatized Vietnam veterans twenty years after the end of the war.

What to do?

● Do not hide from yourself or from those around you your problems. It is necessary to talk about them with loved ones, or with a specialist psychotherapist. You can keep a record of your feelings. The last option is good because you can do it at any time of the day. For example, waking up in the middle of the night bad dream. Few dare at this moment to wake up loved ones or even call the doctor.

● Do not hesitate to contact the experts. After major accidents In terrorist attacks, the authorities usually inform the population on which telephones one can find professional support.

What techniques do psychologists and psychotherapists use?

For example, the "flooding" technique, when the patient again and again revives the traumatic event in his memory, visits a place that reminds him of it, tells again and again about how it happened. For most people, the severity of experiences after this is dulled.

Another technique is processing with the help of eye movement. Within an hour or an hour and a half, the patient restores the circumstances of the traumatic event, while moving his eyes from side to side following the doctor's finger. When this technique was proposed in the late 80s, no one believed that it worked. Today, however, many well-known experts admit that they are amazed by the results. Veterans who have suffered from nightmares for decades have gotten rid of them in a single session.

Road traffic accidents are one of the urgent problems of the modern world, constantly taking away human life and health. Injuries in car accidents in Russia annually receive tens of thousands of people of different ages.

In some cases, the victim manages to escape with minor bruises, and sometimes he may remain disabled for the rest of his life. The most common injuries in road accidents are head and spinal injuries. Injuries after an accident can require not only long-term treatment, but also rehabilitation.

recovery program

In the complex of rehabilitation measures, a whole team of specialists from the fields of restorative medicine, psychiatry, neurology, and pedagogy can be involved in working with the patient. Qualified assistance of manual therapists, massage therapists, teachers is very important physiotherapy exercises, psychologists. In their work with patients who have suffered severe car injuries, measures are taken to return to normal all motor, behavioral and speech functions.

Special rehabilitation techniques are used for facial injuries that require the intervention of plastic surgeons. The victim often needs to re-learn how to manage facial muscles with specific exercises. This process requires a tactful and attentive attitude of doctors. It is important not only to return to the patient elementary functions to which he is accustomed ordinary life but also to support his self-esteem.

Elderly patients who have been injured in accidents have a particularly difficult time, since the possible number of surgical operations for them is limited by age, healing is slower, exacerbation of chronic diseases is possible along the way, and many functions are not fully restored. This fact is objectively difficult to bear - both for the elderly themselves and for their loved ones, so qualified psychological assistance comes to the fore here.

It is very important for those who have received serious injuries after an accident to be in a calm, safe environment and to eliminate stress. The patient should not be distracted by family, work, domestic problems - all his resources are required for him during this period for recovery. At home, rehabilitation is slower, since it is not always possible to organize proper and qualified care. Patients who have temporarily lost their motor functions rarely manage to be outdoors, socialize, attend cultural events - and yet all these factors play a significant role in their return to normal life.

Recovery course after car injuries

Rehabilitation in a specialized medical center helps not only to attract all the necessary specialists, but also to create comfortable conditions for the patient. is ready to provide its guests with accommodation in modern rooms with specialized medical furniture, organization of their treatment, sports and recreational activities, outdoor walks, and an entertainment program.

In such an environment, surrounded by care and attention, patients even in the most difficult physical and psychological state quickly gain confidence in their abilities and go on the mend.

Stress in a person's life can be viewed as a response of the body to external or internal factors of life - events or emotions. It usually appears when something or someone violates a person's usual way of life.

This article will focus on such stress, which occurs unexpectedly and is caused by a rather strong emotional shock, namely, stress manifestations in a person who has been in a traffic accident.

What happens to the psyche and body of a person when he gets into an accident? speech goes about a car accident in which the driver was not seriously injured, but experienced severe stress on a mental and emotional level.

As a rule, this unpleasant and traumatic event is accompanied by a shock state of the driver, a strong sense of fear and the fact that he completely loses control over the situation for a while.

Many drivers, even those with a long driving experience, having been in an accident, cannot feel comfortable, calm and confident on the road for a long time. Even when a car accident is far in the past, they experience stress every time they get behind the wheel.

Such a reaction to driving has many disadvantages. First, a person who is afraid to drive a car or experiences other negative emotions while driving - anxiety, excitement, guilt - in this state endangers not only his life, but also passengers. The reason for this is that the negative emotions experienced by the driver do not allow him to concentrate while driving, carefully follow the signs, traffic lights, control not only his own ride, but also prevent the actions of other traffic participants on the road.

Secondly, the fear that is present in a driver who has been in an accident takes away from him the speed and objectivity of the reaction. If the driver is afraid to drive, then the chances of a repeat car accident will increase significantly. On the road, where a person behind the wheel is responsible not only for his own life, but also for the life and health of other people, there should be no place for self-doubt, insecurity and fear.

Therefore, every driver should be aware that if he experiences severe stress after an accident, the consequences of which prevent him from driving the car as before - calmly, firmly, confidently - then he must do everything in order to get rid of his manifestations.

Not all stress goes unnoticed for a person. Especially if it directly concerns his life and health. This applies specifically to the fear of driving. If a person feels it, it means that the stress reaction of the body was very high.

A person who has experienced a strong emotional shock during a car accident may experience stress inside himself for a long time every time he gets behind the wheel.

It turns out that the accident happened a long time ago, and the emotions that it caused in the driver continue to arise in him, which means, in fact, every time he drives vehicle, then returns to that day and hour and mentally relives the accident again.

This is the reaction of the human psyche to severe stress. In addition, an emotionally traumatized driver may experience other manifestations of a stressful situation. These are changes at the bodily level - sweaty palms, dizziness, trembling of the limbs of the arms and legs, inability to talk while driving. Also, the reaction can be on a conscious level: internal stiffness and tension, confusion of thoughts, impaired coordination of movements. So, the driver can be in this state all the time while driving. Accordingly, staying in it, he endangers his life and the lives of passengers.

How to measure the level of stress after an accident?

Some people, having a habit of living in conditions of constant stress, stop noticing its manifestations or simply get used to it without trying to deal with the negative consequences. In this case, it can be difficult for them to understand why they begin to feel fear while driving or before starting to drive.

Not everyone experiences such severe stress after an accident that after it they experience difficulties with driving a car. Some people are highly stress resistant. How to understand how strong the stress was after the accident and whether the psyche is experiencing its consequences?

This is very easy to do. If during the ride there are no unpleasant feelings and the person drives the car calmly, not even remembering the collision, then most likely his stress level is very low. In another case, people experience a whole range of emotions when they get behind the wheel after an accident. It's a shame that they had an accident, guilt in front of other participants traffic or their passengers, the fear that the accident might happen again, the fear of death.

If a driver experiences such feelings, then it is imperative to work with them, otherwise he will not be able to drive a car in a calm and confident state.

Most effective method to do this is work with a psychologist. However, if the fear of driving is not panicky, then you can try to help yourself. To do this, you need to realize what kind of feeling arises at the moment when the process of driving begins. Fear, shame, excitement, anxiety? What is this feeling about? That is, if it is fear, then what? What is anxiety about? What is the excitement about? It can be fear of damage, anxiety that you will have to be at fault in an accident, anxiety that you will not be able to cope with a traffic situation, and so on.

The next question to answer to yourself is: what happens if the doubts or concerns are confirmed? Having specified more deeply the causes of fear or excitement, work can be continued with a psychologist if there is such a need and the consequences of stress have not receded.

How to return the habit of being calm behind the wheel?

The human psyche is such that sometimes after an accident it is useful to take a break from driving - this will help you “move away from the shock” and not remember the unpleasant episode every time you have to drive. It is better not to risk yourself and others, take care of yourself after stress: relax the way you want, give yourself free time or entertainment that has long been dreamed of, to escape from the bustle of the road with the help of a family holiday. It is worth returning to driving when there is one hundred percent self-confidence, calmness, concentration and concentration of attention have returned. When the effects of stress are far behind, driving will become easy and safe again.

(Traffic psychology, applied practices of psychological self-help after accidents)

Valery Egorov physician, psychologist, Your Doctor of Feelings, general practitioner, combining psychotherapeutic & eso-vision of problems with medical.

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Emergencies (PE): man-made disasters, floods, major and minor accidents ... in our difficult time, alas, they have become a real, constant topic of news.

Therefore, interest in psychology extreme situations, accidents… in modern world is steadily growing, both among politicians, sociologists, philosophers, and among practical psychologists.

Road traffic accident (RTA) have long been at the top of the list of causes of death for young people in the world. According to the traffic police in Russia, 200,000 accidents occur annually, in which 27,000 people die and 250,000 are injured.

Interesting facts from Wikipedia:

• “In the US, despite the prevalence of firearms and the very low death rate in road accidents, the likelihood of dying in a car accident is twenty times higher than the chance of being shot.
• R. Nurgaliyev, General of the Army and Minister of the Interior of the Russian Federation, said on September 23, 2009 that “as practice shows, more than 80 percent of all accidents are the fault of the drivers themselves, as a result of which the “human factor” is considered as a key direction”

World Health Organization(WHO) having studied the situation with road accidents in the most different countries of the world, came to a statement of fact: injuries and deaths on the roads have already has become a global epidemic.

Accidents are frightening not only for their immediate destructive consequences, but also for the long-term effect that they have on the psychophysical state of the injured, his friends, both close and distant, his relatives ... and on the entire human society.

Traumatic psychological infection experiences is like special kind psychological flu, which is transmitted from person to person even without direct personal contact. The means of electronic, paper communication, all mass media are a favorable environment for this infection and the development of this psycho-epidemic.

Many car crash victims find it difficult to deal with their thoughts, feelings, moods and behaviors after a collision. And today, more than ever, the development of such a direction of psychological assistance as traffic psychology, or as it is called in the West " Trafficpsychology"

"Traffic psychology" aims to shed light on some of our natural tendencies of behavior during and after an accident. Affects the relationship of behavior in case of accidents, helps in getting rid of negative symptoms and scenarios after suffering psychological trauma during accidents, and this is diagnostics mental states a person experiencing or survived a psychotrauma in an accident, this is practical psychological correction, counseling and psychotherapy.

A little about the physiology of stress:

All living beings experience some form of physical and psychological stress. Stress is vital to our development and evolution. Stressful experiences for the body in the process of physical exercise give our body strength. By stressing consciousness in the process of training the mind, our brain becomes sharper in perception and intuitive constructive response ... And we become wiser, become psychologically and physically more stable. Normally, when we finish sports or mental exercise, the “normal stress” ends and we relax.

Then why is stress considered “harmful”?Not certainly in that way. Stress is harmful in those situations when the natural desire to curl up, close, run away, resist the aggressive action of the environment, causes transcendent states excitation or inhibition, it is these states that give rise to anxiety, fears, phobias, panic attacks.

For most, these symptoms are short-term. They may last for several days or even weeks, but their intensity gradually decreases and finally disappears completely. — This can be fully labeled as: "a normal reaction to abnormal events."

But if you have a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) condition, then the painful symptoms do not decrease. Day by day…they build up: You may start to feel worse and worse every day.

What is the difference between Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and normal reaction for injury:

After a traumatic event, almost all of us experience some of the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. When a person’s feelings of security and trust are in a state of discord, it is, in general, even normal to feel a little crazy, disconnected, numb ... And we see nightmares, there is a seemingly unmotivated feeling of fear about familiar events and action. It is very difficult or even impossible for us to stop thinking about what happened. There is a fear of getting behind the wheel or even in a vehicle.

The normal reaction to trauma becomes PTSD, when you are in this above, "hung"

After any traumatic experience, our mind and body are in shock. How is PTSD different from a normal trauma experience? - Days go by, but the intensity of experiences does not decrease, experiences "hung" or increase.

Signs and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Although each person is an individual, we all have a lot in common in experiences: There are three main types of symptoms PTSD:

1. Re-experiencing a traumatic event
2. Obsessive thoughts about how to get rid of these experiences, how to forget everything that reminds you of the trauma
3. A state of increased anxiety, emotional arousal, or insensibility, in the style of Varvara-Krasa - a long braid: "what will, what is bondage ... - it doesn't matter"

What are the symptoms of PTSD after a car accident?

After any traumatic experience, a person may periodically experience nightmares, intrusive memories, a desire not to talk about the traumatic event, as well as a desire to avoid situations, places, people ... that remind of this traumatic event. In the event that the event that happened was directly life-threatening in a traffic accident, a person can avoid driving and any trips, even if he was just a passenger in a car, or was at the place where the accident occurred and he was shocked.

My name is Andrey, I am 20 years old, I got into a car accident with my friend. We were hit by a car driven by a woman, we were at a crosswalk, and it was not our fault. A friend was almost not injured, and I had a concussion, I was in neurosurgery for three weeks, but after the woman knocked us down, her car hit a pole and she died. I feel very bad, I can not drive, tell me, is this normal? My parents don’t understand why I can’t drive, I can’t drive, although I’ve been able to do it since I was 16, they try to help me somehow, and this upsets me even more. How can I overcome my stupid fear and improve my life?

Good hour, Andrey! It may sound paradoxical, but your state of reaction to an accident is “normal”. And your fear is not stupid, today you have learned from your bitter living experience that life is rather fragile, and if before this case the danger of driving and walking on the road was some kind of abstraction for you, now you feel from your own experience how we, people are dependent on each other. This means that compliance with the rules of the road and the rules of residence is a guarantee of our common safety, both for those who drive and those who walk.

You have temporarily lost your natural ability to turn off the awareness of danger that a person must do whenever he travels in a car, train, plane ... because this is movement, and many other things we can't always control we just trust ourselves, our lives to a car, our ability to drive or a driver, a pilot, a train driver…

One more aspect: it is likely that you are also experiencing an irrational sense of guilt as a survivor in front of the relatives of that woman. Yes, she was to blame for the accident, but still you may feel some injustice from the fact that you and your friend survived, but she did not.

How to be, how to live, how to arrange? Step by step algorithm:

To access this important material- press the button and a block with an effective algorithm will open:

1. The first thing you need to do for yourself is give yourself time. If the incident happened a couple of weeks ago, then it’s worth giving yourself a temporary respite to recover and just tritely excommunicate yourself for two weeks from driving in general.

2. The next step is to start accustoming yourself to the driver's seat. Is your car parked or in a garage? And you just get behind the wheel and stay there for a while. Don't start the engine! At the same time, do not hold back your breath, but try to breathe in a meditative rhythm: inhale-exhale, feeling how the air passes into the nostrils and how cool it is ... exhaling, feel that it is already warm. Stay with these feelings. It may be necessary to do this approach to the driver's seat several times before you feel comfortable.

3 . The third step is to start the engine. If panic appears and you want to run away from all this, then do not rush with the starter, perhaps today is not the day when the time to start the engine has come. But still, sit in the driver's seat and breathe again in a meditative rhythm, it will be nice and quite psychologically therapeutic to turn on your favorite melody and breathe to its sounds. As soon as the panic attacks stop bothering you, start the engine!

4. Time passes and today Your time to move. Do not rush to your favorite store or to the country yet. Limit yourself to moving up and down, back and forth ... on the road closest to the parking lot and familiar to you.

5. As soon as you feel that you have ceased to be uncomfortable behind the wheel, drive to a busier track.

Complete each stage slowly, without fuss and violence against yourself, without scolding yourself, your fear, without calling your fear stupid. In time everything will be great, with one IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE: You will be a much more alert and careful driver.

Unable to go through this experience on your own, and panic attacks in the car continue after two weeks of approaches? - Then see a psychologist dealing with psychological trauma and anxiety disorders. You will be provided with the necessary assistance and support in your condition, they will select individual program according to your immediate needs and condition.

The depth, duration, and severity of the experience In most cases, it is connected with the fact that we temporarily lose the opportunity to step into our tomorrow. The longer in time and debilitating intensity this period of experiences, the more difficult it will be to live after ... And, on the contrary, a person who has just experienced even a very strong shock, but who knows exactly what he will do next: tomorrow, the day after tomorrow ... - the easier it is deal with the problem. The reflection of the sunrise of even one ray of the sun of the future means your imminent release from painful experiences.

On the P.S. From my medical-themed lyrics:

intro: The poetic experience of the anesthesiologist-resuscitator, practical psychologist Valery Egorov on the topic of accidents:

Filthy, black Mercedes.

Tonight... night... my punishment...
Evil spirits of black forces broke through,
Fireball flying ... To the slaughter
The boy ... pleased him ...
Only fifteen years old child ...
One with mother ... love ...
But the Mercedes is already turning the gears,
Sitting "gaskets" in it: "We are flying ...
Let's go guys, let's have a beer...
- Catch the girls by the nipples ...
Oh, let's ride ... Beautiful ...
“It’s all….uh… cool, dudes…”

Broken country... Russia...
There are no laws in it, since the loot ...
We pull souls like rubber...
But is there something wrong with us?

Flying, flying ... filthy "Mercer",
But, "Mercedes" - it's just a steering wheel ...
Passed on the chest ... the aggressor,
And escaped into the night... 6...9...zero...
I again darn someone's grief ...
Needle under the heart ... life - you are blood ...
I'm in a quarrel with death for two hours,
But lost today ... again ...

Gloves are thrown under the feet ...
In the eyes of longing ... In the heart of pain ...
And in the corridor ... mom walks ...
- Oh my God…
Again…
fire…

But no ... away from weakness ... We need to get out ...
Help forgive...
Grieve...
She: “It’s still knocking here ...
It is warm… Woe…” the mother groans…

Now it's time to heal my soul...
If the body could not be sewn ...
Yes, it happened ... At night ... in the cold
IN COLD SPRING ... I couldn’t sleep ...
…
What can I say ... I would whine in the morning ...
Fall on the chest of your beloved ... But ...
And here I am cold ... Frozen ... fierce ...
Hail is knocking on my window...
I write ... I string lines,
A hungry wolf sits in the soul ...
Love is my lonely choice...
I'll go...sleep...
fell…
silent ... 2005 Sochi. © Valery Egorov. ____

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School of Feelings Dr. Valery Egorov is the Psychology of COMFORT, "Psychology on the Couch". What do you need for your communication with a psychologist? - a computer, a laptop ... a quiet place to think, and talk about important, exciting, disturbing you ...

Have a question? Ask!

© Your Doctor of Feelings Valery Egorov.

Intimate about the secret ...

Best regards, Doctor of Feelings Valery Egorov - your personal consultant on the most intimate, doctor of the highest category, psychologist, trainer, group leader.

Straightening of curvature of fate, characters, relationships, return of feelings. Help in solving sensory, bodily, emotional problems.
Psychological help, support, individual online programs, trainings. Our communication takes place by correspondence (e-mail) and / or Skype-chat.

Specialization:
Difficulties in relations between women and men.
Psychological correction of body weight (determination of etiological factors of body problems (causal and pathogenetic approach) author's method of losing weight.
Self-doubt, self-esteem
The search for the meaning of life, the search for a partner and other searches
Friendship, love, relationship, dark sides love (jealousy, how to get rid of rivals, the experience of parting, help in returning feelings and lovers)
Psychosomatics, burnout syndrome, emotional fatigue.