Someone hit my car nearly 2 weeks ago.

That must have been terrifying. I hope you’re OK - and driving again - now.

I had a horrible car accident a few years ago. Rolled my car. Trapped, freed by emergency services. Air ambulance dispatched. It never occurred to me to think that my life was ruined.

I had whiplash and other injuries after a driver slammed into the back of my car. She was going at least 60mph. I had stopped. I was in a state of extreme shock and in real pain.
Give yourself time to recover. But definitely don’t frame it in terms of this person having ruined your life or that you can’t drive again. That won’t help.

I think unless you've been in a similar situation it's hard to relate.

@NewPlumCat I was in a minor accident recently but would have been a lot worse if I hadn't anticipated it and pulled forward a bit just in time. The car behind me, which was hit first, was thrown across the duel carriageway and it was very shocking. Luckily no serious injuries in the cars involved but I was struck by the feeling of powerlessness of that situation. It took me a long time to feel confident again on the road and I'm still now much more cautious. I was previously a confident (potentially over confident) driver. You will be ok, but I totally get it. I had to drive as it's my only way of getting to work but I felt stressed and panicky at first. You'll be ok but I think it's very understandable to feel like that now.

I agree with PP that it will only ruin your life if you let it.

I was a relative driving newbie (two years after passing my test) when I had a two serious accidents requiring hospital visits within a month. Neither were my fault (although in hindsight as a more experienced driver I could have driven into a hedge for number two - but then he would have got away with drink driving).

I was very upset and became even more aware that a vehicle in the wrong hands is a weapon, but I have good hands so I will continue to drive for necessity and pleasure.

OK. Shit happens. It was an accident.

But you need to pull yourself together here, get a grip and stop being so melodramatic.

It will only ruin your life if you let it. Put it in perspective. You didn't die. Didn't even break a bone. Just a bit of muscular damage which will improve after physio.

I had exactly the same 15 years ago. A guy fell asleep at the wheel and smashed into the back of me at about 40 mph whilst I was waiting at the red light. Yes it was scary and the clang of metal was awful, but life goes on. It took me a while t not brace myself at traffic lights for a year but since then Ive had 15 years of uneventful driving.

Stop with all the ridiculous drama queen histrionics FFS 🙄 Are you trying to build up a case for compo?

With all due respect, if you say he has ruined your life and you'll never drive again then that mindset will never go away.
It's a bit unfair to put this on him, it was an accident, it happens and it's your mindset that is ruining your life.
Oh and I doubt he was doing 40mph, having been rear ended myself, if you are stationary the impact feels so much worse.
Please get counselling, speak to your insurers to see if they can sort something

Ruined your life?! Are you kidding?!

Yes, the crash sounded scary.

But if you refuse to drive you’re only making your life harder.

And it’s going to make driving into a massive deal. You’re better off continuing to drive and normalising it.

You’re not going to be any safer by not driving, you could be struck down as a pedestrian. Or on a bike. Or in a taxi. Will you never go anywhere now?

It sounds really scary op. I think you've identified the issue yourself. You are experiencing a degree of shock after a traumatic event. This web page has some very useful advice for you. If these feelings persist for more than a few weeks then go and see your gp.

https://www.chelwest.nhs.uk/your-visit/patient-leaflets/burns/coping-with-the-stress-of-a-traumatic-incident-1

@NewPlumCat
You say your head nearly hit the windscreen. How close do you sit to the steering wheel?

My mum was crashed into about 12 years ago when someone jumped a red. Drove into the side of her and pushed her into a traffic light. She suffered with severe whiplash which caused her to have a lot of pain for a few weeks. The anxiety around driving is still there now and she avoids driving as much as possible. If she had powered through the anxiety in the beginning, maybe it wouldn’t be as bad now.

My advice is to get in that courtesy car and drive to Tescos or something. A short journey and make sure you do one a day.

I’ve had similar and was also struggling with driving but I had to get on with it. No choice for me as a carer.

WTAF, no,churches don't catch fire,why ,do you think I'm evil! I have been in 2 fires, I used to think was really unlucky, jinxed, but you could argue that I am actually very lucky.

You have no idea how fast the third party was going or how much damage was done so your comment is pretty over the top.

Honestly, I don't think you should be behind the wheel. Your reaction is pretty over the top for something that a lot of us (including myself) have been through. I think you need to look into therapy.

Hi OP, I was also recently in a crash and have not found driving easy since. I was always aware of how bad people drove around me but now I feel like I’m dodging accidents all the time and I know just how much it hurts to get hit now.

my advice - the sooner you get back on the horse, the better. If you delay it, it just gets harder and you may never ride again. Call a driving instructor and get some lessons explaining the situation. Claim them back as part of the claim.

Your experience is exceptionally different from the norm.

Do churches catch fire when you walk past them?

I can certainly understand your fear of driving. I experienced fear of going in cars after lockdown. The only way to get over it is to to get in a car and drive. I would suggest a 5 minute drive at a quiet time and build up from there.

Those who say one accident in 25 years is ok and will never happen again..my first entrapment, I was 13,df driving me to school..rounded a left hand bend,had a blow out,car went up a high bank, dropped back down onto the road resting on the drivers side..I'm standing on my DFS face, trying frantically to get out.. just outside our village. Second time, coming home from a late shift,a couple of miles from home (that's where the majority of RTCs occur) duel carriage way. Straight road,10pm,in winter. No other vehicles in sight. Suddenly rammed from the rear,hands flew off the steering wheel,feet off the pedals. Car obviously continues at same speed for a few moments. It overturned 3 times, over metal railings down an embankment, came to Rest on passenger side. I couldn't open the door, luckily other drivers behind stopped,3 of them were convinced I would be dead. I always wore seatbelts long before they compulsory (5 years working in the ED) driver was"known"to the police,no insurance or licence. Stopped off at the nearby pub! I would have probably frozen. Third.... hopefully final. DH was driving, went round a left hand bend, country lane,yup couple of miles from home. Car on the other side,main beam,it took seconds,he was blinded,up the bank hit an oak tree, dropped onto the road, resting on drivers side. I'm in the back,DD front passenger. He kicked out the sun roof. I passed the advanced driving test with a police examiner and also did the high performance course for motorway driving. DH has been rear ended twice.

Accidents can be scary especially when you are stationary. I was hit while stationary on a motorbike, and yes, the feeling of vulnerability and helplessness may take time to clear - especially when it's 2 tonnes of metal against 7 and half stone me.

The anxiety will subside in time. The key is to try to not ruminate over it, and to continue with your life as best you can. I had nightmares for weeks and became focused on enhancing my visibility to other road users - bulked up the intensity of my rear light, went from a black to white helmet, etc - and became more vigilant at traffic lights of vehicles approaching from behind. But I got back on the bike. That was 20 years ago, and I still ride today.

You mentioned that you now walk rather than drive - this is a good thing and you should lean into this whenever feasible. Being car dependent and the sedentary lifestyle that so many of us lead is the root and accelerant of many health issues.

So there is a silver lining to this cloud. Hang in there. Time heals.

I think you’re clearly still in shock, which will pass. I think rationalizing this in your head will help - you’ve been driving 25 years and this is the only time this has happened. So you’d have done thousands and thousands of car journeys before that with nothing bad happening. So the odds of it not happening again are really good for you. Imagine if you entered a competition and the odds were, for example, 50000 to 1 of you winning. You wouldn’t expect to win, would you? I mean the possibility is there but it’s HIGHLY unlikely. So it’s the same thing with driving. You were unlucky once but put the chances of it happening again in perspective. Start with a very short drive, to the end of the road and back, and build up your confidence gradually.

I think that people are being unfair to the poster who is anxious after being rear ended. We dont know what else happened in her life to make her respond like this - some previous trauma could have been retriggered.

My daughters are adopted and one of them has become completely hysterical on several occasions in response to relatively minor incidents. She was removed from her birth family at 6 months, but it involved a lot of police and sirens, flashing lights etc. She has no control over her response - she runs, so it's not the "flop" response the other poster has, but it can be similar in thst something deeply buried has been triggered.