To still be reeling..

[shesgrownhorns]

This time last week we were in a terrible road accident. There was a muddle with an artic and we ended up severely fishtailing and flipping into the side of the carriageway. Dd10 and ds11 were with us. We were all ok, but extremely shocked. All emergency services were amazing and by some miracle we were all pulled out.

After the accident we talked about it a lot. Now, everyone now seems to have processed it bar me. I remember every second during which i 'knew' we were about to die. It was horrific and it keeps popping up in my head.

Aibu to be still struggling so much? I know thats a daft question but should i be trying to just keep calm and carry on?

Noone knows im struggling still.

Thank you everyone.

I feel much more accepting now just reading your kind comments. Me and dd have got into our pjs ( after successfully negotiating our arm slings) and are chilling.

💕 to you all

A week is nothing OP, you're expecting a great deal of yourself. It's perfectly normal and natural to still be distressed at this point after such a stressful event. So be kind to yourself and please don't jump to the conclusion that you have PTSD as some posters have suggested, that's very premature.

Counselling (or any other form of psychological therapy) really isn't indicated until at least a month after a traumatic incident of this type. This is because before that point you would basically be trying to 'treat' a normal, understandable reaction if that makes sense. So if you're still feeling distressed 28 days after the event then have a conversation with your GP as it might mean that you require some additional support to deal with your feelings around the accident. But until then take care of yourself- focus on the basics such as eating well, getting enough rest, making sure you get out of the house every day even if you don't feel like it. Perhaps most importantly, don't feel you have to pretend that you're ok just because the other people involved seem OK, everyone deals with these things in their own time and their own way.

Was just about to say exactly the same as Minister for CF.

It's totally normal to feel as you are within the first month after a traumatic incident.
Your brain may well just naturally process the trauma by itself over the next few weeks.

I work with people with PTSD and it would be too soon to offer therapy yet.

Just take it easy and allow yourself to feel however you feel. Your reaction is totally understandable. Sounds like you're doing a great job. Don't avoid thinking about what happened or push it out of your mind - your brain probably needs to let you think about it so it can process the memory and file it away properly.