Can You Feel Anxious About Driving After a Car Accident?

If driving makes you anxious after you’ve been in a crash, you are not alone. Car accidents can cause harm beyond physical injuries. Feeling anxious about driving is one of the most common lingering effects of a crash. Many accident victims experience driving anxiety. Resources are available to help them cope. 

At Geiger Legal Group, LLC, our Georgia car crash lawyers ensure our clients don’t go through the accident recovery process alone. For years, we’ve helped car accident victims across North Georgia seek a financial, physical, and emotional recovery after devastating crashes. 

Understanding Post-Accident Anxiety

Drivers who get into car accidents can experience severe anxiety over driving again after the crash, motivated by the fear of having another accident or a loss of confidence in their driving skills. After a traumatic accident, people naturally want to avoid situations where they may go through a similar accident again. Drivers may experience anxiety symptoms when thinking about getting behind the wheel. Some of these symptoms include increased heart rate, sweating, trembling, shallow breathing, muscle tension, chest pains, and nausea. 

The Mind-Body Connection: Physical Injuries and Emotional Responses

Your body remembers physical trauma, which is why car accidents can trigger driving anxiety even after your wounds have healed. When anxiety symptoms become severe enough, a driver may develop vehophobia. What is vehophobia? It is a type of post-traumatic stress disorder that causes car accident victims to develop an intense fear of driving or to feel severe anxiety while driving. 

Recognizing and Accepting Anxiety: The First Step Toward Healing

How can drivers get over the anxiety of driving? If you’re feeling driving anxiety, recognize and accept your feelings as a normal, natural response after getting into a car accident. Getting behind the wheel again will help boost your confidence as a driver and lessen your anxiety. However, if severe anxiety symptoms persist or prevent you from driving, you should consider seeking help from a physician or mental health professional. 

Strategies for Overcoming Driving Anxiety

Wondering how to overcome driving anxiety? Follow these essential tips to help yourself get behind the wheel again and boost your driving confidence:

• Start driving again as soon as possible after the accident. The longer you wait, the more pressure you’ll put on yourself about getting behind the wheel. 
• Bring another driver with you during your first outings. Another driver can help you feel safe by monitoring your performance, and they can take over driving if you become overwhelmed.
• Begin with short-distance trips on familiar routes, preferably on low-speed roads with minimal traffic. 
• Don’t avoid driving past the accident site.
• Consider taking a defensive driving course to bolster your skills and confidence. 

If you do feel anxiety creep in while driving, practice some techniques for calming down. These include: 

• Taking deep, measured breaths
• Dropping your shoulders to release body tension
• Using pressure points on your body
• Listening to soothing music
• Chewing gum
• Opening the window for fresh air

These methods can help you remain present and calm the anxiety before it becomes overwhelming.

How Geiger Legal Group Can Help You on Your Healing Journey

At Geiger Legal Group, LLC, we want to see you make a complete physical and emotional recovery in addition to a financial recovery after a car accident. When you experience driving anxiety that affects your independence and enjoyment of life, we are ready to help you learn how to get over anxiety of driving.

Contact Our Georgia Car Accident Attorneys to Learn More

After a serious car crash, you may experience severe anxiety about getting behind the wheel again. However, seeking support and treatment for your driving anxiety will put you on the path to regaining your confidence. 

Contact Geiger Legal Group, LLC, today for a free, no-obligation consultation to learn more about how our legal team can help you recover from anxiety caused by a car accident.