I'm glad you survived your initial ordeal; that must have been so traumatic for you. I would encourage you to talk to someone who can do "systematic desensitation" (I believe that is the professional term for it). This technique is usually done by psychiatrists, but other counselors or perhaps even social workers may be able to help. Basically what you do is to start out with small steps in conquering your fear or anxiety. Two specific examples that were shown on tv (I am quite sure it was the Discovery channel) a few years ago that really showed how it worked (although I have known about his technique since college psychology class). 1) A person had claustophobia (sp? you know, fear of enclosed spaces). So what the professional did was to start out with the wide open country and took note of the patients fear level. Then moved into a room inside a house, then into a smaller room, then enventually into the storage area beneath a window seat (like a cedar chest) where they had a camera and air supply, the goal being to stay in there for two minutes... the person survived for two minutes in this cramped environment and even longer! Then they moved to a very small cave (a real-world experience). The patient had overcome his fear of tight places and had minimal to no fear / axiety. 2) A guy was terribly afraid of spiders to the point where one time he saw one on his bed and he got out a gun and shot it. With professional help, the guy looked at a huge tarantila-type (but non-poisonious) spider that was safely in a clear cage (again, with each step the anxiety level was monitored). Next the cage top was opened. Then the spider was put on the floor in a closed room and the guy had a shield to protect himself. Then the protection was taken away and he had to get as close to the spider as he thought he could handle. Then the professional placed the spider on his (gloved) hand. Then on his ungloved hand. Then the spider was alllowed to crawl up his arm. At the end of the show the professinal brought him to a pet shop that specialized in spiders and he allowed about a dozen spiders to crawl on his clothed (but unprotected) body and his axiety fear level was practically zero. Bottom-line, systematic densensitation can do wonders. I can absolutely see it helping you in your situation. Best of luck to you!!

here is a view of what PTSD is..you clearly have PTSD
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, is a psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of life-threatening events such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or violent personal assaults like rape. People who suffer from PTSD often relive the experience through nightmares and flashbacks, have difficulty sleeping, and feel detached or estranged, and these symptoms can be severe enough and last long enough to significantly impair the person's daily life.

If you have PTSD, you often have nightmares or scary thoughtsabout the experience you went through. You try to stay awayfrom anything that reminds you of your experience

(I'm the one who posted about the systematic desensitization). I would highly agree that it is likely PTSD. Counseling and possibly systematic desensitization might be ways to overcome this; there might be other ways as well (I have undergone psychotherapy counseling with several LSW's - Liscenced Social Workers primarily for depression)... seeking professional help is a really good choice. One of the first steps is to identify the problem and I agree that it is probably PTSD.

This is a clear cut case of PTSD, which is form of anxiety disorder brought about by traumatic experience. It is highly treatable with a combination of psychotherapy and if you want to go the this route- some medications can be helpful. You need to find a therapist who is skilled at trauma work- note cognitive/behavioral therapy, emdr, and systematic desensitization. What we need to do is lessen the effects of the response of the stress system in association with the trigger event. Good luck!!!

if you watch king of the hill, hank hill has a propane accident and he almost dies from a propane explosion. so everytime he has to use propane he starts to sweat real bad and starts to hyperventilate. hes afraid the propane will explode. or sometimes hank thought he heard propane leaking so he would get scared and run away. but it was all in his mind. so i think thats the same problem, you can go to those meetings where people have had accidents like you. if you find one of these peer meetings maybe other people can help you. your fear will go away in time. just dont get to afraid and tell yourself its all in your mind. if you wannna talk about it email me at mcspickey001@yahoo.com or imnstant meassage me at mcspickey001@yahoo.com

I have a friend who managed to survive a severe wreck, broke his nose and cracked his head, and he too is now much more concerned about riding in safety than riding in style. Though his reactions are not nearly as strong as yours. Frankly, given whats at stake I tend to consider your reactions rational. The costs of irressponsibility with cars is mostly too low.

What helps me is wearing a necklace that my boyfriend gave me. I feel secure and like a shield is around me.
The problem is now is that when I take it off I feel very insecure.
Try the necklace thing. It sounds stupid but it works.
Good Luck.

Perhaps try meditation for fifteen minutes before the car journey. Just get all the thoughts out of your mind (I know this is hard, but you get used to it) and then, when it is time to go, just think pleasant thoughts.

if you can't trust your mom, you may have developed paranoid ideations as a defense mechanism. seek a cognitive behavioral counselor who can help you restructure your perceptions and learn to recognize and react appropriately to panicky feelings. Sometimes i worry a lot and can almost get to the point of panic. when i hear myself thinking a negative worried thought, sometimes i stop it by saying out loud "NO!" and visualizing myself erasing the thought from a black board. I guess I just tell myself to stop it. It takes recognition of the original irrational thought or fear, and the realization that the thought is not based on reality.

its normal but i have no sympathy for you. after all it is your wn fault that the crash happened in the first place, it is people like you that drive wrecklessly and kill people everyday in the first place that causes these accidents

"i was in car accident which wasnt our fault and i suffered brain injury"

Did you even read the first post? Yes he said he liked fast cars etc, but he didn't cause the accident. So don't blame people for things you don't know about.

I know what you're going through, I went through something somewhat the same. My house was broken into and I had such severe PTSD that I thought my life was ruined. The only way for you to get over your issues is to face them, and realize that the world isn't out to get you and bad things don't always happen. In fact, consider that you've had your accident, and the chances of you getting in another one as bad are slim, expecially if it was nearly lethal. People are saying to go to a psychologist, but they rarely help. Believe me when I say the strength to move on is inside you and no one else. Oh, and in cases like these, as cliche as it is, time really does help.

get ur bf 2 drive better....

go see a doctor.

Try some anti-anxiety medication.

alcohol.

I wouldn't try medication, I'd probably try seeing someone for treatment, like a therapist. I think it's something you'll have to eventually learn to accept and deal with because thats apart of every day life. It's something you'll need to come to terms with if you want to live a normal life. Like people say, Sh!t happens, what happened to you happened to many people. Be happy to be alive and try your best to keep living.

see a doctor.

Only travel by helicopter in future.