Major and Minor Effects of Vehicle Accidents and Development of PTSD

Question: Discuss about the Major and Minor Effects of Vehicle Accidents and Development of PTSD. Answer: Introduction The military was the first to recognize and use the term PTSD;it describes a disorder that is psychiatric in nature and has the following characteristics; recurring and extreme flashbacks and memories of the traumatic event, overactive vigilance, and decreased responsiveness. Studies of PTSD have significantly expanded recently to include various populations including Vietnam veterans, sexual assault victims, adult abuse survivors and survivors of disasters. (McHugh and Treisman, 2007). Through research, we see that psychological conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder has a significant impact on recuperation from grave injuries sustained from accidents and significantly influence the long-term quality of life of those surviving such injuries (Liempt,Zuiden,Westenberg, Super Vermetten, 2013). Motor vehicle accidents also have more effects other than causing PTSD. The aim of this report is to examine the consequences of car crashes both major and minor ones. It will also study how an individual can develop post-traumatic stress disorder. Some of these effects include both physical and emotional effects on people affected by the vehicle accident. The first effect is it can lead to one developing PTSD due to the trauma associated with the crash. (Guest, Tran, Gopinath, Cameron Craig, 2016). It can also lead to one developing depression after the collision, that is after being in the accident they feel low and depressed whether due to their injuries or when they do not have the ability to do activities they would do before the accident.(Gabriel E. Ryb, 2009) The individual involved in the accidents may develop anxiety this is because of the accident they become scared of even entering a vehicle because of fear of a recurrence of the crash hence avoid driving and carsaltogeth er(Turkal, n.d.). Another effect of these car accidents is it leads to the development of phobias; one can be irrationally afraid of any form of transportation due to fear of another accident. They can become afraid of driving, and more severely they develop a fear of going outside because they are scared of being in an accident (Blanchard Hickling,2003). In mild cases of emotional stress caused by the crash, one can go through crying, anger, appetite loss, fluctuations in weight, reduced amount of energy, sexual dysfunction or lack of sexual interest and changes of moods(Berg, 2014). It also affects people financially; where one spends money to treat sustained injuries from the accident which can be major and thus it will take a large sum of money to address. It will also cost the individuals involved in the accident money to repair the damage to the vehicles whether primary or minor, but it will make a dent in the persons finances (Smith, 2017).Most of the time the more serious accidents require treatments and medications that are over the insurance coverage hence one has to spend money out their pockets (Kenardy, Heron-Delaney, Bellamy, Sterling, Connelly, 2013). It can cause injury to the people involved in the motor vehicle accident. The injury can be either serious or just minor injury. Some of these injuries include; brain injury, loss of limbs, spinal cord injury, whiplash which is an injury sustained due to trauma in the soft tissue or bones in the neck, paralysis and the other primary injuries due directly to the accident (Lee Li, 2014). These injuries have so many effects on the quality of an accidents life like due to loss of limbs the individual has a disability and one cannot perform tasks that they could do before the crash and can lead to loss of employment due to this (Baldyga, n.d.). Finally, it leads to death. Motor vehicle accidents cause death due to injuries from the accidents. Most studies and research have come to the conclusion that the percentage of deaths due to car crashes and is rising as more accidents occur. PTSD develops in victims of motor vehicle accidentsbecause of some influences. They are preexisting conditions like depression, the nature of the accident whether or not it was a major accident can lead to one developing acute or mild PTSD or at times, not at all, the reaction of a person during the accidents and experiences afterward(Blanchard, 2003). One can be predisposed to suffer from PTSD if they have ever been involved in a traumatic event before the crash and also if they have a history of psychiatric disorders. Motor vehicle crashes are the single leading cause of PTSD in people. Reports show that the occurrence of PTSD in individuals involved in motor vehicle crashes ranges from 8% to 46%(Buckley, 2016). In conclusion,car accidents have a lot of effects on the people whether directly or indirectly. A significant percentage of the victims of these accidents will suffer from PTSD which is a psychological condition which can be managed over time but will always affect the victim. It is of my opinion that more should be done to prevent motor vehicle accidents since people should not have to suffer from these effects whether they are major or minor effects. References Baldyga, D. Minor Impacts, and Major Injuries. Expertpages.com. Retrieved 4 April 2017, from https://expertpages.com/news/auto_impacts.htm Berg, D. (2014). 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