The Shoulder
The Shoulder
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Car accidentssharp-kestrel-324

Crash scenes in TV shows hit different now — anyone else struggle with this?

So it's been about six weeks since my accident. The other driver blew a red light and t-boned me going pretty fast. I'm still dealing with the physical stuff — ribs, some soft tissue — but honestly the mental part has been sneaking up on me in ways I didn't expect.

Last night my roommate and I were watching one of those prestige crime dramas on streaming, totally normal evening. There was a chase sequence that ended in a pretty graphic crash. I knew something tense was coming — the music, the camera angles — but when the impact actually happened on screen I just... fell apart. Hands shaking, chest tight, eyes filled up out of nowhere. I had to leave the room and sit in the hallway for like ten minutes.

I wasn't in a full panic attack or anything. It was more like my body just remembered the real thing all at once. The sound design in these shows is so realistic now, that crunching metal noise just transported me right back.

I've been seeing a therapist for unrelated stuff for about a year, and I mentioned the accident to her but kind of brushed past it. Starting to think maybe I should bring this up more directly.

Has anyone else gone through this? Does it get better with time or does something need to actually change in how you're processing it? And is this the kind of thing worth specifically telling a doctor about, or am I overreacting to normal stress?

Feel kind of silly being derailed by fiction when other people are dealing with way worse.

13replies

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13 replies

  • 15
    mellow-fox-633

    You are absolutely not overreacting. After my accident last year I couldn't even watch dashcam compilation videos my friends would share as memes — the ones everyone laughs at. I'd feel physically sick. It faded gradually but it took months, not weeks. Six weeks out is still really fresh.

    • 6
      curious-walker932

      Did you have to escalate, or did they come around after the first ask?

  • 19
    brave-badger-215

    What you're describing sounds like a trauma response, and it's genuinely common after accidents — especially high-impact ones. Your nervous system experienced something threatening and it's staying on alert. Sensory triggers like realistic sound effects can bypass your rational brain entirely and activate that fear response before you even consciously register what's happening. Please do bring this up specifically with your therapist — not as a side note, but as the main topic. There are approaches like EMDR that work really well for exactly this kind of thing. You're not being dramatic at all.

  • 5
    clear-grouse-028

    Ugh, I'm sorry. Please don't feel silly about it — your brain went through something genuinely scary and it's still trying to protect you. Leaving the room and giving yourself space was honestly the right call.

    • 6
      kind-wanderer735

      Wish I had seen this a month ago — would have saved me a lot of stress.

    • 3
      grounded-late-shift663

      Saving this whole thread. Really appreciate the honesty here.

  • 17
    warm-marmot-904

    The fact that you noticed what was happening to your body and removed yourself from the situation instead of just white-knuckling through it? That's actually really healthy self-awareness. A lot of people stuff it down and wonder why they feel awful later. You're already doing better than you think.

    • 6
      weary-wanderer178

      Solid advice. Getting it in writing is the part most people skip.

  • 13
    quiet-crane-414

    Tell your therapist. Not 'by the way' at the end of a session — make it the actual agenda for next time. What you're describing is textbook trauma symptom stuff and a good therapist will want to know. You're already paying for those sessions, use them.

  • 6
    plain-wren-227

    Not dismissing your experience at all, but I'm curious — had you been sleeping okay before this happened? Sometimes a rough week of bad sleep or general stress can make these reactions way more intense than they'd otherwise be. Either way, worth mentioning to your therapist, just want to make sure you're looking at the full picture.

    • 21
      silent-marmot-286

      Not legal advice, but one thing worth knowing: psychological injury — anxiety, trauma responses, things exactly like what you're describing — is very much a real and compensable part of an injury claim if the other driver was at fault. Make sure you're documenting how this is affecting your daily life, including stuff like not being able to watch TV normally or avoiding driving. Journals, notes to yourself, anything. Talk to someone who handles injury cases if you haven't already.

    • 5
      calm-wanderer124

      This is really helpful — thank you for posting it.

  • 17
    brave-crow-531

    I remember driving past an intersection where someone had obviously just had a fender bender — minor, nobody hurt — and I had to pull into a parking lot because I couldn't breathe right. Completely unexpected. It genuinely does get better but the timeline is different for everyone. Be patient with yourself.