Nobody warned me the mental part of recovering from a crash would be this hard

Two months is too long to white-knuckle it. Call your insurance (your own, not theirs) and ask if your policy includes an EAP or mental health benefit — sometimes there are crisis or short-term counseling sessions buried in there that people never use. Also look up EMDR therapists in your area specifically; they often have cancellation slots and that modality works really well for exactly the kind of crash trauma you're describing.

Not legal advice, but — what you're describing (intrusive memories, sleep disruption, anxiety following a traumatic crash) often falls under documented psychological harm that's part of a personal injury claim. The at-fault driver's truck running a red light sounds like clear liability. The mental health component of your damages is just as legitimate as the wrist surgery. Worth at least a free consultation with a PI attorney before you settle anything. Most don't charge unless they win.

Seconding the documentation advice above. I used to work on the insurance side and I'll tell you honestly — psychological injury claims get scrutinized hard. Not because they're not real, but because they're easier to dispute without records. Keep a simple log: date, what happened (nightmare, panic moment, whatever), how long it lasted, how it affected your day. Even just two sentences per entry. That record can matter a lot later.

You said you're determined to get better and honestly that attitude matters more than people realize. The fact that you're naming what's happening, reaching out, and already have a therapist lined up — that's not nothing. A lot of people in your position just white-knuckle it alone and never get support at all. You're ahead of where you think you are.

What you're describing — the intrusive sensory memories, the physical anxiety response, filling in gaps around a period of unconsciousness — that's really common after traumatic events, especially ones involving loss of consciousness. Your brain is literally trying to process something it didn't get to fully experience in real time. Two months is a long wait for a therapist. In the meantime, ask your primary care doc or whoever is managing your surgical follow-up if they can refer you to a social worker or a hospital-based counselor. Sometimes those have shorter waitlists than private therapists. You're not rambling — you're describing real symptoms that deserve real support.

Make sure you're documenting all of this — the sleep issues, the anxiety, the nightmares — somewhere with dates. Whether it's a journal app or just voice memos to yourself. The mental and emotional impact of an accident is very real and very compensable, but adjusters love to act like it doesn't exist if you can't show a paper trail. Don't let them minimize what you're going through just because there's no X-ray for it.

Quick question — are you currently on any pain meds from the surgery? Asking because some of them can seriously mess with sleep architecture and intensify the nightmare/anxiety cycle in ways people don't always connect. Not saying that's all this is, clearly it's not, but it might be worth flagging to your surgeon if you are.

The dish-washing thing hit me hard because that was exactly me. Six months out from my accident and I still have moments in the kitchen where I just freeze. What helped me was giving the feeling a name when it happened — literally saying out loud "that's my nervous system, not reality." Sounds silly but it gave me a tiny bit of distance from it. You are so not alone in this.