Heyo, so I was in a really traumatic car accident in June but thankfully most of my more severe trauma responses have faded by now.  However, I’ve realized when I’m driving I now second-guess everything I experience on the road.
When I drive through a green light, as I pass under it, I get worried I saw the light wrong and look up to see if it’s actually red. When I take an exit, sometimes I brace myself because for a moment I’m worried that I’m not actually taking an exit but really just driving off the road. If I see shadows or odd shapes on the road, I get worried that its actually a car or a dog and I only THINK it’s a shadow. I’ll often doubt what I perceive in the moment to be actually true.
I also tend to fluctuate between being hyper-focused while driving to feeling really spacey. I’ll either keep my eyes fixed directly on the middle white line OR my focus will blur and I won’t be able to fixate on much of anything (I can usually snap myself out of that with some effort).
Some days these symptoms are worse that others, but they only started a few months after the accident (my heightened anxiety in the months after the accident eventually just became these symptoms instead).
Are these merely symptoms of anxiety? Does anyone else’s anxiety manifest in this way? Just looking for some clarity.