We had a car crash 3 months ago. This other car was on the wrong side of the road and ran into us. Luckily, we were ok, but the man in the other car was hurt really badly.
At first, I was still myself afterwards. But after a few weeks, I stopped sleeping properly. I’d have really bad dreams about the crash; I’d see the other car all mashed up and the man inside covered in blood. Sometimes, I’d see the same thing but while I was awake. I couldn’t sleep on my own anymore and had to go into Mum and Dad’s bed ‘cos I was so scared; I hadn’t done that since I was tiny.
I became really frightened, especially about cars and roads. I couldn’t go anywhere in the car, even if it was Mum or Dad driving, and then even walking on the pavements felt scary. It meant it was really difficult to get to school and I missed a lot of my lessons.
Mum spoke to Miss Reilly, my Head of Year, and took me to see the doctor. The doctor said she thought I’d become really frightened because of the crash and that talking to someone might help. She sent me to see Clare; Mum says she’s a psychologist. I’ve seen Clare 6 times now, I go every week.
Sometimes Mum and Dad come too. We talk and also do stuff outside, practical stuff Clare says will help me be less frightened about cars and roads. I do get scared when we go out of her office and onto the pavement, but she talks me through it and we stay outside until I feel ok again.
I’ve not been in a car yet – that feels too scary at the moment, but I am doing better than I was, so it might not be too long. Miss Reilly has given me work to do at home and I’m planning to try to go back to school after half term, maybe just a few hours each day at first. Clare says it’s better to do things like that step by step.