The person sharing this story is an HGV driver. They’re also a partner, a father, a grandfather and a son.

They were driving their lorry when they were involved in a fatal road traffic collision.

They walked away physically unharmed.

But that wasn’t the end of the story. In many ways, it was the beginning.

After the collision, life became something they barely recognised. They experienced guilt, fear, paranoia, anger, sadness and thoughts that seemed impossible to switch off. Driving had once been something they genuinely loved. Afterwards, they hated getting behind the wheel.

Sleep became difficult. Food became “just food”. Conversations became “just words”.

Nothing anyone said seemed able to reach them. Their own mind, they say, was “betraying” them. They experienced terrible thoughts and, at one point, genuinely believed that “everything was over”.

What made it even harder was trying to make sense of what they were feeling. They weren’t at fault and hadn’t been injured, yet, as a witness, they still carried the weight of what had happened. The questions played over and over in their mind, and no amount of reassurance seemed to quiet them.

When they started speaking with Aftermath, something began to change.

They had someone independent to talk to. Someone who didn’t judge them. Someone who understood what serious and fatal road collisions leave behind, long after the emergency services have gone home.

There were no easy answers and no empty reassurances.

Instead, their counsellor helped them untangle the questions that had become trapped in their mind. Together, they broke them down, looked at them more logically and began to find a way through them.

“The more we spoke about it,” they say, “the easier it became to talk to other people about the event and not to feel guilty and ashamed as a survivor.”

As the counselling continued, talking became easier. For them, having someone outside their family mattered. Having someone independent gave them the space to talk about things they found difficult to discuss with those closest to them.

Looking back now, they want other people affected by serious or fatal road collisions to understand how overwhelming the emotional impact can be.

You may be physically uninjured but still find yourself in a very dark place.

Your own mind can become your worst enemy, leaving you struggling with guilt, fear and terrible thoughts.

It can be difficult to talk to the people closest to you.

They want other people affected by serious or fatal road collisions to know they are not alone, and that survivors can also be victims. Reaching out for help can feel difficult, especially when talking to the people closest to you is hard.

Despite how overwhelming it can feel, they also want to offer hope: “You will be shocked at how emotional these experiences will make you feel, but it will get better after time.”

For them, those conversations with their Aftermath counsellor helped them begin to find a way forward.