Scoots,

It sure sounds like anxiety to me with maybe a bit of neck stiffness thrown in. But, if you have hot flashes, that would be worth understanding. If they are hormonally based, they can exacerbate your anxiety. All of us can have hormonal imbalances, even guys, just not the same as women.

I struggled with wildly cycling blood sugar for a number of years decades ago. I would get hot and anxious when my blood sugar was up and moody and cold when it was down. (reactive hypoglycemia, not a problem anymore) More recently, my meds (SSRI) caused a chronic struggle with sweat flashes. That ended when I replaced the SSRI with 5-HTP.

Your history with anxiety and hypochondria could be the cause of all of your symptoms with just a bit of neck stiffness as a constant reminder/trigger. Your reaction to the event (startle, frustration, anxiety, etc) is enough to trigger a memorized response that recalls the PCS symptoms of the previous injury. The mechanism of your injury, hitting the gas instead of the brake, suggest you were at a high anxiety level.

Anxiety can easily cause a crossing of motor controls where you get mixed up and do the opposite of what you intended. I would expect that you were anxious or stressed as you pulled into the parking space. Simple anxiety of finding a parking space can elevate the stress hormones.

What have you done successfully to reduce your anxiety levels?

Some will rely on meds to reduce anxiety levels but are not taught how to maintain those lower anxiety levels so they are dependent on meds and occasional spikes. Reducing anxiety can be learned.