Young and the Restless star Courtney Hope says she is doing “really well” after being involved in a car accident earlier this month.

In an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE at the 50th Daytime Emmy Awards on Friday, the actress, who plays Sally Spectra on the long-running show, said it meant “everything” to be able to support her friends at the event following her Dec. 4 collision.

“I’m doing really well,” Hope, 34, told PEOPLE at the Los Angeles gathering. “I’m very thankful that I walked away okay. My car’s going to be okay. The other party was okay. Everyone was okay and I’m very thankful.”

“Stuff like that really shakes you,” she added. “You’re going along in your day, and it is an abrupt halt. But it ended up being wonderful.”

In situations like the Hollywood Hills crash — which Hope said occurred “right in front” of famed magician Harry Houdini’s estate on Laurel Canyon Boulevard — the actress said she was able to calm down with “just a lot of breathing.”

“And honestly, just really trying to take a moment to focus on the blessings that I do have,” she continued. “Thanking God and my faith for just saying, ‘Hey, trials and tribulations happen in life.’ It’s a part of life, but just as long as I can stay calm in it and trust that in the end, it’s all going to make sense, it’s all going to be okay.”

“And if not, it makes for a good story,” the actress added.

Hope also noted, however, that she is still trying to figure out the significance of the incident.

“It was really weird. I was like, ‘I don’t know what to take from this, but I feel like it’s something,’ ” she said. “And I really sat with it for a week and was trying to figure out what does this mean? And a friend of mine was like, ‘Well, you escaped unscathed, like Houdini.’ And I was like, ‘That’s true, I did.’ ”

“[But it felt] like it was this culmination of a moment, of something grander,” Hope added to PEOPLE. “I don’t know. But it definitely felt like something bigger was happening.”

Hope shared news of the Dec. 4 collision on her Instagram story earlier this month, writing at the time, “I’m just so thankful that everyone involved was okay.”

In one other post, Hope told fans, “I also just have to say the most wild experience was how positive and overwhelmingly beautiful it ended up being hanging out with, you know, the guy [other driver] and his family, and my family, and people that witnessed that stayed for hours and workers and neighbors.”

For the time being, Hope said she’s moving on from the crash and is currently focused on spending quality time with loved ones this holiday season.

“I travel every year, so I’m here this year staying put with my family and I could not be happier,” she explained. “I just feel like there’s been so many moving parts this year in so many different ways that it’s so nice to just sit, be at peace, enjoy good music, good wine and company, and have a good time.”