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mazz
11-07-06, 16:32
Hi there just wanted to know how many people suffer from not driving because of anxiety. Ive always been fine no problems at all until the past 3 weeks .I get in the car fine but as soon as iam off the drive i start to panic , living on the what ifs!!! My legs go to jelly and the heart pounds badly.Its stopping me going out and i dont and cant let that happen.Ive just put myself back on escitalopram and the anxiety is through the roof at the moment which isnt helping i know. I also start cbt this month so iam hoping that will help.Do any of you get this and did you beat it .Thanks for listening.Mazz.

tara
11-07-06, 17:44
Hi Mazz, I know there is a post on here from nicola (nomorepanic) who suffered/sufferes with anxiety/panic attacks whilst driving. She is having CBT for it and keeps a diary of her progress...tips and how to cope on here. I'm useless at finding things on here but i'm sure someone else will kindly put a link on here for you. Tara x

Smile...it confuses people.

Coral
11-07-06, 17:47
Hi Mazz

I do a lot of driving but I find that my obsessive thoughts are always bad when I'm driving because my mind is able to start over-thinking. I try to focus on what is in front of me, being aware of my surroundings and not let my mind wander. this helps when i am able to do this.

Hope the CBT is helpful x

tracyp584
11-07-06, 18:27
Mazzarooni,

I'm totally the same as you know, and find music a great distraction. Find a good cd and whack it up loud and sing to your hearts content! That or have a hands free for your mobile, as that sometines helps too.

Right with ya mate,

tracy x x



Every time you avoid your fears they become stronger,every time you face your fears they become weaker.

honeybee3939
11-07-06, 19:42
HI Mazz,

Im sorry to hear you are not too good at the moment, i too have a problem driving but it is getting easier, i have learnt alot of good techniques thanks to this site, Nics CBT diary as been a great help for me too, like tara i am unsure how to put the weblink on also, i hope someone who is more pc literate will do it for you !!.
I find what works well for me while driving especially at road holdups and traffic lights etc is to make words out of car number plates, it seems to distract me from the anxiety.

Hope that helps

Love

Andrea
xxx

eeyorelover
11-07-06, 19:55
Hi Mazz -
here's the link to Nic's CBT diary....
[Link removed invalid url]

Hope it helps :)
xxx
Sandy

nomorepanic
11-07-06, 19:55
Hi Mazz

Well my driving post is here. It is long so you may want to skip through the replies I get and just read my posts lol!

CBT therapy for driving problems - my diary (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7162)

There are these other posts as well....

Hi new member mom w/ panic and dp/dr (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1239)
Driving (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6038)
driving phobia (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5105)
Hi, I am new and need re-assurance (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6527)
Panic - When driving (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6631)
Panic attacks while driving (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7291)

My tips for coping whilst driving on this page.....

How to cope with Panic Attacks, Anxiety, Phobias and OCD (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/NMPcms.php?nmppage=coping)

Nicola

mazz
11-07-06, 21:31
HI thanks for the replys iam reading Nics post now .Thanks to Trac too i know you are the same and we can always help each other when shes not bidding on my e bay items lol.

Lonely Lu
22-07-06, 10:10
Hi Mazz,

I had my first panic attack whilst driving, and thought I was having a heart attack. I just about managed to drive the car (very slowly) home, but for months I relied on buses, which I hated going on. The doc gave me diazapam for the panic attacks, and eventually I decided to take my car for a very short drive - just up the road and back. I was dreading driving the road where I'd first ahd an attack, so I chose a different route and eventually managed to drive to the nearest town, 11 miles away. I felt such a sense of achievement.

Where I am now is that this was 10 years ago, and I still can't drive on Motorways because the sheer width of them scares me and makes me feel spaced out and heady. I can manage our local by-pass as it's only 2 lanes, but still sometimes I reach a certain part of it and feel the spaced out feeling coming on, so I wind the window down (whatever the weather!) and, like Tracy, turn my music up and sing loudly. This helps a great deal, although if you heard my singing you'd realise that anyone passing by at the time certainly wouldn't be benefitting!:D

Lu x

kate
22-07-06, 10:20
Well, I don't do motorways, fog, snow, ice, apart from that, no prob's with driving at all!! [8D]

Kate

"Everybody's changing and I don't feel the same"

Nevz-1
01-01-09, 00:37
Hi there just wanted to know how many people suffer from not driving because of anxiety. Ive always been fine no problems at all until the past 3 weeks .I get in the car fine but as soon as iam off the drive i start to panic , living on the what ifs!!! My legs go to jelly and the heart pounds badly.Its stopping me going out and i dont and cant let that happen.Ive just put myself back on escitalopram and the anxiety is through the roof at the moment which isnt helping i know. I also start cbt this month so iam hoping that will help.Do any of you get this and did you beat it .Thanks for listening.Mazz.

Hi Im Nev i also have been suffering this for the past 3 years. I have good days and bad days my bad days consist of me not feeling in control and can only drive at 30 mph and cant go down some roads. i have tried on my good days but still cant persist. I have been too see the dr but with no luck.
(what is escitalopram?)
Good luck for the future.
-Nev

Duckie
13-01-09, 16:24
I don't drive at all. I got into a car accident a few years back. I was the only one injured but my two children were in the back and every since then I just panic when I am on the road. I get too scared that I may end up hurting someone else.

leesavee
13-01-09, 18:11
hi there..
driving in generally fine for me..its seen as my "safe place" as its my car so i can whatever i want init and if i need to pull over i can..i usually drive with the window down and put on calming music aswell..
hopefully youll get over this and see your car as a safe griund like i do..

BasilCat
13-01-09, 18:29
Hi there, I am in the same boat too. Anxiety whilst driving, though its getting better. But I have been this way 3 years (almost) now and I have had to push on through the anxiety/Dp. Dp/feeling spaced out is what is taking the longest to get over and of course you dont want to feel that way when driving but it does get less as I have mentioned it before on these forums. You are not alone.

Shirley

laura888
14-01-09, 01:13
hi i used to love driving but because ov my p.a it all stopped it happened when i was driving on a motorway i just froze it was friday rush hour and i pulled in the left lane as there was no layby. but due to my reseach on p.a iam now back to driving but i only go on the motorway if i have a freind in the car.

Diane O'Brien
14-01-09, 21:55
Hi Mazz

I can totally relate to this. I find I go into panic mode as soon as I know I have to drive. I listen to music and when I,ve been driving a bit, I do Find my anxiety lessens a little. I don't do motorways also and when we had the icy weather I did,nt drive at all.

I hope you feel better soon about driving,

Take Care

Diane xxx

no-fear
15-01-09, 12:56
I used to get very nervous about going on motorways and driving in rush hour. I got the "what if" thoughts all the time and the fear of my car breaking down as well. Ever since I have been applying CBT it is fine. I now use CBT for everything.

Jinxed_Jex
22-01-09, 19:46
I've had a licence for over five years and not driven more than two hundred miles. Terrified, absolutely paralytic.

I want to drive, theres nothing I want to do more, but because of past experience I can't trust anyone in the car with me and I cannot do it on my own. I put myself through ten hour days taking buses just so that I don't have to drive. It hasn't been helped by people in the past and i'm hoping, tentatively, that one day I might be able to do it again but as I said before i am absolutely paralysed with fear at the thought of it.

tm_edinburgh
23-01-09, 11:12
Up until 11 years ago I would think nothing of driving hundreds of miles on any roads on my own and not feel a thing. Then a partic stressful period meant I couldnt go aywhere on my own. Slowly I built up to 2 supermarket daylight routes both about 3-4 miles away. Loads of places to pull over and no junctions or dual carriageways. I've done stuff this week I havent done in 11 years.

Ilves
26-09-09, 22:29
Hi All,
New Member well ive not drove since 98 due to panic attacks the fear was so bad i was jelly behind the wheel in fact i stopped and i passed my test in 97 3 bumps with the firms van was enough to convince me i was`nt a driver so............

CatherineC
27-09-09, 14:27
Hello everybody

I am new!
I have suffered with panic attacks for over two years. Have been to the GP who prescribed citalopram, they really helped but I have now stopped taking them as I don't want to be tied to medication.
My panic attacks all centre around driving which is really annoying because I used to be able to drive ANYWHERE and not bother about it. Reading through a couple of posts my symptoms are the same as many people - can't deal with driving on a road with no way off - ie motorways, duel carriageways with no hard shoulder, roadworks that narrow the lanes, being stuck in a queue, getting trapped between lorries etc etc! I'm really fed up with it now because it's so dibilatating and upsetting.
I was wondering if anybody has tried 'The Lindon Method' and if so, how did you get on? Is it helpful?

Many thanks, look forward to hearing back.

JohnHolmes
27-09-09, 18:00
I am fine on roads that I know. When I go onto a road for the first time (especially motorway) then I get extremely edgy and panic attack symptoms begin. I usually manage to control them but i'm always worried that this might one day cause an accident.