Fear having a panic attack on buses.....

[hopeandstrength]

Hi there, this sounds really weird but im wondering if anyone else experiences this or has any advice on getting over it....I have this fear that if i get on a bus then im going to have a panic attack and ill be stuck on it! trains and planes and cars im fine with but buses are a no go. Its weird. but now im stuck because ive just sold my car and dont have any other means of transport for the mean time. so unless i get the bus im going to be stuck in my house because the nearest town is a 10 min bus ride away!! help xx

[Southern_Belle]

Hi Fallenangel,

Do you remember if something happened to you when you were little to have this fear of busses? If not, I suggest you take something on the bus to distract you such as a book, knitting if you knit, music or whatever you like. If you can try to take a very short ride the very first time and take someone who understands this fear with you to help you through it. I know you can do this as I hate to fly but can handle other modes of transportation fairly well. I think with me it is lack of control as I can more or less take over the wheel with the bus or car (never been on a train) but wouldn't have a clue as to how to fly a plane. It doesn't help me to know where my fear comes from but I am able to force myself to fly. I hope this helps.

Good luck,

Bel

"Our thoughts are our reality"

[Nel]

I understand your fear, it was one of the first situations I started to avoid (travelling by bus OR train). I can only advise you NOT to avoid riding by bus, the avoidance will start to creep into other areas of your life. I wish someone had told me at the time not to avoid. Good luck!

Nel xxx

___________________________________________
"At the end of a storm, there's a golden sky..."

[Slothette]

Hiya

I agree with the other posters....whatever you do don't avoid doing it because this avoidance may well spread to other things. Try and get the bus but take it in small steps. Go a few bus stops if you can with a friend and see how you go. Even if the feelings you get when on the bus are horrendous you must make yourself do it the next day or the day after. After all what's the worse thing that can happen? Just keep on trying until you can go further and further. Like Nel, i wish someone had told me at the time not to avoid ....good luck, you can do it!:)

Lexxie

[Under~The~Stars]

Hi fallenangel,

I know exactly how you feel with buses. I can't get on a bus AT ALL!! Before my anxiety started I was getting on 4 buses a day to go back and forward to college. I actually enjoyed getting on buses as it gave me some to myself and I could just sit back and relax and listen to music or something. However, then I started getting panic attacks and I had one when I was on a bus - got off at a stop nowhere near my home as couldn't stand feeling like I was trapped!! I kept thinking OH MY GOD the driver is going to have to take me to hospital lol!! Got my boyfriend to pick me up from a bus stop in his car as couldn't face the bus. I haven't been on a bus since. Too scared to even try. Have you ever had a panic attack on a bus?

It's strange (not in a bad way) that you are ok with other types of transport e.g. planes and trains. I am fine in the car as it's like an extension of my house and I am in control and can turn back at any point (safety options).

Feel free to pm me if you want to chat further. I do have to agree with what Nel said as in DON'T avoid it as it does creep into everything else. I know it's easier said than done, but try and gradually build up to it i.e. get on a bus and then get off a couple of stops up the road, and try and go further each time. Do that if you feel strong enough - I'm not strong enough at the moment, hopefully will be soon though.

Take care

Louise xxx

[lildutt]

i agree with nel i hd panick attacks on buses for several months and i was scared witless of them but i learned to fight them by saying to my self they aret going to hurt me so ilearnt to go on the bus again and sit in the middle of the bus and take everything in on the journey
now i have not suffered with panick attack on a bus for a while
hope you find a way soon
bellxx

[shoegal]

Hi. I'm not going to be much help because I too suffer from panic attacks on buses because I feel trapped. I collapsed on a crowded bus about 2 years ago which was really frightening and since then I've been too scared to get back on. I just wanted you to know you are not alone.

Good luck in trying to overcome your fear. :D

Love shoegal xxx

[hopeandstrength]

Hey all, thanks for all your advice. Louise87 it sounds really silly but the only reason why I dont panic when im on a train or on a plane is because i know that if i really needed to escape i could, eg. if i really felt panicky i could just go into the loo and i would be able to calm myself down without anyone around. Thats my biggest fear-panicking in front of other people and not being ablr to get away bcuz i worry what they will be thinking xx

[honeybee3939]

Hi FallenAngel,

I myself have been having problems with public transport, but have been working hard to overcome it, i have been doing bus therapy work the last couple of months, it was really hard at first but got easier the more i did it. I spent a couple of weeks just concentrating standing at the bus stop, and then when i got on the bus i just went a couple of stops down the road and got off again, and did that for a week or so, until i felt comfortable, i find it easier if i take a magazine to read or listen to my walkman. Ive not managed the whole journey yet but im sure i will get there.

Love

Andrea
xxxx

"If you have a worry turn it into a problem, you cant solve worrys but you can solve problems"

[Piglet]

I'm not quite at the bus stage with my agoraphobia at the moment but I have travelled on buses quite abit over the last 6 years since having panic attacks.

Firstly always give yourself permission to get off at any point and take a breather - this helps you to not see it as a trap of somesort because it really isn't. You are still very much in control!!

Secondly see the people on the bus as unpaid distraction cos you can people watch and/or start up a conversation to while away the journey.

Thirdly try to realise that nothing will actually happen even if you do panic on a bus. On the thread 'The house of agoraphobics' the team were trying to reinforce that message that we shouldn't really be trying to distract ourselves at all, as this is reinforcing the idea that panic is something to be avoided at all costs. What they wanted the volunteers to do was to actually panic, then they can see that it gets no worse and comes down, so in actual fact we see we are running from a paper tiger.

I am slowly trying it absorb this idea because I can really see the sense behind it - it's just so hard to do in practice though isn't it!!

Love Piglet :D

"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.

[kate]

I recently went on a bus for the first time in about 12 years. I wouldn't go on them due to the "trapped, couldn't get off" reason.

I decided to go 7 stops, but in the end managed 5. I'm still pleased with myself as I have at last managed to at least get on a bus!

I'd give you a link to my post, but, after all these years, I still don't know how to! [:I] It's under Success Stories.

Give yourself a small goal and just go for it :D

Kate x


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

[buttercup123]

I am also scared of buses for the fear of being trapped, my panics start waiting at the bus stop and after five minutes of being on the bus I feel like I'm going to faint and I have to get off and walk the rest of the way - its weird - as just like you I used to get on 4 a day to and from work but now I have to get taxis - any other form of transport is fine but I cannot do buses at the moment!!

*whenlifegivesyoulemonsmakelemonade*

[Littlemelly]

I started having panic attacks on the bus about 4 years ago now, I still get them but not as bad as it use to be. I've tried all sorts to help out and sometimes they work other times they don't so don't take my word on it but I hope some of them help you. On the buses my panic attacks are normally I can't breath proper, I go dizzy or I think I'm having a heart attack. I use to avoid buses causing me to miss out on social events, fail courses, lose jobs and I even dropped out of uni because of it. Don't let it take over your life, I know it's bloody awful to go through, it really is and no one seems to show they understand it. But you can do it, you really can. :)


*I carry lavender or Melissa oil on a tissue and sniff it when I start to feel breathless or my heart races.

*Airways chewing gum (or some other strong chewing gum/mint). When I think I can't breath proper this helps a lot.

*Chamomile or Lemon Balm tea. When it first started I always carried a flask of the herbal tea to smell and sip. I'd also carry some spare ones to re-top up for the trip back when going to friend's or uni.

*Calming music although I have noticed that now certain music triggers a panic attack because my body seems to relate the music to a PA, so try to be careful this doesn't happen to you too.

*I find books don't work too well because I can't focus on them but maybe a book or magazine would help with you.

*Crosswords! I can't read but I can do crosswords haha. Or another puzzle, anything to get you focusing on doing it.

*The ABC game, I always carry a small notebook to note down when and where I'm having a PA. At the back of this notebook I play a game that I called The ABC game (it's probably a real game). You write the alphabet out then to each letter write down one name of a band, film, fruit anything that you're interested in. This tends to help me when I have a really bad attack and sometimes takes the whole bus trip to finish! (the hour and a half rides).

*Talk to someone. I've done it many times and honestly no one has laughed at me. I'll politely turn to someone and explain I have GAD and experiencing a panic attack and ask if it's okay to talk to them until you feel more at ease.

*Rescue Remedy, I've started to try and these and wow, I didn't expect them to work at all. However my older brother said they do nothing to him. I have the chewing gum for the bus, the liquid melts for bed time and the drops always in my bag for whenever.

*Call or text someone. I don't know what it is but when I call a friend to let them know I think I'm about to die or that I can't breath I feel slightly at ease (selfish as it sounds). I have 3 different friends on call just in case someone else isn't able to pick-up. I only use this in bad cases.

* If I go dizzy I'll relax my head on the seat and close my eyes. This is a hit and miss if it works though. I tend to find going dizzy the worst to cope with but that's due to being epilepsy as a child so I fear I'll have a fit and die.

*Telling myself to man-up (this is 50/50) sometimes I get fustrated and tell myself to get a grip. It has worked but isn't the best way.

*Telling yourself it'll end soon, yes it's not nice and it's uncomfortable but the bus trip is nearly ending and it'll be over with. This sometimes helps.

*Going to get the bus with an F-you on mind. In my note book I write to my PA, I tell it that it's not going to beat me today and that even if it starts at the end of the day I'll win because I'll still be sane (again this is 50/50).


I've finally started CBT so I'll bring any advice from the sessions that I can on how to deal with panic attacks on the bus. So yeah, hope some of these helped. I'm about to get on a bus and train later today and already feeling breathless but I know I'll be fine, I have to be. We'll be fine if we stick together. :)

[MiniatureDisasters]

I have the same thing, I have to get the bus to work every morning and went through a period of a few months where I'd have panic attacks on them or before getting on, which I'd usually work myself up into. My only advice is to push past it and get on the bus. I've done this myself, I've sat on the bus many times for an hour or so, enduring a panic attack that would rise and fall many times. Because I sat through it and made it to the end many times, I have this past experience to fall back on and now I can calm myself down and tell myself I've got through it before and will get through it again. At this stage, this is usually enough to stop the attack from getting going.

Like you, I don't have this problem on trains etc, it is the fear of panicking in front of other people, or with myself the fear of throwing up. I agree with the other person who says to give yourself permission to get off at any point. I tell myself, just stay on until a certain point on the journey / another 10 minutes, and then I can get off. Of course, I never do. You'll get through this.

Also, I don't know what time you get the bus, but I get the bus in the morning and I've noticed in the past that the feelings of a panic attack are sometimes similar to a feeling of being hungry, so making sure you have something small to eat beforehand might help.

[georgiaxox]

It is really nice to know people are in the same boat as me, i hate buses, mainly because im scared of panicking on them, which is stupid cos ive never actually had one on them. makes me feel pathetic. i really like the post from 'Piglet'- its so true.. what is the worst that could happen? and i dont know if this will help anyone but i always say this. imagine someone telling you ' dont panic' or 'dont have a panic attack' it IS something you can control, you COULD stop it if you tried. its not something inevitable, like an accident or something. Plus, it is embarrassing if people can see you, but so what? they dont know what youve been through, and 99% of the time you wont see them again.
good luck everyone x

[Fullero]

Hi my fear is the same but on trains, I try to take the slow trains which stop at every station meaning I can get off and not feel trapped. I have good days and bad days. Weirdly my fear is in the morning on way to work and no where near as bad on the way home ?????

While distraction is a useful tool, I can't help thinking that this will not help in the long run as u are jut avoiding ur emotions and not dealing with them.

I perhaps drink alcohol a little to much, and when hung over my fears are 10 times worse. But still I find it hard to not drink as this relaxes me in the evening.

Hypnosis hasn't really worked for me and I'm thinking of trying CBT..... Any CBT advice would be most welcomed

[AuntieMoosie]

I 100% agree with Piglets post :D

I'm doing CBT now and I'm learning to not be frightened of the panic, I'm not going to say it's easy cos it isn't, but it does work for me.

As hard as it is, the only way of dealing with panic is to go through the panic. All the time we're frightened of the panic and we avoid things, the worse the situation will become. I know this because I ended up completely agoraphobic, totally unable to leave my home and that started way back in 2004.

I ended up that way because I was avoiding more and more situations....I would tell myself "I can't go there in case I panic" and "what if I panic" so my world became smaller and smaller.

I don't want to make it sound like it's an easy thing to overcome, gosh!! I know it's so hard, but it is also soooo worth it. I'm not there yet, I'm still working very hard with my CBT but I am making progress :D

The biggest and most important thing I done was to learn not to be frightened of the panic, to recognise it, all the different symptoms and what they meant, I found that if you can understand the panic, it makes it far less scary.

I know that going through a panic attack is very unpleasant, they are awful things, but I now know that no matter how bad the panic might be, it's not going to hurt or harm me in anyway, I've had enough of them in my life and I'm still here to tell the tale, which proves to me that they are not going to hurt or harm me.

So I'm at the stage in my CBT where I'm learning to accept the panic, go with it and through it and come out perfectly all right :) I'm finding that the more I do it, the less I panic because I'm learning to not be frightened of it.

I've still got a long way to go yet, I still only go out with my safety people, I can't go out alone yet, but I'm working on that. I did manage to go to the shops and have my safety person stay in the car while I went into the shops alone......that was a major thing for me to do, but I did it and I did not experience any panic at all :D

I hope what I've said may be able to help you. I would highly recommend CBT to anyone :D

Wishing you all every success, YOU CAN DO IT!!! :yesyes: