How can I drive to work without having a panic attack?!

[Flowershine]

Had my first panic attack in January this year after a period of not sleeping. The attack happened as I was driving myself to work, in the rush hour traffic, on my own and I had no idea what was happening.

I've had several attacks since but they've only happened when I've been driving or when I've been a passenger.

How do I disassociate my attacks with driving to work?

I've (touch wood) never been in a car accident and I've always been a confident driver; the initial panic attack wasn't around anxiety for driving, it just happened when I was driving.

It's making me feel vulnerable whenever I get in the car and my confidence has been knocked just having the attacks.

Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions would be greatly appreciated :D:D

[ana]

It's tough to break that association because your mind is trying to prevent you from reliving the experience by warning you against driving again. What I'd say needs to happen is gradual exposure to the thing that scares you. Perhaps you could try getting into the car on your day off and just sit there or you could try going on a little drive, thus proving to yourself that there's no threat and that nothing bad is going to happen to you in the car. When you feel the anxiety rise, regulate your breath, and keep telling yourself that you're in no danger. Don't push yourself, though. Start small with just a short drive. If you're interested, you can read up on exposure therapy to see how it works.

I hope this helps :)

[Flowershine]

Thank you for your response - it all made sense :)

[ana]

I'm glad it did, and you're quite welcome. I hope you get on well with it and find that driving becomes easier. :)

[Noivous]

The first panic attack I ever had was while I was driving. My girlfriend at the time was in the car and never knew it. I had a full blown panic attack as I drove along. It wad weird. Then it passed. My driving wasn't affected all that much. How is your driving when you have one? How long is your commute?

N.

[ankietyjoe]

I think it's important to understand that the key to beating this might not be to try and stop the panic attack happening, but to accept that it might and tell yourself that's ok. If and when it happens again, maybe pull over calmly and say to yourself 'it's ok, I know what this is and I know it can't harm me'.

That's the fundamental principle of CBT and it's proven to work.

The anxiety cycle tends to be fear creates fear, creates fear etc. As soon as you break that cycle it's much, much easier to cope with day to day.

[ana]

I agree with Joe. As difficult as it is, it's about proving to yourself that nothing bad is going to happen, that what you're feeling is just anxiety. Eliminating fear of fear is the key.
...I wish I could apply this wisdom of mine to my anxiety lol.