View Full Version : Driving Panick Attack
hi all i am new to this, please can anyone help me , i have had a panick attack twice in the car , the feelings i had are my stomcah goes tight then my mind,i think im gonna loose it and do something so terryfying i dont know what. then i get shakey and pancik .
why is this happenenning just out of the blue . i dont feel i can drive again as soon as i get in the car my mind will think its gonna happen again
thanks sandy
hi sandy, sorry to hear that you are being troubled by panic attacks when driving. Its a terrifying experience knowing that you are trapped in your car and feeling like you can't cope. I have experienced this several times and for a while i even avoided driving on motorways as i just felt that i couldnt trust myself to complete a journey without panicking. I promise you though, you can conquer this fear just dont push yourself too much, but at the same time i wouldnt suggest you stop driving for any length of time as you will lose confidence and it will get harder the longer you leave it.
If it helps at all, i used to say over and over again to myself "i am a confident driver, i will be safe, i will be fine" i always carry some water and some mints with me and some feel good music cd's so i can pop them in and sing along when i feel stressed - this really helps with the breathing.
Do short journeys and dont push yourself too hard. Also if this has just happened out of the blue, then is there any underlying reason for it..? are you a bit tired, or stressed or anxious for any reason - ?
K x
hi sandy, sorry to hear that you are being troubled by panic attacks when driving. Its a terrifying experience knowing that you are trapped in your car and feeling like you can't cope. I have experienced this several times and for a while i even avoided driving on motorways as i just felt that i couldnt trust myself to complete a journey without panicking. I promise you though, you can conquer this fear just dont push yourself too much, but at the same time i wouldnt suggest you stop driving for any length of time as you will lose confidence and it will get harder the longer you leave it.
If it helps at all, i used to say over and over again to myself "i am a confident driver, i will be safe, i will be fine" i always carry some water and some mints with me and some feel good music cd's so i can pop them in and sing along when i feel stressed - this really helps with the breathing.
Do short journeys and dont push yourself too hard. Also if this has just happened out of the blue, then is there any underlying reason for it..? are you a bit tired, or stressed or anxious for any reason - ?
K x
hi mini
yes i have had a lot of anxiety this week . my freinds son told me to F off i was scum. as there was a argument with her kids and mine. and when i phoned my freind up her son answered and told me that which now we have all fell out so im stressing over that bad
hi sandy, i just read your other thread about the situation with your friend and her son - sounds pretty unpleasant and its no wonder you are stressed about it - you also said that you had your period -this can cause dips in blood sugars (well it does with me) which then bring on feelings very similar to panic and anxiety.
try to put this business with your friends son to the back of your mind - i know it won't be easy and i can understand why you feel so frustrated and let down about it - i would feel exactly the same. Perhaps his mother has not been in touch as she feels embarassed by her son's behaviour and is worried that your friendship is going to be affected..? just a thought.
hi sandy, i just read your other thread about the situation with your friend and her son - sounds pretty unpleasant and its no wonder you are stressed about it - you also said that you had your period -this can cause dips in blood sugars (well it does with me) which then bring on feelings very similar to panic and anxiety.
try to put this business with your friends son to the back of your mind - i know it won't be easy and i can understand why you feel so frustrated and let down about it - i would feel exactly the same. Perhaps his mother has not been in touch as she feels embarassed by her son's behaviour and is worried that your friendship is going to be affected..? just a thought.
hi again min
well yes it has affected out freindship now her son even told my hubby to f off too. she suffers anxiety too so i expect she dont want the confrontation either.
also i dont get anxiety unless its like a situation like this. so i dont know if it comes under gad or social anxiety im trying to find that out also..........
do you also suffer your self ?
yes sandy i too suffer from anxiety , mostly every day sadly , certain things trigger it off like if i dont get a good nights sleep or i have problems at work (i manage a large team of people and its pretty stressful) we have also been trying for a family for over 7 years now with no success so that brings a lot of sadness into my life. I have not had a full on panic attack for a few months now thankfully. I tend to over analyse things and my mind never seems rested if you know what i mean - i am always finding something to worry about. thankfully i have a very understanding husband and support of family and friends.
I hope you get things sorted out.
K x
Hi Sandy, I know exactly how you feel. This happened to me 2.5 years ago and for the first 9 or 10 months afterwards, I would not even get in a car, let alone drive it. Then I pushed myself to go the quarter mile to Tescos, then 2 or 3 miles round town. Next I went 10 or 12 miles outside town. Then just before Xmas I took my daughter on a 60 mile round trip and back.
On Jan 1st this year I finally drove back down the motorway to my parents 52 miles away and I drove back too. The motorway is only half the journey but |I still did it. It was very quiet with it being New Years Day but I got there by driving for the first time since Easter 3 years ago. Hubby was with me at the time.
Anyway yesterday we went back to my parents again and I did the driving again too. I went on the motorway but this time it was quite busy!!!! I coped though and I drove back too.
You may be wondering how I felt doing this. Well I didnt feel 100% but I didnt feel bad enough to let my husband take over the driving either. Now my next step is to do it without hubby being there to take over if need be.
My main problem with the anxiety has been DP. I have got to a stage where it is not scaring me like it did and I am not been as upset by it either. But of course driving is another matter isnt it because its so dangerous to other people if it goes wrong.
But yesterday was a breakthrough in another way than just doing that drive again, as I had done on Jan 1st, it was great that in the space of 2 months, I had not talked myself out of not doing it again.
So perhaps starting at the beginning Sandy and just going a short distance and building it up from there may help you too like minihaha says and take mints and a drink with you too.
Shirley
thankyou for all your kind help i will try again i tried yesterday and noway. soon as i started off my mind went like a terifying thing or loose control was going to happen then the shakes my husband took over .i just burst into tears .but i will try again the thought of it puts me off and makes my stomach go over
xx sandy
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