Anyone else have anxiety when driving?

[ro44]

Over the last several months I have been avoiding driving. Every time I do drive I start to feel very anxious. I don't know why. I am 47 and have always been fine with driving around town until the last year or so. It seems like after just a mile or so I start feeling "weird". I just want to get to where I am going as fast as I can. When I get stopped at red lights, I can't seem to just sit there and relax. Just driving 4 miles to the store is horrible! This sounds so stupid, I know. I hate to be dependent upon others to drive me places, I don't know what to do. If I take a xanax, I do better, but I don't want to have to take one everytime I need to go somewhere. I drove like one mile today without xanax and I just felt so anxious. It was almost like I had weird thoughts like "Am I really driving okay, am I on the right side of the road," I knew I was but it just felt kind of "unreal". Does that make sense?

Should I keep trying to drive? I hate to stop because I feel like the longer I don't drive - then when I do, it will really feel strange. I know this sounds crazy. I hate a bad anxiety attack while in the grocery store last november and a few days after that when I drove to town (I was still very upset about the grocery store thing) I felt like I might pass out or something and ever since I can barely drive. I know I don't breathe right, almost like I am holding my breath without realizing it.

Anyone have any advice?

Thanks

[trev1234]

I DONT KNOW WHERE TO START HERE..BUT U ARE NOT ALONE ..IM 41 YRS OLD BEEN DRIVIN SINCE I WAS 23..I NOW HAVE STRESS FROM HELL..when i drive to far from home i get dizzy weird body feelings...tingling in my head like i forgot to breath.feel like i am ready to pass out or die..traffic lights just send me mental..i try and avoid them..im sure when i get in traffic or traffic lights i must pull strange faces without realising it....THEY JUST CANT CHANGE QUICK ENOUGH..i hate bieng stuck behind cars or even worse a lorry or a van..i wish i could sort this out..im stressed mostly all day....

[ro44]

thanks for the reply. I didn't think I was going to hear from anyone on this matter. I'm a mess right now. Driving is a little easier if I take a xanax, but I am so afraid of becoming addicted to them. I just don't know what I'm going to do.

[xleannexwrightx]

Hey hun, i totally feel anxious when driving. Ive been doin well these last few weeks with my panic and anxiety, but the times its still happening is when im behind the wheel or sleeping! Everytime in the car i feel like i shouldnt be driving, like it cant be safe feeling how i feel? especially when i have other ppl in the car. I feel when im concentrating on driving, im scared incase i just switch off or faint which will cause me 2 crash, sometimes have to literally slap my self in the face to 'wake-'up' from the hazy feeling. I used to really enjoy to drive, but recently i try to avoid it, uness its work. I found puttin down the window 2 get fresh air constantly flowing through the car helped sometimes, or singing. Im about to work now, and dreading the drive... i just hope i get there in one piece :/ , ur not alone hun xxx

[bouche12]

The exact same has been happening to me lately. I am 29 and like alot of you have always really enjoyed driving and felt very confident. I got really uncomfortable and panicy today whilst in traffic and the thoughts running through my head were "what if I pass out", "what if I should stop breathing" then with the breathing thought I felt like I wasn't breathing enough and starting getting light headed and feeling like I was going totally insane!! aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrgggggg!!!!!

[sandradee]

Loads of us and mostly women it seems. Age? Hormones? Some days are worse than others, but for me the pleasure and freedom of driving has gone. I do it because sometimes I have to but I'm thankful when it's over.
I think I need to re-train my brain. Just wanted you to know you are not alone.

[ro44]

Thanks so much for all the replys. I just CAN"T give up on driving. I don't want to be dependent on others. My only child will be moving out on his own in the next year or two. Then, what will I do, he drives me so much. I know my husband will drive me when he can but I just hate the idea of quitting altogether.

I sometimes wonder about my hormones. I'm 47 but still have regular periods. I don't get hot flashes or anything. Just this darn anxiety!!!

Has anyone had this who has somehow gotten back to the way they used to be with their driving?

Ro44

[nomorepanic]

Have you read my story on the website page on the left?

My only anxiety problem left is driving.

Anyway have a read of this if you get time..

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7162

[ro44]

Thanks Nicola, I will read it. I sometimes wonder if my driving problem is more than just anxiety. I mean, I know I am anxious but I also wonder about my tight neck and shoulders muscles. I also have tightness in my right arm and I wonder if having my arms up on the steering wheel and moving my head around, eyes looking different directions, etc. is making me feel kinda dizzy and "off" in the head. Maybe it's a combination of things. I do know that if I have to stop at stop lights, I feel real anxious. I guess that deep down I fear that I need to get where I'm going fast before I get a "head rush", "head zap", faint feeling or something like that. I really fear "weird sensations" in my head as I've had many over the years.

I think tomorrow I will try to drive just a couple of miles or so and see how that goes. I live in the country, well about 3 miles from town. But, I get anxious even when I don't see another car.

Thanks.

Ro44

[sandradee]

Thanks Nicola, I will read it. I sometimes wonder if my driving problem is more than just anxiety. I mean, I know I am anxious but I also wonder about my tight neck and shoulders muscles. I also have tightness in my right arm and I wonder if having my arms up on the steering wheel and moving my head around, eyes looking different directions, etc. is making me feel kinda dizzy and "off" in the head. Maybe it's a combination of things. I do know that if I have to stop at stop lights, I feel real anxious. I guess that deep down I fear that I need to get where I'm going fast before I get a "head rush", "head zap", faint feeling or something like that. I really fear "weird sensations" in my head as I've had many over the years.

I think tomorrow I will try to drive just a couple of miles or so and see how that goes. I live in the country, well about 3 miles from town. But, I get anxious even when I don't see another car.

Thanks.

Ro44

Nicola's story is so helpful I printed it out to refer to.

The more you drive, the less stressful it becomes so they say. If only I could practice this myself!

There are a few things going on here I think for most of us (women)? we step out of our cozy kitchen and into what seems like a madhouse, so much going on , heavy traffic (at least for me), no 'warm up' time at all. So we're in the thick of it and our heads are swivelling left and right, looking, listening, all senses at full tilt. Then we come to a stop light and the adrenaline is pumping so hard it's difficult to switch it off....so it's quick, quick , change, anything to get home. Professional racing drivers do a few warm up laps, but most of our driving is a quick trip to the supermarket and back home to put dinner on, not driving for driving's sake, not a pleasure trip, just another chore. That may have something to do with it.

The forties can accentuate panicky feelings, but really I think it's just that in modern times women 'do' so much more than they used to. My driving gremlins started when I was forty, but we had moved countries, so that may account for some of it.

Now we are in France and driving on the 'wrong' side of the road and the traffic is much heavier than I was used to, so that's a whole new set of problems. basicallyI'm making a mountain out of a molehill like most of us sensitive types do. Oh...and I have no sense of direction....no wonder I dislike driving! :roflmao:

[suzy-sue]

I used to love driving .But it got so bad I wouldnt go further than 3 miles if I could help it ..Country roads made me go stiff with tension and if I had to go somewhere I hadnt been before I wouldnt go unless I had a practice run with my hubby .Ive started driving more now ,not as much as I would like but im getting there ,hope to anyway .The roads nowadays are crazy and its not very often its an enjoyable experience anymore .But I really couldnt imagine being reliant on any one else all the time .Public transport is a definate no no ,cant stand buses ,half the time they dont turn up on time :lac: :lac: ,and they take too long .It does get easier the more you do it ,I find playing some music helps with the stress levels . Sue x

[phd]

I am 51 years old and live in the netherlands. i had a new zealand driving licence which has lapsed and i havent driven for more than 20 years. now i am having lessons but have mega panic attacks during my lessons - i was doing reasonably well but was a passenger in a car involved in a high speed head on collision in june (the other driver was at fault) - since then i havent been able to sit in the passenger seat, and whilst driving on the motorway i lose the plot completely - has anyone got any clues or help how to get over this? i need to get my licence because my husband is cardiac patient en we live a way from the hospital / dr and i need to be able to drive but right dread my driving lessons so much that i cant sleep the night before a lesson, and can barely bring myself to cycle in traffic - i prefer to seek out the cycle paths. if my husband goes out in the car or cycle and i am at home i keep imagining another accident.

[suzy-sue]

How awful for you .I had an accident in a taxi once when a child ran into the road and was hit by the taxi I was in .The windscreen came in on us and the child hit the roof and was thrown into the middle of the road ..Luckily he was ok and only suffered severe cuts and bruises .I was in deep shock afterwards and felt like I was in another body .My friend made me get in a car the same day and I was terrified .It worked tho .as I dont honestly think I would have got in another car for a very long time .if she hadnt ..You may be suffering with ptsd ,I would seriously go and see your Dr who would be able to discuss with you some therapy options to help you overcome this .Think of all the times you have been in a car and never had an accident compared to the one time you were unlucky to be involved in an accident due to someone else s fault .The more you expose yourself to something it usually gets easier ,but with something like driving you need to be in control ,and cant afford to freak out behind the wheel ..I felt the same about my driving lessons as you do .Id do anything to avoid them ,I was very nervous .The more I drove the better my nerves got .If my hubby hadnt encouraged me I wouldnt have continued ,.so I have him to thank for that .Hypnotherapy might be something you could find out about ,its meant to be very good for phobias .But see what your Dr reccomends .All the best Sue x