panic attacks while driving

[damsel54]

Hi, I am new to this site and also new to panic attacks.. they only occur when I am driving,, so I have not driven for 5 weeks now.. this is very worrying as I am totally house bound... I also find it very difficult to be a passenger in a car! Does anyone else have this problem? any advice would be appreciated... thank you

[Jo3]

Hi Damsel54

I have been suffering depression with anxiety for the past 4 years.  I remember having quite a few panic attacks while driving home from work in the dark. At one time I remember phoning the police for help because I didn't know where I was and they came out, finally worked out where I was and got help. It was the worst experience I have had.  I have had a few after that.

But help from my psych and doing breathing exercises I am not experiencing them as often. And if I do, I start to slow my breathing down.

Have you seen your GP reg. this? I suggest it would be a great idea if you can; have a chat with them and maybe even get a referral to a counsellor that can teach you some coping skills.

Also, have a read on anxiety here on this website, great information.

Good luck, let us know how you go

Jo

[Guest_3712]

Hi damsel54,

I have good news and bad news- from my experience.

After suffering a work injury I had chronic pain( still Do). However I still managed to drive. One day I was driving home from my son's place when I started to get pain in my leg.

It was bearable but for some reason my brain went into panic mode I began worrying about what would happen if the pain got worse. What if I lost control? What if I smashed the car?

Before I knew  it I felt like I was being hit with a freight train. I was hyperventilating, shaking, sweating and my heart was pounding. I don't remember exactly what happened next except that I somehow got out of the car, and sank to my knees in the middle of traffic on the freeway!

Some kind soul avoided hitting me and pulled over and got me out of harms way and called my son. After that I drove only a couple of times and always with my heart in my throat, until eventually like you I stopped altogether.

I didn't drive again for 2 years! That is the bad news. The good news is I drive all the time now, long drives , city drives and places I don't know. Who would have thought?? certainly not me.

Obviously I needed help and my psychologist at the time was amazing. I first had to work out what my trigger was. In my case it was the pain. When the pain hit I felt like I had no control over the situation and imagined the worse.

it took a log time to control the anxiety even when I knew the triggers. I was so sick of catching buses and cabs to doctors appointments etc, and then one day I was heading off to catch the bus and saw my car in the driveway. What the .........? I said to myself and got in.

I sat in the drivers seat for ages and then caught the bus. The next time I sat in the seat and turned on the engine. After that I would take short drives ( down the driveway) until I started to feel able to control my anxiety.

So damsl54 you need to find what your trigger is . Something is causing this panic in you when driving or in the car. Did something happen either recently or in the past?

By far my best advice is DO NOT LET IT GET THE BETTER OF YOU.

You have to tackle it head on. Take someone with you in the car. Like Jo said breathing techniques are good too. Distract your self by listening to music. I used to sing at the top of my lungs to divert my mind from dwelling on imagined disasters.

I lost two years because I became a prisoner to my anxiety . You have to keep going. It will get better each time I promise.

Be kind to yourself

Stressless