Anxiety affecting my driving

I have bad anxiety- it is now affecting my driving. Has this happened to anyone else?

[Paxiled]

Gee -- do you think?

[lakerat66]

Sorry- this is new to me. Are you always this rude?

[nursegirl6572]

How exactly is your driving affected?  Are you afraid to drive?  Avoiding driving?

To ease your mind.....driving phobias are VERY VERY VERY common amongst people with anxiety problems.  You are FAR from alone.

Can you elaborate a bit as to what's going on, I may be able to give you some suggestions.  I personally have dealt with driving phobias quite a bit, especially during very anxious times in my life.

Hang in there.....we're here for you.

[Paxiled]

Guess I was a bit flip, sorry.  No, not usually rude.  It's just that if you study anxiety, you'll see driving is one of the most common problems we have.  Sorry if I made your day any worse.  My bad.

[nursegirl6572]

Glad to see you apologized, paxilled.  :0)  I have never noticed you to be rude, and was quite taken aback! .

We ALL have to remember that these issues are NOT common knowledge to a lot of people, and many posters coming here ARE just experiencing these things for the first time.  Therefore, even though it may be the 1,001 time we have posted about something, it may be the first time someone is reading it!

[Jodi527]

Hey Sweetie, I have had my first SERIOUS attack while driving on the highway..not fun at all. I pulled over, threw my pack of ciggerattes out the window think that could of triggered it and then called 911. I went to the ER and was put on paxil. Still had a ton of anxiety attacks while driving but my doctor adjusted my dose. I haven't had one driving in a long time but am going through the anxiety again. This time I am getting pains and weakness in my arms and legs. It is bothing me and really giving me the whole "MS" scare. Try not to drive on highways. Also, if you feel an attack coming on , tell yourself it will be ok and take deep breaths. It will help. I promise. I think I am the queen of anxiety. Not to be cocky but I am going though so much right now and I am so scared to see a neurologist thinking that I may have MS. Good luck. Let me know how it goes.

[historybuff24]

I have a driving phobia too.
I have an anxiety and panic disorder.
If forced to drive somewhere,I'm constantly tense and will not drive on highways.
I saw a psychiatrist for a number of years regarding the driving problem.
I was on Lexapro for about 4 years, and although it helped somewhat with the anxiety, it didn't alleviate the driving phobia.
I'm still trying.

[nputte]

I used to love love love driving. In fact a few years ago before my anxiety, it was what calmed me down, I would drive for hours just to clear my head. Then I had a panic attack in the car and ever since then driving has become such a large issue for me that I rarely ever go someplace by myself. I try to distract myself....i.e. singing with the radio, I notice having a window down is a little better, sometimes I even count the number of red cars or blue cars, etc. to take my mind off of it. Everyone has their own way of dealing with it and I still get scared when I know I have to drive. Everytime I drive though and get through it without a panic attack I consider it a good day :)

[Katie35801]

It absolutely affects my driving! Hard to drive when u feel dizzy or weak!

[rilesnic]

I almost think it may be the vehicle I'm in as well.  I had them in my car when my kids and I were younger, but had to deal with them b/c I had to get my kids to and from.  Now my kids are driving and it's just me.  I'm much worse in two of the cars I drive, but not as bad as the third one.  I had an attack in one of them which is a wide car, the other one is a HUGE truck and the one that doesn't affect me as bad is the mid-sized SUV.  A control issue...maybe?? I am going to overcome this and drive again, alone, on Interstates and bridges!  ( I live on Interstate 10)!!

[RockyMD]

Take a bus. Catch a Ride. Walk. Problem Solved.

[gladimnotnuts]

Had my first ever anxiety attack... while driving 2 months ago -  and it was a beauty!. I didn;t know what was happening to me as I never had one before and was convinced I was dying.

Since then I have been having small attacks pretty much anywhere, Driving isn;t as enjoyable as it used to be.. I used to love it... as I still feel anxious when driving.

and I also notice that if I smoke or have coffee, the attacks are triggered, so cutting those out asap.

I hope there's hope - I don't want meds, can anyone suggest any natural alternative?