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Avatar universal

car passenger anxiety, need advice to calm my anxiety down while i'm in the car please help

i've have this car anxiety for almost 2 years now and idk the root to this car anxiety, it just happened one night when i was in the passenger seat going to blockbuster with my friends and it just hit me like a bat outta hell, the only that was happening to me was sweating hands heart racing and my mind was racing a mile a min telling me to get outta the car and i kept on telling my friends please stop the car and as soon as they stop i jumped outta the car to the floor freaking out, my friends told me i was really burning up like i was in a oven and they know i have anxiety but they didn't know i had car anxiety, but after that very night i ended up walking all the way home crying a lil here and there and had the feeling i was gonna faint while walking home but then i started to feel abit better back to my normal self ever sense then i try to get in cars but it's hard like i have battles with myself about getting in the car, like last summer my friends asked me to come to the yankee game with them and said sure iight i'll go not thinking i said yes but i started to think again oh no the car ride there is gonna kill me not kill me kill me just kill me in anxiety terms u know people well anyway like i was saying i said **** it i'll get in the car, so my friend stared his car up and i just started to sweat like cray i mean crazy like sweating bullets than after we're driving off the yard going in the street my heart stared pounding mad fast as hell hit against my chest and the sharp pains to come along with it but the only ride there was terrible i seriously was moving back and forth in the car just to relax and no not the drivers seat lmao but i was moving to different sits  non stop until where i finally stop and sat back in my seat just crying a lil bit again and shaking sweating like crazy , but anyway if there's anyone who going through the same thing as me with this problem please hit me up with a message and ur story on had it happened to and advice to help me calm down from this please people i beg of u please i need to start moving on with my life and getting back to normal again and if i do get better and i hope i do i will always be on this site to help others and support them just as u people helped me, this site is what makes us family u know  thank u and please reply back .
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Avatar universal
I have been having car passenger anxiety for years now.  I can't be the passenger no matter who is driving.  I have to take zanax to get on a plane and I refuse to get on a bus or in a taxi.  I have no idea how I am going to teach my kids how to drive since I can't be the passenger.  I can't ride any roller coasters anymore that lock me in because I lose it when I can not get out.  I have been highly embarrassed in front of my kids at Carowinds when I could not move my legs after the roller coaster ended.  We had to wait for the other cars to empty and I panicked and thought I would have a small heart attack while waiting my turn to exit.  I can not ride in elevators for fear that the door will not open.  I have always been claustrophobic, but as I have gotten older, probably around age 37 it all got much worse.  I am now 42 and I refuse to go on medication because I fear the side effects and mainly the fatigue that the drugs might bring on. However, I feel so trapped and alone in my suffering.  I feel like I will never be cured and that I will be like this until I die. I doubt anyone has as many issues with this as I do. Any suggestions?
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Avatar universal
hi jack I have been having anxiety as a passenger for years now and avoided being a passenger I cant even get on a bus , I have been told to expose myself to the fear but easier said than done to a group of strangers on a bus or car, what is your current situation regards mark
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Avatar universal
Hi there, I have been having these panic attacks for some time now and its not an easy thing to deal with. My husband is a truck driver so him out of all these people should be safe drivers and he is. I just cant control this crazy feeling i get in the car and he gets very upset when i do it. He also sometimes does these things on purpose and i cant stand it. People say i am a control freak when i have to drive and it feels very hurtful. If i am not driving i get nuts,screaming out " are you gonna take this curve at 65 mile hour when he is probably only doing 50. Grabbing the handles to hold on, slouching in the seat and pressing on the floor boards so hard , my leg hurts. My mom did this very thing when i was growing up and my dad said he couldnt stand it when she did. I am terrified of taking long trips, the feeling of dread just washes over me. And i know my husband is gonna be so mad about it, that pretty much we are gonna fight about it. I have no idea what to do and dont wanna feel this way anymore.
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622882 tn?1318464307
Believe me I really understand how you feel! I just wish I had the answers! I hope that your day is going well!
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Avatar universal
that's what i'm trying to do is find new ways to calm my mind when i am in car but nothing comes to mind damn, wish someone could just knock me out so i won't worry bout having car anxiety but that won't solve my problem u know lol
Helpful - 0
622882 tn?1318464307
It does not always work for me either! I have less problems riding with a few people then riding with just anyone. Although I still get some anxious no matter who I ride with. I just have to keep looking for new ways all the time to take my mind off of being in the car.
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Avatar universal
thx and i did try messing with my phone and listening to music, it worked at first for a bit but now it doesn't work for me
Helpful - 0
622882 tn?1318464307
Hello, You are not alone! I never been able to drive a car because of anxiety and panic, and I can only ride in a car with certain people. I have to keep myself busy playing with my cell phone or something else just to keep my mind off the fact that I am in a car. Listening to music on my iphone also helps me. Sometime I repeat helpful mantras over and over again! Using calming breathing is also helpful! Busy highway are the worse for me! I hope that you can fine something that helps you! Best wishes to you! Please keep me posted!
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