Anxiety and Driving

Posted , 5 users are following.

my sister and I both have anxiety. She is scared to drive because she’s afraid anxiety will cause her to not drive properly because of symptoms she has with anxiety such as tightness in her head that might suddenly come on.

. I’ve never had an issue being concerned with driving so I was wondering if anybody with anxiety has experienced this concern?

she feels like she’s the only one and thinks maybe she’s overthinking this.I’m sure there’s other people that feel this way but I was just wondering so I can tell her that.Thanks

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4 Replies

  • Edited

    I used to get what is called depersonalization when driving which is a form of anxiety. Looking at the horizon would freak me out. I'd have to pull over.

    medication for me ****saved my life

    • Posted

      thank you. I know everybody is different but what medication helped you? I am even curious for myself not for the driving but for the general anxiety.

    • Edited

      i have this exact same thing! At low speeds I'm ok. But higher speeds, especially in wide open space, leads to serious depersonalization and lightheadedness. I also can't look at the horizon or too far ahead. Best case scenario is if there is a car ahead of me that I can focus on. Although I always had this I think, it came to the surface after I was in a car accident. I was trying exposure therapy, but really, it doesn't work much. I mostly just avoid driving now, which is the worst idea. My husband is happy to do all the driving. But I miss being able to go anywhere I want independently. Did the meds help the driving part of your anxiety? Which med, and how is your anxiety now?

  • Edited

    Hi Jan,

    I used to have really bad anxiety when driving. A lot of people, and a mean A LOT, have this, it's very common.

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