My severe anxiety is making me dislike driving my car

Augenauf

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Hello. I have had a few sleep apnea incidents in my life but not too many recently. I don't know what it is but I definitely have a host of other health issues cropping up. As far as exercise, I do that in moderated fashion due to arthritic hips and knees that want some movement but not too much. I think I need to control my diet much better. Just out of curiosity how much time do you space between your last meal or snack and sleep? I have trouble finding the sweet spot of "not hungry" and yet not a recent meal that is going through major digestion in the stomach. Take care
I try not to eat anything past 7 or 8, and I hit the bed by 10-11. I read somewhere that eating before bed could aggravate sleep apnea. If you really do have apnea as well then you really do need to get it treated. Anxiety is only the beginning of the problems it'll cause. It'll take you to an early gave if left untreated.
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Cornercarver

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Panic attacks are no fun, it has been a while but I remember a really bad one when driving at night in very heavy traffic, short streets poorly lit, and I had no idea where I was going. Turned one corner after another with cars seemingly coming from every direction. Felt just like a heart attack. I had to pull over and stop. This was before GPS, and my ex was not much help. Between the traffic and confusion it was too much. Many years ago and I can remember it like yesterday.

The car itself should not be the trigger -unless you don't feel at one with it. That takes time for any car. The Type R is one of the best cars for avoiding any fender benders or worse, and for coming out okay if that happens. Think of it as a safe cocoon that is watching out for you and responding to your commands.
Spend time driving it when you don't have to be somewhere so you can just focus on bonding, versus 'making it on time' which is very stressful. Pick roads with less traffic that provide an opportunity to have fun. Ideally you will actually relax when sitting in it, like a warm bed in winter.
Tell yourself 'this will be fun' when you get in, and it will be. You don't have to drive your Type R - you get to drive your Type R.
Regardless of the car- it is still you behind the wheel, so you have to come to terms with it at that level, and figure out specifically what triggers the adrenaline. Could be multitasking.
Multitasking is okay - if you can easily do all of those tasks. If one or more seems too challenging, especially if it's more - then panic can set in since you feel overwhelmed and threatened.
My panic attack is when I feel out of control in a potentially dangerous situation. So bad traffic, and not knowing where i am going, or poor visibility or weather conditions can combine for way too much stress.

I do much better now - so know there is hope. No drugs used in my case, everyone is different, Just my figuring out what happened, why and recognizing it. Doesn't mean I don't ever get tense - that is normal, but I stop short of full blown panic.

You are on the right track - trying to reduce the demands on you - but I think you may be looking in the wrong direction, car-wise. If all you are driving in constantly is bad bumper to bumper traffic, yeah, this is not the car for you. But otherwise it could actually help.

We are all pulling for you.
 


 


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