My severe anxiety is making me dislike driving my car

[Zeffy94]

I can understand the odd feeling in comfort. It is like i dont want a ride that feels like my ass is dragging through every pothole making my teeth chatter - but some of those over dampened cars like "towncars" etc have this very bouncy pillow like effect that makes me feel downright sick to my stomach.

That is the perfect way to describe it. I have a feeling the 2020s with the updated suspension don't have this effect

Sponsored

 

[James3spearchucker]

Went to the doctor today, explained everything. Had an ECG done and they are going to compare it to the one done in February at my routine physical. Doctor said the chest pains are very likely just anxiety and that my heart and lungs both sound good. He also prescribed me an alternative to Xanax (Budespar? Something like that) that can help manage things until the Lexapro kicks in fully. He did say taking one pill at .5mg dose 4 times a week for a few weeks isn't likely to make me dependent on it, but I'm trying to avoid it unless necessary.

I was able to drive my car without too much drama, but the experience was kind of mediocre. I kept fumbling shifts which doesn't shock me with how much less I've driven it, but the ride in comfort mode has this weird overdampened effect on a lot of the roads around here that makes the car extra bouncy, which made me feel off.

Bouncy would be underdampened. Mine is underdampened as it could use new shocks.

 

[djhartm]

I hope you are in therapy.

Drugs alone aren't the answer.

As someone ho suffers from ADD, Depression, OCD, & is mildly bi-polar, I understand your situation.

You'll also likely need to try several different drugs\dosages to find what works best for you.

Park your car until you get your symptoms under control.

Good luck.

 

[Fountainhead]

I don't have anxiety attacks but when I drive my car I find myself clenching my jaw, afraid someone will hit my baby, or that something is off, or is that a new noise? I have to keep reminding myself to relax.

 

[Zeffy94]

I hope you are in therapy.

Drugs alone aren't the answer.

As someone ho suffers from ADD, Depression, OCD, & is mildly bi-polar, I understand your situation.

You'll also likely need to try several different drugs\dosages to find what works best for you.

Park your car until you get your symptoms under control.

Good luck.

I have ADHD as well, and I feel that may be amplifying my anxiety, as it means my mind is constantly in high gear with thinking, which usually feeds into my anxiety lately.

I'm on the 10mg Lexapro dose as of yesterday, and some of those side effects I got when first taking the half dose are back. I expect them to linger a few days again as my body adjusts.

Still looking for good CBT therapists in my area, haven't had much luck in finding one that seems to specialize in what my psych wanted me to go to one for.

 

[wintercast]

I have ADHD as well, and I feel that may be amplifying my anxiety, as it means my mind is constantly in high gear with thinking, which usually feeds into my anxiety lately.

I'm on the 10mg Lexapro dose as of yesterday, and some of those side effects I got when first taking the half dose are back. I expect them to linger a few days again as my body adjusts.

Still looking for good CBT therapists in my area, haven't had much luck in finding one that seems to specialize in what my psych wanted me to go to one for.

Can your Psych make any recomendations? even if they are not taking patients, they might know someone that is. I wanted to do CBT or even hypnotism - but then COVID hit, which honestly might have helped me. Less people on the road. But also less possible to get a Dr appointment. My normal therapist had to go out on her own medical leave. I saw someone else -and just did not jive with that person at all.

 

[Zeffy94]

Can your Psych make any recomendations? even if they are not taking patients, they might know someone that is. I wanted to do CBT or even hypnotism - but then COVID hit, which honestly might have helped me. Less people on the road. But also less possible to get a Dr appointment. My normal therapist had to go out on her own medical leave. I saw someone else -and just did not jive with that person at all.

He's in central NJ, where I used to live. I make the trek back because I've used him for close to 10 years to deal with my ADHD issues back in high school. It's about a 75 minute trip one way from here to there, and he doesn't know my area very well.

 

[wintercast]

He's in central NJ, where I used to live. I make the trek back because I've used him for close to 10 years to deal with my ADHD issues back in high school. It's about a 75 minute trip one way from here to there, and he doesn't know my area very well.

AHH ok i understand. If you are on the nextdoor app, that is often a good place to get recommendations from other locals in your area. Yes, there is also general craziness from political wackjobs, but i have found it useful for getting recommendations.

I even used it to find out where all the local non official car shows/ cars and coffee are located since i was new to the area.

It is also very active for helping to find owners for lost pets.

 

[James3spearchucker]

I don't have anxiety attacks but when I drive my car I find myself clenching my jaw, afraid someone will hit my baby, or that something is off, or is that a new noise? I have to keep reminding myself to relax.

This week the theme in my head is old vs new, knowledge vs creativity/open-mindedness. Mature persons are more likely to take care of a car and young people to destroy one, but stand back and you will realize that being old and boring, driving a bad-ass car has got to be one of the saddest things! Remember the car is there to make you happy and take care of you, not the other way around. About three weeks ago my dream of keeping my sonic grey HB Sport in relatively good shape came to an end all the while giving an elk a bad day, and it all happened while using bluetooth to call my sister and gossip about how it had snowed up in the mountains. I got distracted! So what is the moral? That it is good to focus on driving and enjoy the ride but recognize that we have limitations and may make mistakes or life may just happen. We cannot prevent every bad event like a shopping cart that wind blew off the sidewalk and onto my front bumper. The real limitation is our knowledge and perspective. Realize that if we focused 100% on just taking care of the car and nothing else, that would amount to not having a DD and being a little obsessed, and not living our life a little carefree and to the fullest. When I play tennis now rather than letting my anxieties get to me and tightening up, I am forcing myself to expect the unexpected, being loose and open-minded. This is helping my game!

Cheers

 

[BABY NSX]

This week the theme in my head is old vs new, knowledge vs creativity/open-mindedness. Mature persons are more likely to take care of a car and young people to destroy one, but stand back and you will realize that being old and boring, driving a bad-ass car has got to be one of the saddest things! Remember the car is there to make you happy and take care of you, not the other way around. About three weeks ago my dream of keeping my sonic grey HB Sport in relatively good shape came to an end all the while giving an elk a bad day, and it all happened while using bluetooth to call my sister and gossip about how it had snowed up in the mountains. I got distracted! So what is the moral? That it is good to focus on driving and enjoy the ride but recognize that we have limitations and may make mistakes or life may just happen. We cannot prevent every bad event like a shopping cart that wind blew off the sidewalk and onto my front bumper. The real limitation is our knowledge and perspective. Realize that if we focused 100% on just taking care of the car and nothing else, that would amount to not having a DD and being a little obsessed, and not living our life a little carefree and to the fullest. When I play tennis now rather than letting my anxieties get to me and tightening up, I am forcing myself to expect the unexpected, being loose and open-minded. This is helping my game!

Cheers

Agree with everything you said. I felt the same way when I saw Fountainhead’s post but I’ll sum it up in my own words:

It’s just a car.

But yeah like Fountainhead I felt some anxiety driving the car at first just because it was all clean and stuff but was over it early when I drove it in a snow storm after a month of having it. It’s my daily driver so it’s going to get dirty, it’s going to get a dent here and there. I need a daily driver so this is a fun one. One thing I did have anxiety about too was when I first got the car was exploring what this car is capable of. That only took a couple of weeks to get used to and now I feel more as one with the car as I know how it performs.

 

[BABY NSX]

Zeffy, how you doing today? Weekend is here!!! Go do something fun!

 

[Zeffy94]

Zeffy, how you doing today? Weekend is here!!! Go do something fun!

Been better that's for sure. These side effects are pretty mild but they are enough to dampen my mood. Sleep has been slightly worse the last two nights so hoping that goes away soon so I don't need to resort to my Xanax to help.

On a plus side, it does seem like through the self help material I've been utilizing as well as pushing myself to exercise my heart rate has been slowly decreasing. My Apple Watch has been doing a decent job of visualizing how severe my anxiety has been by tracking my resting heart rate.

It is definitely a struggle overall, but I'm persevering the best I can. I've been doing a decent job at calming myself down before any attacks start thankfully.

I'll have to see how I feel about going for a drive - I've found that if my dizziness is present, the LAST thing I want to do is flog around a corner. Like most of my other side effects, it comes and goes.

 

[charleswrivers]

@Zeffy94... I’m not qualified to give you expert advice... but I’m a navy guy and have been with folks whose mind we’re in bad spots... have been in a few bad spots myself, and have lost some folks along the way. Good people. Wishing you all the best and would encourage you to surround yourself with good people... family and friends and to try and isolate yourself from as much negativity as you can.

This world is full of negativity (always has been)... and in our Information Age, you can effectively bring strangers negativity into your home or on a screen in front of your nose at any moment you desire and soak it up. The world is filled with positive energy too (always has been). You’ve got to surround yourself with that and soak that up. I’m pretty much minimizing social media right now... and I only have a Facebook account (after MySpace... and I liked MySpace more).

Based on what I see on there, you’d think the world is one big divisive dumpster fire where current postings are either about how pedophiles are about to capture my kids so I should go out and preemptively murder them or red/blue right/wrong/good/evil choices are looming or the world is burning or dying of corona... but that’s a a hoax/a big deal/not a big deal. That’s at least my take on a few minute scroll-through recently. There’s a balance between recognizing and caring about bad stuff and trying to make things better and surrounding yourself with it to the point that negativity is all there is. I’m seeing a lot of folks I work with that are in over their heads right now... and I think it had a lot to do with letting a constant stream of negativity into their lives. My wife and I and some of my friends have conversations on topics but I quit sitting and reading other people’s opinions and doom and gloom. I don’t go out on the street and ask random strangers their opinions on topics... so I see no need to read theirs on my phone. Sorry if I’m off on a tangent on this... but I’m been surprised how generally negative the information/streams/media/etc has been that we’ve been consuming lately to where it feels like you’ve always got a rain cloud overhead if you let it.

Be well... and best wishes to you. If you find yourself in a really bad place... lean on those around you who will hold your up and get you through. Being alone with your thoughts where they're no good is a bad spot to be in.

 

[Zeffy94]

Be well... and best wishes to you. If you find yourself in a really bad place... lean on those around you who will hold your up and get you through. Being alone with your thoughts where they're no good is a bad spot to be in.

Thanks, Charles. I have found being alone with my negative thoughts is absolute hell. If my mind is fixated on them it's like they are on repeat. Thankfully my dad and the rest of my family has been great at listening and helping me vent those thoughts outs. Same with my doctor who helped dispel some of my health fears.

 

[Gruber]

Been better that's for sure. These side effects are pretty mild but they are enough to dampen my mood. Sleep has been slightly worse the last two nights so hoping that goes away soon so I don't need to resort to my Xanax to help.

On a plus side, it does seem like through the self help material I've been utilizing as well as pushing myself to exercise my heart rate has been slowly decreasing. My Apple Watch has been doing a decent job of visualizing how severe my anxiety has been by tracking my resting heart rate.

It is definitely a struggle overall, but I'm persevering the best I can. I've been doing a decent job at calming myself down before any attacks start thankfully.

I'll have to see how I feel about going for a drive - I've found that if my dizziness is present, the LAST thing I want to do is flog around a corner. Like most of my other side effects, it comes and goes.

I can offer you at least a reality check, which (I know) might mean absolutely nothing to you.
I just looked at my medical app, which has a record of some of my medical data. Including the vitals, every time they are measured in the doctor's office.

I found there about 30 records of my heart rate over the last 10 years. Only 3 out of 30 are below 70. The lowest ever is 64, recorded many years ago. The highest is 94. Most are in the 80's and 70's.
I have never cared about my heart rate, except I know for sure it tends to go down when I exercise more, sleep more, and lose weight. I feel great and consider myself quite healthy (although I do have some "conditions"). Now you made me look there and you gave me some anxiety. You said:

My Apple Watch has been doing a decent job of visualizing how severe my anxiety has been by tracking my resting heart rate.

If your resting hart rate shows severe anxiety, and mine is higher....

So, what I'm saying is that even though your anxiety have been severe, the chart you are showing doesn't show absolutely anything of the sort. It's normal from beginning to end. But I guess someone already told you this.