My severe anxiety is making me dislike driving my car

[Zeffy94]

Lexapro fucks with your brain chemistry and Xanax is addictive. You got more serious problems then to worry about your car.

Wait till you hear about the killer virus out there killing 0.04% of population indiscriminately.

Perhaps yoga, meditation, exercise? Something to preoccupy your mind instead of anxieties.

Zeffy, I have a relative that takes Xanax and we noticed some negative side effects. We did some research on the drug, and found out there are some serious issues. Have you looked into the side effects vs how it helps your situation? Sorry that you are dealing with this..

I know Xanax is addictive. I am only using it as a last resort. I do not use it every day. I am only using it if I enter panic mode. The lexapro, well, I needed something to at least mend the anxiety. The side effects suck but they aren’t that bad I guess.

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[civicmanic]

As somebody who has also battled anxiety, I'd say stay away from those meds you're on. Especially Xanax. Once in a blue moon is ok, but regular usage will leave you with an issue bigger than your anxiety.

Try CBT if you haven't. Wish you the best!

 

[Byron Sexton]

You arent going to like my answer but, get rid of the car. If something isnt giving you joy anymore eliminate it. Life is way too shoft and you only get one chance at it. You should be doing the things that relax you, and bring you true happiness... If this car is too much move on from it. There are new cars on the horizon...That Acura Whew.

A car is a machine at the end of the day that gets us to A to B in style or fun. Your health is with you for as long as you are on this earth. Start counting your blessings look and seek what makes Zeffy happy. Know that your family and people close to you love you and want you to be the best you possible. Go to the gym, leave your house....Rebuild , repackage and reclaim.

 

[rileyj98]

You are not alone! I had a peanut scare and I am deathly allergic, I was so quick to react with spitting it out and not ingesting it and washing my mouth with alchohol and brushing my teeth, popping allergy pills like a mad man and I didn’t have a reaction. The next few weeks were hell. Anything I ate gave me a lump in throat feeling and I went to eating almost nothing. The anxiety from it made me want to shut down. It will get better though with time and it’s very scary and can be very real. I’ve stopped smoking cause I thought that was gonna kill me and same with drinking too. I have found with time i it has gotten better but If you want to talk more about it to relate or vent or anything don’t hesitate to ask

 

[Shred]

If the car was an important part of your life before, I wouldn't be in a rush to get rid of it. Do you have a secondary car you can use, or borrow in the mean time? Probably something with an auto and a sedate experience would be best.

You were just diagnosed and just started the new drug regimen, right? After you settle in, see if the car is more enjoyable to drive. At the end of the day, if the car doesn't work with you, then move on. You might save yourself some regret if you can give it time to see if you get back in the groove. Also maybe talk to your doc and other health care resources about it, they will have more concrete points to help you.

 

[Zeffy94]

The dumbest thing is how this started... I googled a few things about Lyme disease, COVID, etc, (stemming from my first doctor visit on what I could’ve had at the time) and that made me paranoid (the cardiovascular parts of it especially), and then the panic started when I took a single dose of doxycycline after getting it prescribed before my test came back and thinking I was having a very bad reaction to it. Then my distrust built over medication and I soon went and googled every medication. Soon I had to take omeprezole for my wicked GI issues and I do not know if this was in my head or not but how I felt on that drug was misery. I stopped after 2 days but by then it was game over. Then when driving around I nearly suffered a nervous breakdown over.. I don’t know to be honest.

I’m scared of doing physical activities because of my hyper sensitive nerves feeling my heart rate, but tonight I pushed myself and afterwards I felt better, relieved I didn’t keel over and suffer a heart attack. During the time I was sick I made the fatal mistake of not attempting to work out. Well, my cardio that I built up this year vaporized and now I’m back to square one.

If the car was an important part of your life before, I wouldn't be in a rush to get rid of it. Do you have a secondary car you can use, or borrow in the mean time? Probably something with an auto and a sedate experience would be best.

You were just diagnosed and just started the new drug regimen, right? After you settle in, see if the car is more enjoyable to drive. At the end of the day, if the car doesn't work with you, then move on. You might save yourself some regret if you can give it time to see if you get back in the groove. Also maybe talk to your doc and other health care resources about it, they will have more concrete points to help you.

Sadly unless the other people here aren’t using their cars, I’m kind of boned. I used to have my RAV4 but its trans gave up living earlier this year.

 

[Trash Panda]

Hate to hear that Matt. I have a similar story that I have the genes for bipolar/anxiety disorders (Family history)

I’m somewhat opposite though, my Si gives me peace; and detailing the hell out of it whenever I get the chance helps me channel energy. If you are not a big detailer, maybe you could try that first to cope; I think it’s more fun to have a clean ride then drive it sometimes.

I would agree with much of the advice on here, hold on to your car for now, for me my car is like my identity. Best wishes whatever you decide, you will be in my thoughts.

 

[Shred]

I’m scared of doing physical activities because of my hyper sensitive nerves feeling my heart rate, but tonight I pushed myself and afterwards I felt better, relieved I didn’t keel over and suffer a heart attack. During the time I was sick I made the fatal mistake of not attempting to work out. Well, my cardio that I built up this year vaporized and now I’m back to square one.


Sadly unless the other people here aren’t using their cars, I’m kind of boned. I used to have my RAV4 but its trans gave up living earlier this year.

That sucks, would have bought you some more time to figure it out. This came up on you in a flash, but you don't have to feel rushed to make a decision. If you have to drive the R try to make it as calm as possible I guess, Comfort mode and shift early.

Working out might help you too, as you noted with the cardio stuff. I've recently been getting myself back into a habit of doing some pushups, pullups etc stuff you can do at home and I've felt more focused. Try to keep it on a routine if you can, will help normalize things.

 

[batman900]

Just my situation that may not translate to yours but I traded the Xanax for Valium years ago, Xanax is terrible and made me so darn tired. I break my Valium in half or into a quarter and take that in the morning when my anxiety is the worst, gives me a calm sober start to my day and a bottle ends up lasting me a year or more. I only do this on work days because my anxiety is mostly social. Doing this also allowed me to quit taking anything else.

As for the car, the R delivers a lot of stimulus between the bumps, sounds and engagement. You are constantly interacting with it and it doesn't isolate you from anything. Great for a fun driving experience but can be bad for anxiety. When driving the R, I felt like I was riding on a wild horse. Compared to my truck which is like floating down the river with a beer in my hand lol.

Hope it gets better, I've lived with mine for the past 30ish years, never fun.

 

[18CivicHBS]

Sorry to hear this man. If I may suggest, the best route is getting in touch with a good psychologist, or therapist. Medications will help curb those symptoms once you’ve given them the time to kick in (escitalopram, other SSRI’s usually 4 week minimum) but long term aren’t the greatest. I’ve had people close to me suffer from crippling panic attacks to the point where they thought they were insane. They found a therapist they like, took a lot of time and work but now better than ever. No medications, extremely seldom panic attacks. The road is long with this one, and even if you have a therapist or psychologist you see, or plan to see, don’t ever get discouraged if they don’t work out. Sometimes it takes 10 different visits to find the one you connect with. Though I don’t know you, I’m glad you decided to share with the forum. #SickNotWeak

 

[Zeffy94]

Sorry to hear this man. If I may suggest, the best route is getting in touch with a good psychologist, or therapist. Medications will help curb those symptoms once you’ve given them the time to kick in (escitalopram, other SSRI’s usually 4 week minimum) but long term aren’t the greatest. I’ve had people close to me suffer from crippling panic attacks to the point where they thought they were insane. They found a therapist they like, took a lot of time and work but now better than ever. No medications, extremely seldom panic attacks. The road is long with this one, and even if you have a therapist or psychologist you see, or plan to see, don’t ever get discouraged if they don’t work out. Sometimes it takes 10 different visits to find the one you connect with. Though I don’t know you, I’m glad you decided to share with the forum. #SickNotWeak

I plan on finding someone for cognitive behavior therapy to help with it. I know I have to give time for the lexapro to work while contending with the side effects, which are not the worst but they aren’t subtle either. I’m taking a half dose to get my body acclimated before going to the full dose. I’m reducing my caffeine intake and trying to find places in my day to sit and practice some meditation.

Yesterday I was able to drive someone’s Subaru Impreza CVT and I was able to drive without much drama, minus starting to drive. The car doesn’t transmit the same feelings my CTR does so I was able to enter a calmer state of mind. Also not having to worry about shifting gave me another way to focus my mind.

 

[fatherpain]

Very sorry to read you are experiencing this Zeffy...

My wife suffered from post partum depression after the birth of our youngest son for a couple years and that was scary and a major bummer..

Our oldest son experienced anxiety and panic attacks for several years.. but thankfully appears to have moved past it.

Unfortunately, I do not have a magic solution to offer... It took time, patience love and support for them to endure and get through it.

My wife took medication initially but stopped almost immediately, because she didn’t like the way it made her feel. She spoke often to a therapist.

Our son didn’t reach the level where medication was prescribed, but we kept his schedule busy, as the onset of panic episodes seemed to happen when he had idle time to dwell on things.
————-

I would offer something I remind myself, whenever a setback occurs in my life:

F-it....Sometime in the future, whether in an hour, a day, weeks or months... I will be past it, so there is no reason to worry or stress about whatever the problem is.

This has come in very handy on several occasions where I’ve goofed badly working on the Type R and have had that “oh sh1t” moment... No energy wasted dwelling on the situation and beating myself up about it... Take a break and reset, or keep going and work towards getting it right again. Never quit. Eventually things work out.

I believe the same will be true in your situation Zeffy, though it may not seem so right now... There will be a time in future, when you will have beaten these feelings of anxiety or reach a point where it becomes manageable...

Stay strong brother and know you aren’t alone in this, as evidenced by the responses here. There are a lot of people pulling for you

 

[Zeffy94]

@fatherpain That is very good advice. I know in the back of my head that what I’m feeling is just nerves. Problem is when you are so acutely aware of everything going on with your body it’s hard to shut it down. Being aware of things like your heart rate (an Apple Watch does NOT help with that), “weird“ sensations, stomach cramps, random chest pains, I mean it’s crazy how aware I am of everything. It will get better with time, I’m sure of it.

 

[Sinistah89]

So I was diagnosed with General Anxiety about 7 years ago, I was afraid to drive. I learned how to drive stick, bought my first car, (civic si) in 2015. I felt like that car was an escape for me...I know its kind of weird how its opposite from your situation but in reality time does heal. It probably will not ever go away, but it becomes part of your life. I am on meds still but I plan on getting off of them, hopefully sooner than later. Now I drive a Type R hoping to reach 400 hp lol. Now I do admit, if In a fast car thats AWD and its about to launch, I definitely feel my anxiety, don't know how to fix that but whatever, I learned to live with it.

 

[Hwangtkd]

Try switching out tires/rims with something that is more forgivable. Listen to classical music while driving. Hope you get better.

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