Panic Attack While Driving

[lucyem]

I have never had an after the fact panic attack. I am generally an anxious person and my panic attacks happen at the moment of whatever is happening. Today I had a full fledged shaking, heart pounding attack, the next day. It was so weird and scary. I was so not expecting it.

Backing up a little. We are going on vacation and under a lot of stress. Not just the vacation but other things on top so I feel a bit like I am running around in a million directions. Yesterday I had a good meeting, but stressful, with my son's teacher. I had to run from there to home to meet a truck that at that point may or may not fit in the yard and my DH and the driver having a "discussion" about it. About half way home I smelled something horrid burning. At first I thought it was a house nearby or something but the smell got worse. Then I saw smoke coming out from underneath me I freak, get off the road, grab my bag while shutting off the car and jump out. I only grabbed my bag because I thought I would have to call for help. I was expecting flames but only had smoke and then realized the heated seat wires must have broken inside. Once I shut off the car the electricity was cut off to the heater in the seat. Eventually the smoke stopped and I did not call the police. I drove the mile home. I now have a burned hole in my car seat and my car absolutely smells horrid.

The whole situation is funny but scary. Thankfully I did not have kids in car seats in back. I was not on a speeding highway. It did not burst into flames right away. My pants survived I actually leave on Sunday for an 8 hour drive so part of me is a little concerned. As long as I do not hit the button then all is well. The dealer is over an hour away and I just cannot get there before my trip to have it totally disconnected. So I do have leftover concerns from that aspect.

Well anyway today I was driving him by myself and thats when the panic attack hit. In the same place on the road I thought I could smell something and it got stronger. I knew I was having a panic attack and kept telling myself that but the feeling it was happening again was so strong. The smell, I was shaking etc etc. I made myself drive the last mile to home. There was no smoke, the seat was fine, it was all in my head. It took a while to calm down at home. I still have to go to work later which is probably good so I have to drive the car. But with this big drive coming up I really do not know what to do if this hits when I am on a busy highway and will not be home in 2 minutes.

By the way I am out of warranty so my bottom is going to have a long cold winter

[goodygumdrops]

Honestly, I didn't read your whole post because I thought it might be triggering for me. Anyways, I just posted in mental health on Friday because I had a panic attack. Ugh, their awful. I have been doing ok since but of course it brings up all the self doubt I thought I had covered. So, here I am again, reading affirmations and taking it day by day. So, I just wanted you to know that your not alone...

[lilmom]

For some reason, the only time I have ever had panic attacks are while I am driving by myself. Well, actually, I had ONE at home. But other than that, something about driving alone panics me. Or used to, I should say, because this has not actually happened in a very long time. Years.

So here's what works for me to avoid the panic attack if I feel it coming on:

A very cold drink up against my neck. This will slow your heart rate down and give you a chance to take a few very deep, relaxing breaths. You can concentrate on blowing all the panic out. You can pull over to do this if you need to. I used to have to do that all the time in the beginning. The only problem is, sometimes it might take a long time to talk yourself back into driving. So, you don't necessarily have to pull over, but do that if you have to to get calm.

2nd thing. Having my cell phone and knowing that if there was an emergency, I could call someone. My mom is my person. And DH is my backup person. (DH is not very easy to reach at work, but my mom is.) But they both know that I *may* call them up and say, I'm panicking. I just need to talk for a minute. Then we talk about something totally unrelated to the panic attack. This will distract me enough from it that it stops. This works every time.

I used to have them so badly while driving, I would take a cold drink everywhere with me. Still do, often.

Anyway, I hope this helps you. Also, I think years ago I read a book called "Don't Panic" that helped me. Another thing that works for me is praying, after I have stopped the initial crazy panic. I don't know if you are religious at all but it helps me.

Good luck!! You can get control over this. I promise you, I used to be really bad off in this way, and doing just these couple of simple things changed my life.

[EarthRootsStarSoul]

I can keep panic attacks under control by calling a friend and chatting about something completely unrelated. It gets my mind off of it, so it goes away.

[DeerMother]

I would not be surprised if you continue to experience panic during that stretch of road. That's a scary situation!

I have a lot of anxiety while driving. If I am having a extra panicky day, I take rescue remedy before getting in the car. I find NPR talk to be calming even if I'm not paying attention, so I have that on in the car all the time.

Maybe it wold help to journal about this event?

[la mamita]

I used to have bad panic attacks while driving and given what happened with the seat almost catching on fire, it's not surprising that you would be triggered by this now! Can you tape up the button so you won't touch it without thinking?

I found the above recommendations helpful: call someone, a trusted person, that you can just chat to about something random. distraction is key. also, books on tape or NPR work well. allow yourself to take a break from driving if you are feeling very anxious. i would also just talk to myself in the car, saying 'you are very good at having panic attacks. you are good at getting anxious. but you always get through it, this will go away, there is nothing to fear right now. your mind is making you feel like this'. i would also try to make myself think of something funny and laugh--anything that can get you out of fight or flight mode.

good luck!