Smilen @ Sep 20, 2023, 10:58:52 PM

Hey all,

I was doing okay, and then the anxious thoughts flooded my mind. Honestly, it's not so much of a thought as it is a feeling, mainly triggered by my work schedule and having to drive to work. It seems to be cyclical. I deep breathe, I change/ reframe my thoughts, and do my best to relax, but sometimes the fear gets ahead of me, and the overwhelm comes. I keep talking to myself and God, relying on His strength to help me stay composed and not panic.

I don't like being in the car, I don't like driving, and I don't like when other people drive me around. When the anxiety is high, I almost feel claustrophobic. I feel restricted. In those moments, I am truly trying to talk myself down. No one knows it. I am calm as a clam on the outside but feel as though I'm coming unglued on the inside. I do my best to hold it all together, to stay rational, and to drive safely.

There have been times when I felt my limbs (arms) were going to turn into jelly and go limp. This sensation happened over ten years ago before I started feeling anxious about driving, but as I'm going through this program, I'm asking myself if it could have been anxiety, and I didn't know it. There have also been times more recently when I feel disoriented on the road, especially while the car is at a standstill, where I feel like my car is moving forward, but it's not. This terrifies me because I feel like I will hit the car in front of me even though my foot is hard-pressing the break. As I have been reading the material, I understand why people want to avoid these fearful situations because of the fear of being out of control. I totally get it!

Ashley, or anyone else for that matter, have you ever heard of anyone feeling this way or describing these symptoms? How do I cope? How do I conquer this? I keep pushing myself because I refuse to be a victim of this. I have to overcome, so off to the reading material I go.

Hey Smilen,

I also do deep breathing. Sometimes anxiety suddenly overwhelms me all at once and I don't know why. Other times it overwhelms me when I am thinking about something unpleasant.

I try to close my eyes and breathe in and out slowly. Usually this does the trick in under a minutes. The anxiety might not go away completely, but it is not as bad and my chest is not feeling as tight.

Hope this helps.

Happy Valentine's Day Lynn123! Hope you had a great day and relished in your accomplishments! ?