PTSD and long drives

[Sweetleaf]

I'm visiting a friend in the middle of nowhere (any drive 2 hrs from here is the middle of nowhere)

I'm leaving in about 3-4 hours, so I guess I should have made this thread sooner but, better late than never lol.

This is my first time doing a long drive, with PTSD in the mix, with me as the driver. I feel up to it, kinda excited to get the f*ck out of town, though it's been a very long time since I drove to this specific place.

Any advice? I have a nice grounding scent in my car - would music be a good or a bad idea? I usually don't listen to music, but I also usually drive 30 minutes max. I'll be alone.

I plan on frequently stopping and taking pictures (the drive has a lot of beautiful as f*ck wilderness) - so that will give me a chance to both stretch my legs and take a break from focusing on the road.

Does your PTSD cause you any problems during long drives? Or conversely, does going for long drives help your PTSD symptoms decrease for a little bit?

What do you do to help keep it in check, if you do have problems?

 

[Teamwork]

You already have a great list happening so keep following your natural instincts and you will do fine. If you get symptoms know that the photo opps will calm you down as it changes your focus, helps calm.

 

[Tinyflame]

Helps me, but I'm not the driver.

Good luck and hope you enjoy it. My hardest part is coming back, the further away I go the farther troubles feel.

 

[Sweetleaf]

Wow! That actually was really easy!!! I was focused as f*ck on the road - though I also had naltrexone in the mix to help me not dissociate so easily.

I went out on a limb too - I tested the waters with something new that I haven't done since before PTSD - my friend had a friend who also wanted to come down, and wanted to know if I'd give her a ride since I was going down anyway - really good decision to go take her. I made a new friend while visiting a friend! We got along really well and she's really sweet and nice.

It was actually really helpful to have company for the drive, and eventually we found out we have a lot of common ground. I feel like we could relate really well.

I stayed the night there - they had a big tent with power, heat, a bed, pretty much set up like a bedroom (I meant it when I said middle of nowhere) and I slept in her van which has a bed set up in the back. She lives like that because it's seasonal work out there in the middle of nowhere. It's a lot cheaper to live in a tent than pay out the ass renting a cabin or whatever for the summer, not that there's much to rent there lol. The village had like 90 or so official residents IIRC. Really low population.

I forgot how PITCH F*CKING BLACK it gets on a cloudy night in the middle of nowhere - a place with literally zero outside nighttime lighting. That was cool to experience again. If it were cloudless and maybe later in the season I'd have been able to see an insane number of stars.

I felt like, really distracted from my past.

It was f*ckin' great.

Also learned that I prefer driving with company to driving alone.

I just haven't had good company to drive with in a very long time.

 

[joeylittle]

Awesome, @Sweetleaf - really well done. :tup:

 

[Freida]

I''m not allowed to get in the car without adult supervision because...well...if I'm stressed I won't come back.??
But I do get what you mean -- my car is my safe place and sometimes driving helps me both think and not think. Especially when you have someone along that you can trust

 

[grit]

Sounds like concentration is good for PTSD!

Glad you made it Sweatleaf.

I stopped driving a while ago because I found all my senses go to the four Fs! so I was like I rather not kill anyone.
and as a consequently I lost my driver licences (we have graded licences in Canada) so I did not pass to go up and that is it. I have to start all over again.

but today as I was walking the dog, I found driver's book on a bench in the park and I was like OK...a sign from the universe, and I may take a crack at it again...I feel my cycling is getting better too...no more butterflies or just flies in my belly.

 

[piratelady]

I’m glad your drive went well! Last week we spent a considerable amount of time driving and it had mixed results. It left me with way too much time to think. We usually listen to podcasts which for me are fantastic! The one we chose was about a man who committed suicide... so not so fantastic lol!

 

[Mach123]

I love driving and have taken several long trips in that last couple years. My symptoms died down enough or whatever. I've never been able to do this in my life till now. I used to be a mess trying to travel. In May my youngest and I drove to his sisters in AZ in a UHaul from MA. That was miserable, but i didn't rest enough in retrospect it was fun. I really get into it and it gives me a great distraction. All I think about is the next time we stop. I do almost all the driving and I just tell the phone where I want to go. 8 hrs a day is no problem, and the hotels and living out of the big suitcase on wheels/back pack things we have. It's a total blast. We just booked a trip to Vermont and across NH for our birthdays in October during the foliage. Im happy I can do these things now, but sad for all the years I couldn't.

 

[Friday]

It was f*ckin' great.

I love travelling. Alone or in company just depending on my mood (and companions available for the whisking).

For a long time? Travelling was my therapy. Where I got secure and centered in myself, and reminded of why I do this life thing, at all. Pura Vida.

I''m not allowed to get in the car without adult supervision because...well...if I'm stressed I won't come back.??

:hilarious: I used to give my passport the the biggest busybody, nosy, inconvenient person I knew to get it back from... just to limit how wide ranging my impulses could send me! There have been times where I considered jumping the border to be less hassle. :whistling:

But whether dealing with the dragon lady, jumping the border, or having a new passport issued? They all served the same purpose. Slow. Down.

But I wanna go to Johannesburg, Christchurch, Montreal!...
Oh really? How badly do you want to go? Badly enough to fetch your passport back?
On consideration, not that badly.

 

[desiderata310]

I see that I'm a little late to the conversation but since I just made the journey from Philadelphia to the headlands of the Mississippi and then back to the Central Coast with a tiny car stuff to the brim, a Weimaraner, two bikes and a surfboard I would say I might have a little to add to the conversation

First I have to say that given the choice between flying and driving, even with all the stressors that flying brings I would fly any day of the week.
Driving has it's pluses and minuses I will freely admit.
One things that haunted me the entire trip and was hard to turn off was "what if something goes wrong?" "what is that smell??" "Is my car about to catch fire??" (that one actually happened to me) "am I speeding" "oh my god why the hell won't they go faster"
"Where the hell is Siri taking me?" "Why can't I find a place to stay" "What if a tornado comes?"
etc etc etc...
in other words, anxiety brain never really shuts off.
BUT It can be tamed.
I listened to the NPR One App which meant I listened to some random stuff about a crypto errancy to control the news, the Revision History podcast by Malcom Gladwell, After Effect that I think was the one that featured a story about a chronic suicidal with a oddly happy (?) ending and my personal favorite Hidden Brain with Shankar Vedantam. (Have I mentioned I love this one?)

When those got wearisome I would crank up the music or channel surf.
After a while SAFE was being in my car.
NOT safe was anything outside my car.

I did wind up experiencing a little bit of everything but then again I think my trip was a bit longer so I got to experience a little bit of everything- including the omg forever taking Utah.

Flying has it's own special brand hell and freedom. Hell getting ON the plane and through the lines and crazy people who want to TALK to you about stupid shit.
But bliss if you can get on, settled, headphones on and pup settled knowing that the whole thing will be over in a matter of a few hours and not a few DAYS.

 

[Freida]

But I wanna go to Johannesburg, Christchurch, Montreal!...
Oh really? How badly do you want to go? Badly enough to fetch your passport back?
On consideration, not that badly.

Yep! This!! ^^^^^ ???