Hypervigilence in driving

[Deleted member 37474]

:mad: What is your experiences in driving with ptsd in active mode? How do you deal?

I was driving on the highway going 70 and motorcycles thought it necessary to lane split from my left and right side within 30 seconds of each other. My heart was pounding. I literally felt the world pressuring me from both sides. Also, when I see people doing stupid driving maneuvers I have a running dialogue about them in my head. (And they say I have a mental condition, who the f*ck are those people?)

So... I spin a fidget spinner while I am driving. It soothes me. If that doesn't work, I am tapping rhythmic patterns of three on the steering wheel or I fiddle with a shell in my hand. Sometimes I practice breathing.

What are your experiences?

 

[barefoot]

I don't like driving - I find it very anxiety-making - so I avoid it wherever possible. I can also get a bit spacey when I drive short, familiar routes - not full on dissociation but not fully present either - so I often talk to myself as I'm driving to keep my head focused.

I do find that I am increasingly flinchy in the passenger seat. I don't know why I do it but I'll suddenly lift my feet up and slam my hand on the dashboard, like we're about to crash or something. And sometimes I will do it over and over in the same journey and my partner is patient about it but I think me jumping and flinching sometimes makes her jump. I worry that one of my dramatic flinches over nothing will make her flinch so badly that it actually causes an accident!

 

[Deadman]

I'm OK driving here on my little island but anywhere else makes me worry about having a flashback. It was all I could do to hold on till I could find an exit.

If I'm stressed I tend to drift back into Afghanistan driving. The cops don't seem to like that much.

 

[Deleted member 37474]

I'm OK driving here on my little island but anywhere else makes me worry about having a flashback. It w...

And that makes sense to me. I just find that the hypervigilence from other traumas crossing into driving is weird. Sometimes I actually lean away as cars move into the lane next to me. Why?!?

 

[Deadman]

Beats me. I'm afraid to check the mail. None of my traumas have anything to do with the mail yet it takes all my courage to check and even more to open it. Sometimes PTSD just doesn't make sense.

 

[Tornadic Thoughts]

I used to stay on the go, but now I'm much more content staying at home. I stick to back roads every chance I get. I'm working at becoming a better passenger, but still get a bit edgy at times, especially with fast, distracted, reckless folks. Interstate drivers pluck my nerves...especially in highly populated areas, with roundabouts, multiple exits, etc.. Dorothy had it right....there's no place like home. lol

I deep breathe a lot, have my favorite jams loaded, listen to books on cd, scream at the top of my lungs with the windows rolled up when I'm away from folks, sing at the top of my lungs whenever I feel the notion, no longer spend my energies angrily cussing each idiot out, but rather now say to myself, "You f*cking safety hazard. May you and everyone in your path make it to their destinations unharmed because of your mindless choices." That leaves a much kinder energetic mark on my cells than cussing them like crazy used to leave.

 

[Deleted member 541]

I have no issue driving... UNTIL I have to drive out of my community. Then the white knuckle syndrome hits and the anxiety spikes. Every year in my state, we have our state fair. I love it, it's crowded, it's full of noise, food and fun things. I hate most of the noise and people. I even hate the drive to get there. I do it for 2 reasons.

1 is the fact that I refuse to let anxiety get the best of me.
2 Because there is so much to see and do there.

So, in Sept I will do it again. UGH!!!!

 

[recoveringfromptsd]

I sometimes get flashbacks or intrusive images when driving, I end up concentrating on counting from 1 to 10 over and over until they pass.

 

[provencepearl]

Beats me. I'm afraid to check the mail. None of my traumas have anything to do with the mail yet it tak...

I, too, have had trouble with mail. I manage bills and personal stuff. But can't go up and sign for things. Can't open thick envelopes, big envelopes, things from people I don't know. This started when I was having problems at work. Recently, I learned about ptsd caused by legal abuse syndrome. This is one of the symptoms. (difficulty with mail) You can look up legal abuse syndrome and see if it seems to fit.

:mad: What is your experiences in driving with ptsd in active mode? How do you deal?

I was driving on...

I have never really liked driving. It was just something I had to do. I learned to drive a manual and was very proud of myself. Big city driving is not for me. But, I have no real issues in the town where I live or nearby towns I am familiar with. My difficulties with out of town/big town driving has gotten much worse. I now mostly car pool, avoid going, or try to find public transportation. Sometimes just being in a big city alone is difficult. I had been thinking it was my auditory processing disorder, too much coming at me at once (traffic, signs, lights, etc).

 

[Vidistus]

Beats me. I'm afraid to check the mail. None of my traumas have anything to do with the mail yet it tak...

When it's been bad small tasks have overwhelmed me. There are so many little tasks and it's too much. So even just the one isolated task is too much. On top of that, you don't know what's going to be inside the mailbox. Who has reached out. If there's a bill. That's why mail can be hard for me.

 

[Deleted member 12723]

I have really been working on my anxiety while driving with good results. But I stay off the freeways as much as possible and do not drive into big cities anymore if I can help it. It is too overwhelming for me to be able to navigate my car and although I can do it, I do not like to because I do not feel safe doing so and I have a tendency to get turned around and lost in the bigger cities, I guess I am a country mouse.:D

 

[CyclePath]

Driving is a challenge for me too. Well, not a challenge in itself, but it tends to get my anxiety qued up. I'm also a terrible passenger; even out here in the country. Being a passenger is worse for me though. Major metro areas exhaust me in either seat. Backroads are key for me and I use them as much as possible while keeping it slow. If I can keep up with scanning I don't have much of a problem, but when things get too busy around me I start to get edgy. I had my first full on panic attack while driving to work when still active about nine years ago. I was sure I was having a heart attack. It was at that point that I realized my nightmares and hypervig were reaching new hieghts...