General Chat

i had my first panic attack 2 weeks ago whilst driving, now i am petrified to go out in the car on my own but have been forcing myself to face it and even invite it so i can use my new breathing tecniques!! It works too. im still scared..fast heart beating, feeling of passing out and dizzyness, but i need to drive as parents are poorly and rely on me. Any other people with this?
sue x

will return after east enders!!! :)

Yes I use to get them whe I was younger and it took me lots of time to get the breathing right ...but that was coz I wasnt listening to my dad !!! coz he caused them ..!!!!

Its easy now ...Keep going sueby doo it does get easier ...

Sorry Sue but unless you can go awhile without another or at least control them I am not sure you should be driving.

i have them when i don't think i can quickly get out os somewhere, trains and tubes especially. i have breathing techniques to do to. have been told think of something nice, do the breathing and i also always carry a bottle of water. not sure why that helps but it does. as you say best way to conquer them is to put urself in those situations.

Kemp I agree with what you say that they get easier and controllable eventually

I've had many of them over the years, since seeing a dreadful accident on the highway, pulling over and passing out on the side of the road. For years I avoided flashing lights up ahead in case I'd see another accident, drove miles out of my way to detour, couldn't drive over a high bridge in case I felt like driving off it. Learned to drive in the lane closest to the centre of the bridge to avoid seeing over the edge.
Breathing technique helps, talking out loud to myself helps also. I was put in the position of suddenly being a single mother and couldn't avoid driving, had to make a conscious decision to not panic. Still have the occasional one, especially if I am a passenger, with no control of the vehicle.
Good luck, you can get through this, admitting there's an issue is the first step.
mary

Thank you everyone for your comments. i have been doing a lot of research and one of the main points was that a panic attack will not kill you! so whilst i appreciate your comment uzzi about maybe not driving, i feel that if i dont carry on and work through it, i may not drive again and become beholden to it. i make sure that the journeys i take are small ones and take roads that i know i can pull over and control my breathing.Today i actually willed it to happen and it did and i overcame it, i was so proud that i laughed out loud!! who cares if anyone thought i was loopy!

You'll probably think it completely daft..... but my Mum used to suffer the same, we found that with a large toy teddy in the passenger seat she would relax , chat to him and would arrive calm.! Without Teddy she would have given up her car.

ah, lindsay, thats a lovely thought.Maybe i'll try that too!

Good luck Sueby doo. I do not drive but know the `horror` of a panic attack. Hope that it gets better for you soon.You learn to have a stratergy for coping with them. I always have a bottle of water and either a book or a crossword puzzle in my bag. Just knowing that I have something to distract me can help.

Sue I understand what you are saying and wish you luck with what ever you decide to do

thank you silver lady and uzzi, i'm waiting to see a counciller and hopefully they can retrain my thought patterns and nip it in the bud. i know some people who have suffered for years and it makes your world so much smaller. my heart goes out to these people.
thanks again for your comments, they really do help, x