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.

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.

Hi I'm_Hazen,

Welcome! Congrats on getting started on the program. Getting started is often the hardest part. You ask a great question. Fear and anxiety can show up differently for different people. Those with high functioning anxiety often don't even realize how anxious they are until they start paying attention to their sympyoms and behaviours. "Fleeing" or avoidance are common symptoms of anxiety. Try to think of it as a fight or flight response. You feel uncomfortable with anxiety aka fear and you want to leave the situation. Does that sound right to you?

What happens if you are unable to leave the situation? Can you think of a time when you were unable to leave a situation and you were ok?

Thanks for posting!

Ashley

Im_hazen,

I wanted to pop in and say hello and welcome! I have been a member of this site for many years but have spent most of my time in the Managing Drinking Community.  I am not a professional. Any advice I give is based on reflections during my 7 years of sobriety.  

Throughout my drinking days I suffered from anxiety. I assume it was a combination of the pre-drinking and post-drinking anxiety. So, with that being said, I share your thought that, “anxiety is like a huge wave of feeling overwhelmed.” That’s exactly how I felt before and after I drank. I’m not sure how a “level of panic based on fear” is related to anxiety.  

Congratulations starting the program on this site and posting your questions. An Anxiety Community member and/or a Health Educator for the site will respond. Until then, feel free to reach out. I will be happy to help as much as I can. :) 

I hope you have a great day!

 Lynn

Hi everyone! I am new here and just went through the material for module 1 on panic.

I guess I am having trouble connecting with some wording. For me - anxiety is like a huge wave of feeling overwhelmed. I can often feel it in my arms (tingling) and a tightness in my chest and shortness of breath. Module 1 as well as the work sheets refer to the level of panic based on fear; I’m not scared of the attack I just need to get away from the situation.

Not sure if that makes sense at all, was just hoping someone might have ideas on how to connect with the wording better, make it more relatable to myself in order to get the most out of the program and the homework.

Thanks so much!