Anxiety/panic attacks while at work and driving

[WendyEliza]

Well let's start off with the fact that I have been having anxiety/panic attacks since I was 15 years old. I am now 20. When I first started having this problem I was put on medication which helped. After a couple of months I did not have to depend on the medication and no longer had a problem with anxiety. About 2 years ago I started having this problem again and it got so bad that I developed agoraphobia. In the middle of last year I finally got through it and was able to go out again and enjoy life almost completely anxiety free.

On Tuesday of last week it came back. I Had just gotten to work and I started feeling extremely hot. I got a pretty bad panic attack. I manages to get through the day as well as the next day of work. But when I had to go back on Saturday to work I couldn't handle it any longer. I thought maybe if I went home and changed into something that would keep me cool I'd be fine, so I asked my boss and he said that was fine. But when I started driving I had an anxiety attack. I was able to get through Saturday at work as well but the next day, the thought of even going to work put me in a panic and that's when I realized that I started developing agoraphobia. Just yesterday I decided I was going to put myself out there and try to pick up my boyfriend a few blocks away from my house and I had a full blown panic attack while driving. I am now afraid to drive and go to work because that is where I got my panic attacks.

I need fast relief because I do not want to live my life in feat once again and I don't want to lose my job. I have a doctors appointment today and plan on asking him to put me on medication. I would try to get myself through this without medication like before but right now I don't have time to figure out what works for me since i have 3 more days till I have to go back to work. I'd like some advice from everybody on here who has had the same problem. What do you guys so to get through these type of situations? Thanks for the help in advance.

[livinthislife]

hi just wanted to say that i relate exactly to your situation my panic attacks come and go throught out time. just recently i started having them again at work. all last week i dreaded going to work and the thought of even heading to work gave me anxiety and almost a panic attack. i had a few bad panic attacks at work last two weeks almost gave in to agoraphobia once again, ive been fighting hard against the attacks so that i dont end up stuck in the house for months on end again with no job. try going to your doc to see if he can prescribe you some meds to help you through this time in your life. its been in the 100 degrees here lately very hot i also think that has been agravating my anxiety.

[WendyEliza]

I understand completely what you mean when you say that the heat aggravates your anxiety, it actually does since being in the heat makes you feel stuffed and like there is no air. Do you have any advise on what medication I should suggest to my doctor? I'm lookin for something a bit more long term. I was prescribed Xanax the last time I went and i was too afraid to take it because at the time that I was given that medication I was having horrible sleeping problems and the pills said not to be taken if I had any sleeping problems.

[livinthislife]

xanax is good to take if you cant control a panic attack it is fast acting if you disolve it under your tongue it goes into your blood stream within a minute or two but tastes yucky. this is what my doc told me to do to make it help me faster. xanax lasts about an hour then wears off its good just for those emergency panic attacks. klonopin takes a little longer to start working but it lasts 6-12 hours it takes the edge off for a longer amount of time . some people take antidepressants which also work but in my opinion have too many side effects. i think the best to do is use xanax or klonopin only if you really need it i used to carry a bottle of xanax in my pocket as a safety blanket. knowing that i had those pills that i could take if i got a realy bad attack really helped. the panic attack would usually subside before i had to take a pill. the most important thing to remember is that you made it through those days at work and nothing happened to you. it was uncomfortable but you survived so you will always survive. try not to let the panic attacks scare you, if you dont fear them they will become less and less potent. i wish you the best of luck and just remember your not alone we are all going through this with you.

[WendyEliza]

Thank you so much for your help.

[justsheree]

I am dealing with this almost exact same issue. It's a horrible one, and I know how you feel.  I was on medication several years ago, and then tapered off of it and was fine, but recently due to an eye problem, my panic came back in full
force along with thoughts of 'what if' and 'am I going crazy' and just bizarre worries that cause me to have anxiety and panic. My job gave me two weeks off, with a Dr. note, but I'm supposed to be back in friday and I'm pretty
sure that I'm not going to be able to handle it. I was going to put a post on here today about this, so I was relieved to read your post as well, not glad someone is suffering like me, but that sometimes I feel alone in this and
I know that I am not. I've had attacks at work before and was able to return the next day, I can't really say why I was able to then but not now, maybe now more self doubting talk where as before I could blow it off after the
attack happened. Not saying that if you are unable to blow it off you are weak, because that is where I am at now. I think going to your Dr. is the very best bet. I know for me that it's my thoughts/wrongful thinking
that cause my attacks, but to combat those I need to feel like I am not going to panic at every little thing, and for me, that requires medication. I went to the Dr. today and have an appointment next week with
the same phycologist that I saw before next Tuesday. Feel free to message me and I will tell you what I was prescribed, I don't want anyone to think I'm advocating or pushing certain meds. I can only tell
you what worked for me, which may be completely different than what will work for you. But please keep the faith that something will work, I know that is so much easier said than done, especially when
panic prevents us from doing the simplest of things that we normally would not have thought twice about before, but something will help.Sometimes I keep a list of things I was
able to do that day, as cheesy as it sounds, then I reread it when I'm feeling worthless/upset over my panic disorder. Even the small things are something, like going to pick up your boyfriend, you DID it. Was it horrible, and uncomfortable, sure, but you DID it !!
 Sometimes just being on here and reading posts helps me
more than I can explain. It's like having your own support Army on your side. Keep updating, I want to hear your success story, I have faith that you will have one. Let me know if I can be
of any help.
Sheree

[justsheree]

I can't figure out how to do the quote thing, but Livingthislife, I LOVE how you say 'it was uncomfortable but you got through it' I agree that is the best way to look at it !! Hard, but the very best way ! Keep up that fight and post on here
so we can read your success as well !!

[WendyEliza]

Justsheree, your post has given me so much faith, you have no idea. Knowing that I am not the only person going through this makes me feel much better. I have the support of my family and boyfriend as well but it's not the same since they don't quite understand what I am going through. I will definitely will start using your method of writing down the things I was able to do through out the day, I have a feeling it will help because just thinking about the things I am able to do puts my mind at ease. Please keep me updated for I will love to hear your success story as well. Thank you so much for your advice and kind words.

[justsheree]

Anytime !! And I feel the very same about your post. I love the fact your boyfriend and family are supportive, but like you said, it's hard for them to understand just how terrible it can really be. I want you to know that this
morning I was having a horrible morning, I was worried at my Dr. appointment, and all through the rest of the morning I just layed around and panicked. Then I was able to get out, in my car and drive to the store. I just
told myself 'ok, you're going to do this, it may stink, but you're going to do this' and I was able to. I made myself walk around the store for 20 minutes and whenever I started feeling the panic monster coming on I
was able to be like ' nope, not this time'. Now, does this work everytime, no. But I can't let myself (or try not to let myself) dwell on this. The rest of the day (good 4 hours now) I have felt like my old self again. I feel like I could
go to work, go to the store, anything and not have an issue. I'm not bragging here, I'm just saying please hang in there, have that faith, even when you have a set back, keep that faith, because the successes are soooo
worth it. I know that soon my mind will be refocused on something else if I can keep pushing forward to the positives, and yours can too! Hope your evening is going better !
Sheree

[VikiP]

Hi all,

I'm new here but very experienced at panic attacks (not exactly doing the happy dance!).  I just wanted you to know that you are definitely not alone.  I fought panic attacks while driving and I know how scary they are:

Try to keep yourself focused on the present, not the past or the future, just the present.

If I start feeling an attack coming on while I'm driving, I start looking around and say (out loud) everything I see, street signs - what does it say, look at other cars and people around me and describe them out loud.

Remind yourself that you are a good driver.

The object is to keep you in the present.  Panic attacks come from anticipation so if you keep yourself in the present it will definitely help.
I hope this helps you.  There is nothing scarier than having a panic attacks when you're driving, lives are at stake!

Take care,
Viki

[worrywort87]

Well let's start off with the fact that I have been having anxiety/panic attacks since I was 15 years old. I am now 20. When I first started having this problem I was put on medication which helped. After a couple of months I did not have to depend on the medication and no longer had a problem with anxiety. About 2 years ago I started having this problem again and it got so bad that I developed agoraphobia. In the middle of last year I finally got through it and was able to go out again and enjoy life almost completely anxiety free.

On Tuesday of last week it came back. I Had just gotten to work and I started feeling extremely hot. I got a pretty bad panic attack. I manages to get through the day as well as the next day of work. But when I had to go back on Saturday to work I couldn't handle it any longer. I thought maybe if I went home and changed into something that would keep me cool I'd be fine, so I asked my boss and he said that was fine. But when I started driving I had an anxiety attack. I was able to get through Saturday at work as well but the next day, the thought of even going to work put me in a panic and that's when I realized that I started developing agoraphobia. Just yesterday I decided I was going to put myself out there and try to pick up my boyfriend a few blocks away from my house and I had a full blown panic attack while driving. I am now afraid to drive and go to work because that is where I got my panic attacks.

I need fast relief because I do not want to live my life in feat once again and I don't want to lose my job. I have a doctors appointment today and plan on asking him to put me on medication. I would try to get myself through this without medication like before but right now I don't have time to figure out what works for me since i have 3 more days till I have to go back to work. I'd like some advice from everybody on here who has had the same problem. What do you guys so to get through these type of situations? Thanks for the help in advance.

For the first year of so of my panic disorder I would have an anxiety attack every time I got in the car.  Although I was in an accident as well so I believe that this has a lot to do with it.  I find that focusing on my destination and taking breaks when driving long distances (an hour or more) really helps me.