Full Blown Panic Attack While Driving – How Do You Stop A Panic Attack While Driving?

You are merrily driving on the highway, having your window open, attempting to listen to the radio, when all of a sudden : Boom, it is there! The scary panic attack! You are all of a sudden trapped in a flow of high traffic on both sides, feeling very high or drunk with everything being unreal or surreal. You are dizzy, confused and just barely realizing what is going on on. But you do know this : you have got a total panic attack.

I know, because I’ve been thru it. Not everyone feels like you’re right or drunk, there are a spread of symptoms that you can experience. Other symptoms that you might experience are :

Heart pounding Shaking doubt Dizzy Sick to your stomach Feel a bit like you’re dying or going mad

These are all very common manifestations. We do not experience each one of them at the same time. Some folk only experience a couple of these, other different ones each time. I don’t think there is an answer as to why is that.

However, it’s good to know some of the triggers of anxiety panic attack while driving, so you can recognize them. They’d help you, because after you recognize they are triggers, you are aware to what is happening to you. If you know what it is, you are no longer afraid of it, you are AWARE.

Driving an unknown car Driving on an unknown road The pressure to overtake slow drivers Strong inbound traffic, especially in a bad weather ( rain, fog, etc ) Signs reminding you of death on the roads ( seeing flowers, crosses along the road, memorials ) Crossing a narrow bridge

If, while driving, you feel the first signs of a panic attack approaching, don’t panic! ( I know, simpler said than done ). Slow down, and pull over your car, if you can. If you cannot, thanks to the road circumstances, then make sure you drive slowly, do not fret about the other drivers honking on you. It’s their problem, not yours. Open your window, take some clean air, breathe intensely. If you have water with you, drink a bit. Make sure that you always have a nice, relaxing CD with you, that you already know and love. Familiarity is extraordinarily critical to fall back to.

If you are looking for more related reading material – panic attacks at night and more here Severe Panic Attacks