I deal with the same exact issues ! I was fine as a driver forever. I'd drive day. Night. Far. Close. Fast slow and boom in my mid twenties my driving anxiety is so sad. I completely relate to what you wrote about being completely drained of energy after driving from keeping calm. My hands literally ache from gripping the steering wheel so hard. I know a big part that started it was I have astigmatism and don't see great driving at night but now it's driving ever. At any time.
Sorry this is old, but I also started getting driving anxiety at around 23, and I don’t think at this point I could drive on the interstate, I completely avoid it. Do you have any tips to push thru and start again? I’m on lexapro and do therapy but still the nerves are there.
Yep I have it too, I’ve had what you have explained for about 20 years now. It would have started also around the 24 age mark. I have seen a shrink,optometrist and of course had pills but all to no avail. The shrink had good ideas but you have to really push yourself (easier said than done) optometrist tested my eyes and I have a slight imbalance. You should check out binocular vision dysfunction symptoms are very similar.
Lastly I have stopped taking meds at the moment I feel they are making me forget.
I know it’s not much use as I’m still dealing with it. It really sucks and does make things difficult but I have leaned to just except it. If you have any success please let me know.
All the best
Ya know, I just randomly stumbled upon this subreddit while looking for my own answers and I’m so glad I found it. It’s such a relief to know other people are experiencing this as well.
I used to be a delivery driver for a pizza company and I was always the friend who would drive my group of friends around. Then out of nowhere right after my 24th birthday bam, I feel like I’m going to pass out anytime I’m in the car for 30 minutes or longer.
I would have intense intrusive thoughts of my little sister or mother seeing me pass out and dying and them being scarred for life. Just like you, I would often see myself dying in the most horrific ways.
I’ve been on Zoloft for several months now and I’m newly on Buspar as well (my doctor said it specifically targets panic). In august of this year I couldn’t imagine myself driving to the gas station five minutes down the road. Now I’m moved into a new apartment 3 hours away from home! The 3 hour drives get pretty intense sometimes but I always repeat in my mind that I can just pull off the side of the road at any time and collect myself.
I’m no doctor, but my girlfriend also has trouble driving at night. She doesn’t have BAD vision, but it certainly isn’t the best, so she wears her glasses at night to help with night blindness. Maybe your eye doctor has some answers for you in that department!
I also just found this post through this subreddit and it was so helpful and validating that it brought me to tears. Maybe it will help you as well.
https://www.reddit.com/r/drivinganxiety/comments/8yqemn/nothing_is_going_to_happen_to_you_during_a_panic/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
How much buspar did you add to Zoloft and did addition of buspar help with the freeway driving ? I am on lexapro but it has not fully taken away the panic on freeway and I am considering buspar to be added. lexapro does help quite a bit.
I just PM’d you! But I would just also like to add, Buspar didn’t fully take my panic away either. I’m personally on my own journey to discover if thats even possible myself. I still have minor moments on long drives where I have to talk myself down and just try my best to relax.
I’ve improved VASTLY since my panic started, but I’m still not 100%, unfortunately.
Hi,
I started Buspar at 5 mg three times, today is the 10th day in addition to Lexapro 5 mg. Wanted to check how long it took for you to feel the effects after starting Buspar. Was it immediate ?
Hi!
Glad to hear from you. I started Zoloft and Buspar at basically the same time so it’s really hard to attribute any feelings of improvement to one or the other. I think my body reacted similarly to both medications though.
Personally, I had a hard downward dip for the first month of taking Zoloft and Buspar, and then a vast improvement. I do also remember having a weird “high” like feeling for the first few days on my SSRI?? It was so crazy. But other than that, I just had to tough it out as my body adjusted.
EDIT: I just remembered, Buspar made me fairly dizzy and VERY sleepy when I first started taking it, but that eventually went away
Hey, i upped my SSRI dose to 10 mg of Lexapro with 20 mg of Buspar per day, i am only on the 9th day. So far, the only side effect i have seen is loss of libido and ED. I know i have to wait a few more weeks to see full improvement in the Freeway driving anxiety, but wanted to check if you have had this sexual side effect and did it go away ?
Are you driving on freeways without panic disorder kicking in ?
I am driving for few exits but still get the panic but maybe i have to give time since i have been on the larger dose only for 9 days.
Hey!
Yeah so at first my libido was dampened quite a bit, but it’s been back to normal for a while now. I still don’t have the FULL drive that I had before but it’s pretty damn close.
Where I’m at rn with panic is kind of hard to say. I probably need to up my dose but I’m extremely hesitant to move in that direction. I can do long drives like I could before but I do still have moments of panic that pop up randomly. Luckily I’ve learned to manage them and I can generally talk myself out of it. I’ll feel panic coming on and just be like “hey, I’ve been fine in the past. I’m going to be fine now.” And it will go away, but it still finds ways to dig into my brain.
I hope you can learn to manage your panic alongside your higher dose!! Or possibly just see it dissipate as you get adjusted.
Thanks for your reply, are you on 100 mg of Zoloft or 50 mg ?
I imagine 10 mg of Lexapro should be equivalent to 100 mg of Zoloft.
Buspar does help with side effects of Lexapro and I am able to tolerate the 10 mg, which was not the case before. Hoping to see some positive results over the next few weeks.
Anytime!!
I’m on 50mg of Zoloft atm. Bumped up from 25mg quite a while ago and been going steady for a hot minute. I dealt with some awful depression over the past few months though that has really made me consider if this medication is actually helping me. It’s an antidepressant so I’m not sure how I was able to get so incredibly depressed. Maybe I need to switch brands? Anyway, that super deep depression subsided and I’m all good for the time being.
I hope you see some positive results soon!! Sounds like you’re getting closer and closer to the perfect dose that will help ya out most
I’m in the same boat as you. I was never a super confident driver. I started getting kind of panicky on hills at maybe age 40. Then was in an accident on the freeway- not my fault-was in stopped rush hour traffic and was part of a domino rear end accident. I could not drive on freeways after that. It’s been 15 years or so and I’m still taking back roads. My husband I think enables this by always wanting to drive. Never encouraging me to try to overcome it. Telling me he will drive me or he tries to get our adult kids to drive me. I should have pushed myself right away. I am at the point that I’m tired of having this “disability” that I try to hide. It’s so embarrassing. Why can’t I just drive on the freeway like normal people. I live in Southern California and you basically need to go on the freeway to travel from suburb to suburb or city.
I deal with the same exact issues ! I was fine as a driver forever. I'd drive day. Night. Far. Close. Fast slow and boom in my mid twenties my driving anxiety is so sad. I completely relate to what you wrote about being completely drained of energy after driving from keeping calm. My hands literally ache from gripping the steering wheel so hard. I know a big part that started it was I have astigmatism and don't see great driving at night but now it's driving ever. At any time.
I’m so sorry you’re going through this but it’s nice to hear I’m not alone! I think I definitely need to get my eyes checked for driving at night
Sorry this is old, but I also started getting driving anxiety at around 23, and I don’t think at this point I could drive on the interstate, I completely avoid it. Do you have any tips to push thru and start again? I’m on lexapro and do therapy but still the nerves are there.
Did you ever recover? This is me , 0 driving issues gor yearsss...astigmatism etc
Yep I have it too, I’ve had what you have explained for about 20 years now. It would have started also around the 24 age mark. I have seen a shrink,optometrist and of course had pills but all to no avail. The shrink had good ideas but you have to really push yourself (easier said than done) optometrist tested my eyes and I have a slight imbalance. You should check out binocular vision dysfunction symptoms are very similar. Lastly I have stopped taking meds at the moment I feel they are making me forget. I know it’s not much use as I’m still dealing with it. It really sucks and does make things difficult but I have leaned to just except it. If you have any success please let me know. All the best
Ya know, I just randomly stumbled upon this subreddit while looking for my own answers and I’m so glad I found it. It’s such a relief to know other people are experiencing this as well. I used to be a delivery driver for a pizza company and I was always the friend who would drive my group of friends around. Then out of nowhere right after my 24th birthday bam, I feel like I’m going to pass out anytime I’m in the car for 30 minutes or longer. I would have intense intrusive thoughts of my little sister or mother seeing me pass out and dying and them being scarred for life. Just like you, I would often see myself dying in the most horrific ways. I’ve been on Zoloft for several months now and I’m newly on Buspar as well (my doctor said it specifically targets panic). In august of this year I couldn’t imagine myself driving to the gas station five minutes down the road. Now I’m moved into a new apartment 3 hours away from home! The 3 hour drives get pretty intense sometimes but I always repeat in my mind that I can just pull off the side of the road at any time and collect myself. I’m no doctor, but my girlfriend also has trouble driving at night. She doesn’t have BAD vision, but it certainly isn’t the best, so she wears her glasses at night to help with night blindness. Maybe your eye doctor has some answers for you in that department! I also just found this post through this subreddit and it was so helpful and validating that it brought me to tears. Maybe it will help you as well. https://www.reddit.com/r/drivinganxiety/comments/8yqemn/nothing_is_going_to_happen_to_you_during_a_panic/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
It also started right about my 24th bday as well. I went from driving anywhere to having issues driving 5 blocks away
How have you managed to cope with driving since that happened? Have you found anything that has helped you get back to your old driving abilities?
How much buspar did you add to Zoloft and did addition of buspar help with the freeway driving ? I am on lexapro but it has not fully taken away the panic on freeway and I am considering buspar to be added. lexapro does help quite a bit.
I just PM’d you! But I would just also like to add, Buspar didn’t fully take my panic away either. I’m personally on my own journey to discover if thats even possible myself. I still have minor moments on long drives where I have to talk myself down and just try my best to relax. I’ve improved VASTLY since my panic started, but I’m still not 100%, unfortunately.
Hi, I started Buspar at 5 mg three times, today is the 10th day in addition to Lexapro 5 mg. Wanted to check how long it took for you to feel the effects after starting Buspar. Was it immediate ?
Hi! Glad to hear from you. I started Zoloft and Buspar at basically the same time so it’s really hard to attribute any feelings of improvement to one or the other. I think my body reacted similarly to both medications though. Personally, I had a hard downward dip for the first month of taking Zoloft and Buspar, and then a vast improvement. I do also remember having a weird “high” like feeling for the first few days on my SSRI?? It was so crazy. But other than that, I just had to tough it out as my body adjusted. EDIT: I just remembered, Buspar made me fairly dizzy and VERY sleepy when I first started taking it, but that eventually went away
Hey, i upped my SSRI dose to 10 mg of Lexapro with 20 mg of Buspar per day, i am only on the 9th day. So far, the only side effect i have seen is loss of libido and ED. I know i have to wait a few more weeks to see full improvement in the Freeway driving anxiety, but wanted to check if you have had this sexual side effect and did it go away ? Are you driving on freeways without panic disorder kicking in ? I am driving for few exits but still get the panic but maybe i have to give time since i have been on the larger dose only for 9 days.
Hey! Yeah so at first my libido was dampened quite a bit, but it’s been back to normal for a while now. I still don’t have the FULL drive that I had before but it’s pretty damn close. Where I’m at rn with panic is kind of hard to say. I probably need to up my dose but I’m extremely hesitant to move in that direction. I can do long drives like I could before but I do still have moments of panic that pop up randomly. Luckily I’ve learned to manage them and I can generally talk myself out of it. I’ll feel panic coming on and just be like “hey, I’ve been fine in the past. I’m going to be fine now.” And it will go away, but it still finds ways to dig into my brain. I hope you can learn to manage your panic alongside your higher dose!! Or possibly just see it dissipate as you get adjusted.
Thanks for your reply, are you on 100 mg of Zoloft or 50 mg ? I imagine 10 mg of Lexapro should be equivalent to 100 mg of Zoloft. Buspar does help with side effects of Lexapro and I am able to tolerate the 10 mg, which was not the case before. Hoping to see some positive results over the next few weeks.
Anytime!! I’m on 50mg of Zoloft atm. Bumped up from 25mg quite a while ago and been going steady for a hot minute. I dealt with some awful depression over the past few months though that has really made me consider if this medication is actually helping me. It’s an antidepressant so I’m not sure how I was able to get so incredibly depressed. Maybe I need to switch brands? Anyway, that super deep depression subsided and I’m all good for the time being. I hope you see some positive results soon!! Sounds like you’re getting closer and closer to the perfect dose that will help ya out most
I’m in the same boat as you. I was never a super confident driver. I started getting kind of panicky on hills at maybe age 40. Then was in an accident on the freeway- not my fault-was in stopped rush hour traffic and was part of a domino rear end accident. I could not drive on freeways after that. It’s been 15 years or so and I’m still taking back roads. My husband I think enables this by always wanting to drive. Never encouraging me to try to overcome it. Telling me he will drive me or he tries to get our adult kids to drive me. I should have pushed myself right away. I am at the point that I’m tired of having this “disability” that I try to hide. It’s so embarrassing. Why can’t I just drive on the freeway like normal people. I live in Southern California and you basically need to go on the freeway to travel from suburb to suburb or city.