Tightness in throaght while driving..

[JAug]

So, things have been pretty good lately. I'm stuck in a rut though. I keep getting the tight throaght symptom of anxiety when I drive on the freeways, My fear is I'm either not breathing enough or breathing too much and i'll pass out while I'm driving.

I've been practicing deep breathing exercises but my fear is that I may not be doing it right and it's doing more damage than good.

What do you folks recommend?

Thanks a lot, I appreciate it!

[hopeNfaith88]

Thats exactly my fear and what keeps me from driving! Ive never passed out from a panic attack but came very close - i do hyperventilate to the point that my lips go numb, and body gets fuzzy. I began carrying a paper bag to use. Im going to see a therapist tomorrow and will share when i find something that works. Not if, but when! This is all temporary for us and itll get better.
You can carry a bag with you to use if you begin to panic and itll prevent you from hyperventilating and thus fainting. Or simply drive in the right lane on the highway so that if you start panicking you can pull off easily and wait it out. If you are someone who typically faints when panicking, i would avoid situations that would be very dangerous if you fainted (like swimming alone and driving) until you have a grip on it. See a professional if you can to work out the causes of your driving fear. I know your struggling just hang in there :)

[JAug]

Luckily i've never gotten to the point of getting any numbness in parts of my body. If anything it's playing more of a mind game with me, in that I can control my breathing, but then I feel like I may not be taking in a enough air.

I've never actually fainted from a panic attack (i've only had two in my life).

Though I have fainted for other reasons:
Once when I was 14 I had a wart removed from the bottom on my foot and the pain was too much
Once after I had eye surgery, the dr said that sometimes people faint when there is a shift in eye pressure or pressure on the optic nerve.

The third time I fainted it was in public on a very hot day in July. It was two days after going on a very long bike ride in VERY hot, VERY humid conditions and not hydrating well before, or during the ride. After the bike ride my heart was racing for hours afterwards at a speed I never thought was possible. Two days after this I went to the gym in the morning and just felt a fatique i've never felt before, but still pushed myself through the workout. Then, went to the local DMV, was standing up and felt very dizzy, lightheaded and nauscious. I sat down, and the next thing I know I woke up with people around me. I was out for about a minute and a half. Went to the hospital and all tests checked out OK. The dr said I was a little dehydrated. It was this third time that has caused so much anxiety for me.

The fourth time I fainted was a result of hyperventilating for sure. I had just started taking Zoloft, against my better judgement and was terrified of the sie effects. On morning I woke up with my arms tingling in a state of panic. At the time I had just began trying new breathing techniques. So, I was trying very hard to take big deep breaths, but I definately was doing it too fast. I felt myself feel dizzy, layed on my bed, and woke up maybe a few seconds later. I couldn't have been out long at all, maybe 10-15 seconds, nothing like the previous time.



I've had every test imagineable done, all checks out OK. My Dr said I wouldn't worry about it. I'm just in this constant mode of trying to catch the first symptom of it happening again. It's a bit annoying, lol.