I've Been Having Trouble Driving Lately

[Alice S. Fuzzybutt]

Not short distances or side streets. I've been getting stressed out driving the Turnpike and The GSP.

I'm lucky I don't have to drive to work; I rely on public transportation. But on weekends (and, recently, the holidays), I drive from Jersey City to Toms River to be with skidmark. We usually trade off weekends, but, because of family stuff, I've been going down there because he needs to be close to home.

I've been having mini-panic attacks while I drive lately, especially going over the Casciano Bridge on 78 and the Raritan Bridge. I've always had a phobia of bridges. I did have it in check, but lately it's been flaring up again (the worst panic attack I ever had was driving over the Delaware Memorial Bridge. AWFUL!).

But driving on good old terre firme has been getting tougher. I travel between 65--80 mph. I mostly keep to the middle and right lanes and people are passing me like I'm standing still. Trucks and buses can't seem to stay in their lane. Some douchebag truckdriver forgot his left hand signal is on and then shifted to the right lane.

By the time I get to skidmark's house (roughly an hour and a half) I'm ready to pop a Klonopin. (Luckily, Effexor keeps me from having a *full blown* panic attack.)

I'm a great driver. I passed my driver's test the first time with a 95. Never had an accident or a moving violation. Just driving in Jersey wears me the fuck out.

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[hyperspace]

sounds like your pre-occupied thinking about me, it will pass don'y worry about it.

[FUNKMAN]

Alice,

Sorry to hear it, nobody needs added stress. Could only think that you may want to stay in the right lane and drive 60-70 max. Set in your mind that you'll get there just a few minutes later.

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[Snoogans]

Could only think that you may want to stay in the right lane and drive 60-70 max.


find me a right lane on a highway in jersey where you can go over 60
driving can be stressful. i do that more than most things, and if i didnt smoke cigarettes while i drove i would kill people. and even still alot of times im close. music loud ive found helps the most for driving stress.

goin 90 on a sunday after noon up 287 is pretty nice to relieve that too


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[Melrapuo]

Phobias with bridges?

Well then you shouldn't watch this video... (http://www.westbrookeng.com/bridgevideo.html)

Or this one... (http://www.enm.bris.ac.uk/research/nonlinear/tacoma/tacnarr.mpg)

Make sure NOT to click those.

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This message was edited by Melrapuo on 1-2-04 @ 10:07 PM

[MizzleTizzle]

Ahhh! The Tacoma-Narrows bridge; one of the most played pieces of film in physics classes around the world.

It's scary because it was very real and very scary; the wind at the location was such that it nailed the fundamental frequency of that bridge, the oscillation was re-inforced by the winds, and the bridge finally tore itself apart.

In the video [that's only a few seconds] you can see a car that was stranded on the bridge by someone who made it that far and then crawled back.

In the longer video you can also see, when the oscillations were as extreme, a person walk right down the centerline of the bridge, where, theoretically, it would be most stable.

----------------------------

Alice,

This would happen to me in the past, back when panic attacks were a part of my life, and the phrase 'panic attack' had never been heard by me. Things work great, for me, when I do the following:


-draw attention to my body, my breathing, with an impulse of relaxation. takes the focus away from the part of my brain yelling 'this is not fun'. In fact, bringing your attention anywhere else; of course keeping some on driving: 'ok, i'm feeling weird, but how does this steering wheel feel, exactly, in my hands. This sounds trite, but this is an attempt to interrogate the impulse of fear, and this is what it sounds like you wish to address.

-nothing wrong with pulling into a quickie-mart or gas station for 5 minutes; I get the perspective above.

-To say driving today is scary is like someone saying they heard you can buy some things at a Wal-Mart. It's a given. I finally had to resign myself to this, and when I did, the feelings disappeared; no matter how well I drive, there are too many factors out of my control [read: the other drivers] to even begin deal with. When I took the things I could not Possibly control out of the equation, and focused on using these twinges of panic as something to be met with, not just let it wash over me, but for me to Interrogate the Error.

Bridges? That Delaware Bridge sure looks scary; it's a suspension bridge, and they look imposing, as much of the bridge is hundreds of feet above ones head. No problem now; in the past I would get panicky, but I started saying 'fuck it', i'm not really on this bridge, and I'd get in a middle lane and just focus straight ahead.

Wow I hope someof this is of assistance, and I hope none of it is being 'helpful'.