# Driving a car with DPDR



## SundaySeance (Mar 6, 2012)

I used to love driving. I would take the car out to the countryside and just drive around and chainsmoke and just.. be at peace. Blast music and be the only one around to care.

Now if I get on a highway my breathing just... stops. About 2 minutes into the ride I get the immense urge to pull off to the side of the road and park the car with my flashers on.

It gets worse when I start to focus on random things about what's happening around me.. The dashes in the road, the windshield, other cars, buildings, etc..

Does anyone elses anxiety and DR cause them to feel like they're a danger on the road?


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## Jayden (Feb 9, 2011)

Absolutely. I especially find driving at night bad. I still do it anyways.


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## SundaySeance (Mar 6, 2012)

Jayd said:


> Absolutely. I especially find driving at night bad. I still do it anyways.


Have you thought or found of anything that helps you focus and keep cool?

Sometimes a little sip of Coke or something caffeine related helps me. I used to think gum might help, but I think that actually might make it a little bit worse.

Even the slightest things can cause me to freak out a little bit, like if my girlfriend puts the light on and does her make up and I'm watching her out of the corner of my eye, I start to focus on too many things at once, and it's just.. It's too much ahha


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## Jayden (Feb 9, 2011)

SundaySeance said:


> Have you thought or found of anything that helps you focus and keep cool?
> 
> Sometimes a little sip of Coke or something caffeine related helps me. I used to think gum might help, but I think that actually might make it a little bit worse.
> 
> Even the slightest things can cause me to freak out a little bit, like if my girlfriend puts the light on and does her make up and I'm watching her out of the corner of my eye, I start to focus on too many things at once, and it's just.. It's too much ahha


I definitely wouldn't drink coffee while driving, let alone at all. It's best to stay away from stimulants with DP and anxiety. I usually blast music and sing along to it, that seems to help me.


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## Lostwanderer (Jan 31, 2011)

Check to that. 95% of the time i feel like a danger on the road, ha. And ya, its the worst when your mind starts focusing on random things by itself, as if you have no control of your concentration .im surprised i haven't crashed yet, fingers crossed.


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## SundaySeance (Mar 6, 2012)

Jayd said:


> I definitely wouldn't drink coffee while driving, let alone at all. It's best to stay away from stimulants with DP and anxiety. I usually blast music and sing along to it, that seems to help me.


Yeah, I do this at night time (not in the day because I dont want people staring at me, obviously), sometimes it will help.

Most of the time I just avoid highways, haha. Backroads constantly. It can make journeys slow and confusing, and aggravate girlfriends.


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## Quarter Pounder (Jun 17, 2011)

Not at all, in fact I learnt to drive (manual) while DP/DR'd and it's one of the few things I do very good. Sometimes I even feel over confident while driving.
And I don't even remember how "being anxious" feels like.

It's weird how this things affect differently everyone else


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## SundaySeance (Mar 6, 2012)

Quarter Pounder said:


> Not at all, in fact I learnt to drive (manual) while DP/DR'd and it's one of the few things I do very good. Sometimes I even feel over confident while driving.
> And I don't even remember how "being anxious" feels like.
> 
> It's weird how this things affect differently everyone else


Yeah, very weird. It makes me wonder if each of us even have "DP/DR" or if its just a blanket statement for what each of us might actually have, you know?


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## Quarter Pounder (Jun 17, 2011)

SundaySeance said:


> Yeah, very weird. It makes me wonder if each of us even have "DP/DR" or if its just a blanket statement for what each of us might actually have, you know?


I wonder the same thing! and we won't ever know exactly how other people experience it. I guess the basic stuff (feeling "out of it", like in a dream/movie, off, etc.) is common to everyone here, besides that it just varies from person to person.
Still, is great to know that one is not completely alone with this...


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## SongBillong (Sep 20, 2011)

Yeah, driving is a nightmare for me. I haven't passed my test yet because I failed my first one due to DP. Basically, I completely lost any sense of what I was doing and 'blanked out' twice - once at a roundabout and again a few minutes later at red lights, so the tester guy had to do two emergency stops. I've had a few tests for epilepsy (TLE) but haven't got the results back yet. In general during driving, I don't feel like I'm in control of my movements or decisions so I've had some close shaves quite a few times. I look down at my arms turning the wheel and the cars driving past me etc and none of it seems like NOW. It's like I'm imagining it or remembering it from another time or something. You probably know the kind of thing I'm saying.

I agree with what you (SundaySeance) said about the dashes in the road and stuff like that - there's too much input all the time and so the combination of a muddled mind and not feeling in the moment makes me a complete danger on the road. I doubt I'll trust myself to drive much when/if I pass.

I find that chewing gum helps to a point (not much, but a bit). I guess it distracts the mind a tad so stops you fully concentrating on the feelings of DP and allows the autopilot to do more stuff. That's what it feels like to me, anyhow. It's dangerous either way, because being immersed in the feelings of DP/DR destroys concentration, while driving on autopilot makes you out of control too!! So frustrating - I feel your pain pal


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## Guest (Mar 6, 2012)

I think I'd be alright if I hadn't of had to wait 3 months to get a car after I passed my test. Since then I've completely avoided driving from the thought of having a DP episode or panic attack whilst doing it, and then crashing and possibly hurting someone.


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## Lulluh (Mar 6, 2012)

Oh lordy my driving is probably really quite dangerous with dp/dr I get sidetracked by tiny things that get me wondering how weird and surreal everything feels and then I realise I'm over the speed limit/drifting/haven't noticed something important!
I still drive but avoid it when I'm feeling really bad which is so frustrating as all I've ever wanted to do is drive!


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## toshibatelly (Sep 13, 2011)

I drive perfectly well, I've been covering 25-50 miles a day every weekday, more or less, for the last few weeks and have not had any close shaves or the like. I guess if I felt unwell behind the wheel I would do the same as anyone else, DP sufferer or not, who felt unwell behind the wheel and pull over in an appropriate place and put my hazard warning lights on.

I find driving very easy and rewarding, it's certainly a nice change from having to rely on other people or public transport to get around.


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## ChrisS (Jan 18, 2012)

SundaySeance said:


> I used to love driving. I would take the car out to the countryside and just drive around and chainsmoke and just.. be at peace. Blast music and be the only one around to care.
> 
> Now if I get on a highway my breathing just... stops. About 2 minutes into the ride I get the immense urge to pull off to the side of the road and park the car with my flashers on.
> 
> ...


I'm quite the opposite luckily, I still enjoy driving and it almost seems like an escape, keeps my mind occupied and instead of just sitting there it makes me feel like I'm going somewhere. Probably because I am


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