i notice my friend who has bi-polar and has had psychotic breaks from it gets anxiety while he drives and says if he drinks too much coffee he has a panic attack.
unless i drink coffee within half an hour of driving, i get really bad anxiety.
does anyone else get anxiety from driving (something about focusing my attention on the road), and from coffee. and the combination is even worse.
I only really drive locally
I go on bus when go college which relieves lots stress
Maybe some gabapentin would help me with these panic attacks I get from coffee and driving? It only takes 1 sip too many to put me in a panic attack. I try to only drive locally like you @shelly12 said. But I start college tonight and worried about anxiety from driving. Definitely not drinking any more coffee today!
I drink coffee all day with no anxiety.Guess I’m lucky. I’ve never really been prone to panic attacks though. Gotta keep your head and trust things will be alright. Driving in the car can be stressful, that is why I also keep it local. People still drive like ■■■■, I’m guilty of it sometimes. Havent had an accident in like 5 years, and that was the only incident in my life.
I was on a different mental health forum and this one dude said he gets anxiety so bad from driving he experiences vertigo from it.Thats a sense of whirling and loss of balance i guess he quit driving on freeways for good and stays under 45 mph.
Vertigo is weird the few times I was in a physical altercation when I was a kid I got vertigo befor I lost control it was like the anger built until it overflowed but it flowed very slowly and it was during that flow that I experienced vertigo.Im a real nut I NEVER drove legally or owned a car because im not comfortable with contributing to terrorism against the western world.
Thanks for your post. Maybe I’ll leave way early and take the backroads even though the comm. college is on the other side of the city next to me.
I get really nervous/anxious driving my car alone - especially if it is far from my comfort zone.
I do not drive on the highway alone or travel farther than 10 minutes from my house alone.
I do drive fine with someone like my Dad in the car with me - Driving causes a lot of panic and anxiety in me, when I am driving by myself.
I have agoraphobia and a history of panic disorder - not a good combo.
I also drink a lot of coffee, and so far no anxiety from it. But I am sure if I drink too much caffeine, it will set off an anxiety/panic attack in me
I get anxiety commuting and drinking orange juice. It’s a rat race out there.
I now try to get into the city by 7 am and leave by 3 pm. This cuts the traffic down to what it used to be 10 years ago.
I get anxiety if I’m driving somewhere I’ve never been. I worry I’ll miss the turn and not be able to turn around and … It goes on and on. So I take my boyfriend when I go somewhere new.
I used to have panic attacks after drinking coffee, but now that I take Klonopin everyday I can drink coffee. My panic attacks started last year and since my anxiety is constant. The meds help, but I get scared of everything. Even feeling full from eating too much scares me and causes anxiety. I don’t like feeling different in any way.
But yeah driving and coffee give me anxiety. If you have an iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad you can download SAM. It’s free and has a ton of coping skills for anxiety. I also use self talk and grounding techniques to help with the anxiety. 
coffee is fine, but driving in traffic is stressful. its like rush hour majority of the day here.
I hate driving, it stresses me out a lot, its nerve-wracking. Coffee does perk me up, but with the calming effects of the antipsychotics it doesn’t get too bad anxiety.
I hate driving to unknown destinations…if I stick to the Eastern region, I’m fine - once I’m out of my zone of familiarity, I can panic, especially in heavy traffic or confusing areas like the airport.
As for coffee…sometimes it doesn’t affect me at all, other times I feel like I’m going down a roller-coaster…probably has to do with the strength of the coffee.
I’ve gotten anxiety from driving before, but that was in heavy traffic. I’ve consumed so much caffeine that I think my dependence on it is psychological now.
Right there with you buddy. So much caffeine every day. I gotta have it.