How many of you guys can drive? One of my biggest goals towards my future and gaining independence is learning how to drive. I went to drivers training when i was 16 and hallucinated behind the wheel and almost got into an accident, for example i had a moment where i put my blinkers on to go left and i was in the left turn lane and the voices told me to go right so i did and could have potentially gotten hit by another car. Im medicated now and in therapy and im much better but a part of me is scared that im gonna hallucinate behind the wheel and get into an accident. How do you guys manage driving?
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I drive. On days I’m hallucinating, I just don’t get behind the wheel. If I’m driving and start to hallucinate, I pull over and do grounding exercises, and then go home. I haven’t hallucinated in nearly three years though.
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I’ve never felt as though my driving was compromised unless you believe that the spider infestation of my new convertible was a delusion, which my psychiatrist, boyfriend, and family thought it was but I know it wasn’t. That was the only time when potentially I was driving when I shouldn’t be potentially from mental health reasons. I think if I feel less than top of my game I let someone else drive or I walk, or get a transport or bus and now that I’ve moved to a town where there’s taxis I could do that too.
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I can drive but I don’t have my license yet. I get very anxious behind the wheel and I have a slow reaction time so driving isn’t something I do often. When pushed to I will though.
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I have had no problems driving.
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I drive. i have a lot of anxiety and intrusive thouggts, but only hallucinate when off meds.
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I probably only drive 5 miles a day. so it’s not a big deal. im a cautious driver and always go the speed limit or below. im often tailgated. would like to move to the city so I can bicycle or ride the bus and give up my license. when I was at my worst, hearing voices, I never drove. I went about 6 years without driving even though I had my license. I just preferred to walk everywhere. I don’t hallucinate during the day now on meds, I will occasionally get night time voices late at night before bed but I never drive at night. and they’re just whispers, a minor distraction, like listening to the radio. which I don’t typically have on while im driving either.
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I have a license but I hardly drive.
It’s good to have just in case.
I rarely hallucinate on risperidone, so this is not an issue for me.
High anxiety is my concern.
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I tried to get my licence in my 20’s but I kept failing the test.
Eventually I got my licence at 33 and so far had no issues with driving. If I’m having a bad day filled with paranoia I stay at home and keep the blinds shut.
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I got my license when I turned 16 - I didn’t have symptoms for ten years (at least not while driving) then the voices began telling me i would black out while driving and crash … Nowadays I just take the bus I can’t afford a car anyways…
Low and behold when you have a car everyone wants to be your best friend and cart them around…
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I never had a problem driving, I never listened to voices if they asked me to do stuff though.
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I drive. I have a harder time driving in the morning but usually all is good. Sometimes I forget where I’m going.
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What do you attribute to the voices going away? Was it a medicine you took, or just time? I know I’ve probably asked you this before so forgive me if it’s repetitive, I just really want to know.
As important as it is to have the right medicine or medicines, the right dose is equally important.
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IDK. I’ve just driven since I was 17 with some long gaps in between. I drive in areas notorious for bad traffic. But I manage it and I’ve had about 8 accidents but only 2 were my fault and no one got hurt. Hell, I used to blast down the freeway at 75 mph with the radio at full volume, with a crack pipe in my mouth, smoking crack. I wouldn’t reccomend it but I never got in an accident but now I’m much more conservative (and smarter). I don’t hallucinate and I enjoy driving.
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Before I was on meds I would drive around town and listen to voices tell me to crash my car.
Nothing ever happened though.
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Been driving for 11 years, when I was DX I took a year off.
Took me about a week or 2 to get used to it again.
I learned the feel for driving from video games.
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I drive. I have seen animals. But nothing dangerous until now
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I drive but it was a battle getting my licence. Once they see schizophrenia on your medical records here they won’t give it to you. So I had to take them to court.
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I answered in PM, but I think it was a combination of finding the right meds, and those two research studies I participated in.