I am not a newbie driver. My family and friends even say that I am the “best” driver among us. I am always calm, relaxed and seldom use the horn (busina) even if there are kamote drivers on the road.
I have started driving about 10 years ago. It is therapeutic because i go to different places without in a comfortable way. But I have accepted traffic as part of life so I don’t mind.
What Happened?
There was a time when I experienced anxiety attack while driving along Commonwealth road in Quezon City. For me, it was mild since I h ave already learned how to control it within seconds.
My experience started just the same as before. My body was starting to feel cold and my mind had a sense of overflowing with information. You might tell, then you are becoming a genius? No
When I am having these anxiety attacks, it feels like information is overflowing but they are blank. I don’t know if you understand what I mean but it feels like that. There is a sense of panic inside your mind but you cannot identify what information is coming in.
It’s weird, yes.
Anyway, by the time I realized that an attack was coming up, I gently and slowly went to the side of the road. In such situations, my technique is to make my eyes busy together with calmed breathing.
I ignored all other symptoms like heavy breathing and internal trembling.
I looked at the building, the clouds, the people walking on the overpass and the vendor on the sidewalk. After a few seconds, the anxiety just flew off. You see, I have realized that sometimes, all it takes is to make your senses busy.
Look out and observe outside of your space. The car is an enclosed space so for me, I only need to look away and find fresh visuals outside.
After one minute I’m fine again.
How about you, have you experienced this before?