PTSD And Panic Attacks

Sarah’s panic attacks started a few months ago after she was involved in a minor accident while driving her car. Now, she walks to work everyday even though it takes four times as long. Sarah gets anxious and apprehensive simply thinking about sitting in her car.

Daily life has changed for Sarah. Even when crossing a road by foot, Sarah will feel her heart race and palms get sweaty. Sarah was a careful and self-assured driver before but now she has zero confidence. She is afraid of a having another accident.

Panic attacks start occurring even when she is not driving. Sarah feels depressed and frustrated that she can’t do the same things she used to do. Everyday, she encounters excessive and irrational worrying thoughts. This inevitably impairs her work and social relationships.

Post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD for short can develop after a traumatic experience. This might be due to severe physical or emotional pain. A sufferer might experience terrifying flashbacks of a traumatic event.

Someone who knows a victim of PTSD may see there character and behavior completely change and become unrecognizable. It can be hard to know what to do for a sufferer. A sufferer is likely to want to be left alone and not be in the company of others. There is a possibility that sufferers may develop a phobia of people more commonly recognized as social anxiety.

People with anxiety disorders often suffer from sleepless nights. They may feel highly strung on a daily basis and find themselves being extra cautious. In the case of Sarah’s, she doesn’t travel in any vehicle if she can and pays particular attention when crossing the road.

A traumatic driving experience isn’t the only cause of panic attacks while driving however. Panic attacks may occur because of irrational fear and anxiety itself. Often we create our own fears through negative thinking. Negative associations become reinforced when we excessively worry and focus on something that we fear.

Sufferers may find them losing confidence and fearing something that never used to be a problem. The mind is a powerful thing and can make mental associations both negative and positive. A driver might experience panic attacks for a number of reasons. Possible reasons are;

# Driving at high speeds such as on the freeway.
# Driving on a busy road.
# Having a driver cut in front of you.
# Getting beeped at.
# Driving long distances.
# Driving in the dark.

All of these experiences can create feelings of anxiety and fear which can grow. Eliminating negative behaviors and beliefs can be done quite easily with therapy. For more information on how you can overcome fear and panic, click on: anxiety and depression.