Is it possible to experience derealization ONLY when in a car? When I am in a car (as a passenger-- I can no longer drive because of this) I feel like my eyes and brain are not in sync. I feel hazy, like that point right before you fall asleep or faint. I feel like I can not focus and my brain is not taking in all the necessary information. I have tried Zoloft, Xanax and Inderal-- no luck. My psychologist told me to take baby steps and start driving little by little. I feel like no one understands though. I am not anxious about driving or being in a car. I don't get panicked, sweat, or get clammy hands. I feel like they don't understand like I CAN'T drive because who could drive under the circumstances I listed above? If you have any advice, I would love to hear it. I am desperate. I have not driven in 2 months now.

OMG, that is when I get it the worst! Especially at night. I feel more like I am watching TV or something.

Thought I had escaped my DR past from three years ago, but last week these SAME exact symptoms came up, its awful, and I drive home every night at 1am, so I'm tired and having an anxiety attack every night. What do we do!?

hi there.. i think those unreal feelings are worse when tired...
I get that unreal feeling sometimes if driving someone else in the car- feel like i am going to disappear!!! try to focus on something to distract which fortunately works-
also get it sometimes when i am alone with a friend or a client- think i am about to vanish!! can't really explain it but its scary- esp when you are trying to carry on normally! imagine if i said oh excuse me i am just feeling unreal right now-i might vanish!! its usually <BECAUSE> i feel they are really noticing me and i can't cope with it.
I think the driving thing can get scary because it means losing control and i am sure some of us with anxiety are TERRIFIED of losing control-
For the past few months i have had terror of losing control of my legs and suddenly not being able to walk- down the street or in malls etc- i can't begin to explain the FEAR-
the more scared you get the worse it gets. I have been taking meds but still feel weak and scared.
TO take small steps is so right but do you have someone who can be there and support you with being in the driving seat again?? maybe its too hard to do alone at the moment..Hoping that you can get through this.

You hit mine almost pinpoint... I get it mostly whenever I'm talking alone with someone like my counselor who helps me with a ton... I just feel as if I am seeing right through him..LITERALLY.. and I feel so out of it and can't concentrate on what he's saying i don't know if I'm trying to hard to listen or what... I haven't really experienced it in a car or anything but if I have a drink or 2 at a party I can really see it start to settle in... And that's what I'm scared of because I can't even have fun anymore it's horrible... Not to say that drinking is good or anything but I mean a drink or 2 won't kill you, but I feel as if it will because I get so out of it and think I am going to die.

why the heck are we so obsessed with something happening to us???
i don't understand why i am so worried about losing control- i have also had this "phobia" about throwing up in public since i was 13- didn't eat breakfast or lunch for about 4 years in high school to spare myself from throwing up!! man that is wierd,. Didn't tell anyone of course...
Hate anything to do with other people throwing up to.. just want to RUN!!!!
( i almost feel its disgusting that we can't control it...hmmm) Used to think it was only me with this but now know its quite common!

Hate anything to do with other people throwing up to.. just want to RUN!!!!
( i almost feel its disgusting that we can't control it...hmmm)

Do you realize that you just hit the nail on the head of the trigger for your phobia.....did you even see that?

It's impossible to control throwing up, if it's going to happen....just like you can't keep your eyes open when you sneeze.

If it does happen, it may LOOK disgusting, but that doesn't reflect on the person throwing up....they're sick...not disgusting.

Are you afraid of what people will think of you, if you throw up? Has it happened in the past?

I threw up in a planetarium full of people as a kid....Dad tried to catch it in his hanky...didn't work. I told him that I was gonna throw up....he told me to ignore it, that it would go away....wrong.....I think it's kinda funny, now....I was sick as a dog at the time.

Does this help at all?

Lil

Hi there- yes you are right- this insane part of me is controlled by what people will think of me.... i am sure that that has an enormous part of mine and others anxiety....why it matters so much is the bit i can't work out!
I remember this lady throwing up in the supermarket once- she ran towards me at one stage- i felt her panic and felt horrified for her and for what she did- that she couldn't escape and be alone...it haunted me for a long time- i wanted to be a nurse but couldn't for that reason- Imagine the poor patients when their nurse ran off if they felt sick!!! ( i can handle my own child's sickness now- guess thats desensitization).

( i can handle my own child's sickness now- guess thats desensitization).

You just hit the nail on the head again.......!

It's ALL desensitization. Scared of flying...fly....driving..drive...throwin g up...BECOME A NURSE! I would give it two weeks before you were cleaning it up, and not even noticing the vomit, or the smell. I've done it, believe me.

And you wouldn't run away, you would feel bad for the person, because they're ill.

If I were to throw up in a supermarket, I would ask if I could have a mop, and clean it up, or I would go to a cashier, and say....."I'm very sorry, but you have a cleanup on aisle 5".......

You have all the tools you need to get rid of this....you just have to pay more attention to what you are thinking.

Hi there- thankyou for your comments- it really helps to have support- best wishes.