Hi. So sorry you are going through all this. Panic attacks while out driving are very common as it often makes us feel trapped. Like we can't get to our 'safe' place in time. A racing heart is also a common anxiety/panic symptom. Have you suffered with these for long?

How long have you been on the Lexapro? If you have not been on it long it may be the med that is causing the increased anxiety. I had that happen to me with Celexa. Also, have you tried other meds? Lexapro may not be the right one for you or you may need to increase the dosage.

Do you have coping mechanisms I place such as distraction, Deep breathing, calling a friend, taking up a hobby. Anything that takes your mind off the anxiety.

I hope you feel better soon.
Take care

Yeah, driving anxiety is common, and I had issues with red lights also. When you're stuck at the red light, you feel like you're out of control of the light (because you are). Losing control is a major fear of people who suffer from anxiety. Also, feeling trapped is another common fear. I was able to feel more comfortable at red lights after making myself sit through them by myself. I would do this everyday until the panic feeling subsided. Racing heart and palpitations are also common with panic and generalized anxiety. Deep breathing exercises with slow heart rate. I'm not sure about the Lexapro, I've never taken it, but from what I hear sometimes it takes time to get meds right. Sometimes with the weird thoughts, you just need to go with them. I've learned that the more you fear the weird thoughts, the more you're going to have them. Try to entertain the thought, and make a joke out of it. It sounds weird, but the thoughts become less scary when you just let them happen. It all comes back to the control issue. You can't control your thoughts, you might as well let them happen. Hope you feel better soon.

I'm so sorry you're feeling this. Anxiety can be so horrible, sometimes. Whenever I get the attacks, I distract myself. Whether it'd be using the Internet, going for a jog or playing with my cats. It doesn't matter. Doing anything...distracting yourself for the better, helps some. I have horrible Driving Anxiety, as well. I avoid driving as much as possible for a reason. When I do drive though, I tell myself that it is better to make mistakes and learn, than to panic. If I panic at the wheel, it's not going to have a good ending. I'm operating a machinery that weighs thousands of pounds, so I need to put my anxiety on the back burner for the sake of myself and others. I hope you're feeling better. I know how hard it can be.

Hey hunni.
I suffered from severe anxziety for 5 years. Nearin the peak of my anxziety disorder right before it got bettrr was horrific disturbin thoughts. When they first stsrted i would flip right out n thought maybe somethin.bad was goin to happen. I was terrified till i educated myself on it. First you have to try and get you self in a place where you can seperate anxziety from who you really are. As in your anxziety is nit you its somethin else in your brain tryin to scare you. Your anxziety is tryin to.get you to hang on to it. It will do anythin to.krep u keyed up. The thing you need to learn to do is 100% let the thoughts come do not push them away. As scary as it will b know its just your anxziety and thoughts cant hurt you. Everytime you get a thought think.of a giant stop sign. But make sure you let the thoughts come n go as they please dont judge them dont stop them i assure you after doin that for a while the anxziety will stop feedin u bad thoughts bcuz it lost its power. I hope that helps :)

Hi, looks like you have a lot of good answers here. I too am having serious difficulty driving and was so surprised to hear I am not the only one who has a problem with stop lights. I honestly said to my daughter one day that if I could just hit the gas and get right to my destination with all the lights being green I might be okay. I think mine is kind-of a 'learned response' because recently I had a car that stayed in the shop more than on the road and every time I left for somewhere it was like "Ok, how far am I going to get before I break down?" And also "Is somebody going to rear end me if/when the car breaks down, and how many jerks are going to be blaring their horns angrily at me if/when it occurs". When I am idling at a stoplight, (now in a different, although still old, car that I purchased recently) I'm listening to the motor and always swearing I can hear things that aren't normal. Recently I have even tried turning the radio way up so that I cannot hear the motor at all. :-/

How long have you been on the Lexapro? I know it takes meds in that particular class 4-6 weeks to get into your system good. At least you know you are not alone! We'll get control of this anxiety, one of these days . . . .

Summer, I can tell you that Lexapro never seems to do a dang thing for me, except maybe heighten my anxiety. I ran through the whole adjustment period to get the meds leveled off to a therapeutic level and it didn't help. So, after praying some intense prayers for help, I felt that the key was norepinephrine (I mean, we pray for answers, so we should expect answers right?). The very next day after getting this leading in my spirit, my doctor prescribes Cymbalta 60 mg. This is in the class of SNRI meds that prevent reuptake of Serotonin (like Lexapro), but also help encourage norepinephrine production. My new prescriber calls the SNRIs the "heavy hitters" in the psychotropic meds. It was a life-saver. About 7 years down the road it has flattened out, and I have had to switch to a combo of other meds to help out, but my brother also found that Cymbalta 60 mg also worked very well for him. Stick with the Lexapro as you can, but if it stays intense I would check into getting a switch, or taking other meds to assist (like Klonopin, or another antidepressant).

Oh, BTW, I have had two different coworkers at different jobs who have had the driving-stimulated anxiety. My current supervisor has to pop a Klonopin and just jet straight home (he lives about 30 min away). He has periods that are worse than others, but the overall trend is that he deals with it better and it is not so intense.

I struggled with disturbing thoughts a lot when my anxiety was bad and it turned out to be a form of OCD. Don't be afraid to talk to a therapist if you'd like. It can be a very harsh cycle trying to fight these thoughts on your own. ESPECIALLY when you don't understand why they are popping up in the first place.

Reading really helps me personally. Self-help books or fantasy to just get away and let my mind wander into something fantastic.

The books "Everyday is a Friday" by Joel Osteen is wonderful. It is "religious" in a sense but it has some wonderful advice. I'm also working through anxiety and depression work books. They really help me think about my daily though processes and how I can just accept certain negative feelings and move on.