Got the bus to work today. BAD IDEA.

After people nagging me saying i'm letting my anxiety win, today i decided to get the bus to work. I live 10 miles away from work so as you can imagine, its quite a hefty journey, one of which requires 2 buses and takes a minimum of 1 hour 30 mins. I kept trying to distract myself and telling myself everything is ok but that only worked for a short while. Towards the end of my first bus, i started to get very panicky, racing heart, dizzy. I then faced the dilemma do i phone my mum (who wouldnt even travel that far out to get me anyway) pleading for a lift, do i get help from the safety officers walking around or do i get on the next bus and risk being even further away from help? For some reason i got on that bus, and i started having more attacks, thinking ahead 'oh theres a co-op coming up soon i can get off there and ask them for help and look after me until someone can get me' 'i might text my friend from work to come get me, would she mind?'. I tried turning on my 3ds and playing a game to distract myself and this didnt work too well either.

It was quite a nice day as well today, so the bus journey was quite hot, i have a tendency to almost or actually pass out from high humidities, this was also panicking me and making things worse.

I dont think i want to do that anytime again soon

[Sareheadies]

Well done you. You got on the bus and did it. Perhaps it was a bit too far a journey but you handled it, it's that fight or flight thing. Iknow when I get panicky and anxious the easiest thing for me to do is take flight and leave! But to actually sit there and manage to fight your way through it is amazing. I find that listening to a meditation app on my ipod helps along with concentrating on my breathing rather than the anxiety.

I think you need to try again but on a shorter journey and try the breathing thing and Mabey the meditation app? I also got taught to sit with two fingers and constantly tap on the underside of the wrist of the other hand. This helped me to get control of me breathing and sort of calm myself down a bit.

Don't give up, when you make that first journey or manage that 10 minutes sitting in the park or whatever, and realise that you felt "not bad" you will be so pleased with yourself. Good luck xxx

[Hidden]

Morning

I think you did really well to stay on both buses even though all that was going on with you. You should be proud of yourself. It is easy to give in to our over thinking mind and head for the hills. But you didn't you stuck it out even though it was not nice.

I think shareheadies advice is good maybe a shorter journey next time and build up to the longer trip.

But well done any way you did it!!!!!!!!!!!

Gardener x

[MMoo]

Do you know what? That wasn't a bad idea. You've done what lots of us are scared to do. Face your anxieties.

You done and coped extremely well and you should be so proud of yourself, seriously

Everytime you face your anxieties it Will get that little bit easier, until you reach a point where you wondered why you were ever worried in the first place.

Again a massive well done, but don't stop there, there isn't anything you can't do

[Bonniedoubleu]

I have bad anxiety and am going through CBT at the moment. I have been taught a breathing exercise to do:

Take a deep breath in through the nose for a count of four, hold for a count of one, then breathe out. I would imagine that this might help breathing and so possibly reduce the anxiety a bit. I do know how hard it is to do anything like this if you are panicking though. Good luck!

[hairyfairy]

I hate public transport! not because of anxiety, but it is quite stressful having to deal with an unreliable, dirty & crowded form of transport. I walk wherever possible, or take the tube. How I wish that I could afford to run a car!