Anxiety + The Bus

[ghall]

So I have a little problem, I have to start taking the city bus to school tomorrow, but I can't. I have problems with anxiety and I can't handle taking the bus. My mom doesn't understand, and thinks that I just don't feel like taking the bus.

I don't know what to do, I feel helpless.

 

[Blue Velvet]

What do you think might happen if you take the bus?

 

[adrianblaine]

What causes the anxiety?

 

[d_and_n5000]

Well, you could always leave really early and walk...

But in all seriousness, I'm assuming you've already tried explaining this to your mom. Have you already exhausted all of your other options? For example, have you asked your friends to see if you could hitch a ride with one of them who drives? If this isn't possible, maybe see if there's a friend that lives near you that wouldn't mind taking the bus with you. That might help whatever anxieties you have.

 

[ghall]

What do you think might happen if you take the bus?

I don't know. I just have this terror of taking the bus. I've taken it before, but it's a very uncomfortable experience for me and I've been very on edge lately. I take medication for my anxiety but lately it hasn't been working very well.

 

[taylorwilsdon]

Yowza. You might want to consider investing in a large plastic bubble. But seriously though, there are alot worse things then the bus. If you're really that tense, like somebody else suggested, just find somebody who doesn't mind helping you out and bum rides. Or buy a car, you can lease something cheap for next to nothing these days (hundayi, kia, etc)

Oh, and weed. Up your weed and prozac intake and that should fix whatever brain malfunctions that are causing this.

 

[ghall]

Well, you could always leave really early and walk...

But in all seriousness, I'm assuming you've already tried explaining this to your mom. Have you already exhausted all of your other options? For example, have you asked your friends to see if you could hitch a ride with one of them who drives? If this isn't possible, maybe see if there's a friend that lives near you that wouldn't mind taking the bus with you. That might help whatever anxieties you have.

I don't know anyone in my neighborhood who goes to my school. Walking is out of the question, my school is way too far to walk. My uncle is always around to bring me to and from school but I don't want to ask him every single day.

 

[TheAnswer]

Hi ghall...

I know you've talked about your anxiety problems before on here, but I can't recall if you are undergoing any form of treatment for them (individual therapy, group therapy, medication, meditation exercises, etc). If you are seeing a therapist, have you discussed this with them?

Edit: Just saw the bit about the meds. If your medication seems ineffective, talk to your Dr. about maybe switching to a different med.

You might work on trying to mentally separate your "rest-state anxiety/nervous energy" and any "situational anxieties" you encounter. If you can separate them in your mind, it will be easier for you to realize their nature and minimize their effects on you. If you group them all under the label of "your anxiety" then it's much easier for them to work together and effect you emotionally, etc.

 

[72930]

What would you like your mum to say?

Try listening to music while on the bus (unless you're in a particularly dodgy area)...

 

[taylorwilsdon]

Yowza. You might want to consider investing in a large plastic bubble. But seriously though, there are alot worse things then the bus. If you're really that tense, like somebody else suggested, just find somebody who doesn't mind helping you out and bum rides. Or buy a car, you can lease something cheap for next to nothing these days (hundayi, kia, etc)

Oh, and weed. Up your weed and prozac intake and that should fix whatever brain malfunctions that are causing this.

Let me emphasize the car part of this a little more. Buy a junker ($2000 for an old civic or something) or lease a cheapo and you'll have instant comfort zone. Care are like the ultimate personal spot.

 

[ghall]

Yowza. You might want to consider investing in a large plastic bubble. But seriously though, there are alot worse things then the bus. If you're really that tense, like somebody else suggested, just find somebody who doesn't mind helping you out and bum rides. Or buy a car, you can lease something cheap for next to nothing these days (hundayi, kia, etc)

Oh, and weed. Up your weed and prozac intake and that should fix whatever brain malfunctions that are causing this.

I'll pass on the weed thanks, but I am going to call my doctor about the possibility of increasing my prozac doseage.

I'd drive but I don't have a license (getting my permit this weekend).

 

[d_and_n5000]

I don't know anyone in my neighborhood who goes to my school. Walking is out of the question, my school is way too far to walk. My uncle is always around to bring me to and from school but I don't want to ask him every single day.

Hmm. Well, there goes my ideas.

Maybe you could try what taylorwilsdon suggested and buy a cheap car in order to go to and from school. Unfortunately, this solution would not help in the next few days, or even in the next few weeks, but its a possible long term solution. It also has the long-term bonus of having a more independent way of getting around to other places, such as friends houses and whatnot.

Also, definetly see your doctor and see about getting your medication or dosage changed around. I am assuming for now that this anxiety issue has been affecting parts of your life other than your transportation to and from school, and this may help out a lot.

Edit: OK, the car idea looks as if it wouldn't help out at all as a short-term fix. But once you get your license, I would seriously think about getting a car.

 

[TheAnswer]

Are you on any meds besides the Prozac? A specific anti-anxiety drug, perhaps? Or is your therapist considering the anxiety issues an offshoot of a more central diagnosis, such as depression or OCD?

 

[shecky]

i take the providence city bus almost every day. i assure you its quite simple. what specifically do you need a hand with?

 

[0098386]

I got the bus every day in school (5 years), college (2 years) and university (3 years). Thankfully they've always gone through the same route. Probably helps that it's possibly the most beautiful route going (Saddleworth).

I can't see your problem really, unless you're in a bad area? I'd feel nervous even being in a tank in some areas of Manchester they're just big things that people sit in with every inch covered in CCTV (no nose picking), no smoking signs that get ignored and a lack of nice smells.

 

[ghall]

i take the providence city bus almost every day. i assure you its quite simple. what specifically do you need a hand with?

Well, I know the schedules and everything, it's just terrifying for me. I used to be able to do it with some effort, but for some reason I just can't do it.

Are you on any meds besides the Prozac? A specific anti-anxiety drug, perhaps? Or is your therapist considering the anxiety issues an offshoot of a more central diagnosis, such as depression or OCD?

Well, I have Alprazolam (???) which my doctor prescribed for emergencies only. I've only taken it twice in the 4 years since it was prescribed. Other than that I'm not taking anything.

I also do suffer from depression.

What would you like your mum to say?

Try listening to music while on the bus (unless you're in a particularly dodgy area)...

I would like her to do her best to help me. If she needed me to drive her to and from work, I would (assuming I had a license).

I do. It blocks out the noise which helps a little, but the crowdedness is what really does it.


I even have a tough time with school itself. I have to sit out of gym class because the gymnasium makes me really anxious, and if were outside the field makes me nervous as well. And I always have to bring a bag with me when I walk anywhere in the school (just one of those weird things).

 

[shecky]

@jimmi: i think the problem is not based in logic (bad area, bullies, etc.) but based in anxiety, which often is not based on anything logical or evident. i used to have anxiety about riding in the backseat of a car, to the point where i went about 12 years without doing it. i eventually found a way to deal with it.

 

[ghall]

@jimmi: i think the problem is not based in logic (bad area, bullies, etc.) but based in anxiety, which often is not based on anything logical or evident. i used to have anxiety about riding in the backseat of a car, to the point where i went about 12 years without doing it. i eventually found a way to deal with it.

That's exactly what it is. There's nothing specific that terrifies me, there's just something about being in that situation that sets me off.

I think it's scarier not knowing why your terrified.

 

[TheAnswer]

Well, I have Alprazolam (???) which my doctor prescribed for emergencies only. I've only taken it twice in the 4 years since it was prescribed. Other than that I'm not taking anything.

I also do suffer from depression.

I do. It blocks out the noise which helps a little, but the crowdedness is what really does it.

I even have a tough time with school itself. I have to sit out of gym class because the gymnasium makes me really anxious, and if were outside the field makes me nervous as well. And I always have to bring a bag with me when I walk anywhere in the school (just one of those weird things).

Yeah...I wouldn't recommend taking the Alprazolam just for a bus ride. As I understand it, that's for more acute problems. Maybe talk to your Dr. to see if there are any medications that might lower your "rest-state anxiety / background nervous energies" so that theses sort of situations might not seem that stressful to you.

Since you've been diagnosed with depression, you are doing some sort of cognitive behavioral therapy in addition to the medications, right?

Talk to your therapist to see if they are familiar with meditation therapy. Various forms of meditation have been shown effective against both anxiety and some forms of depression.

Just from what you said above, it sounds like you might also have some sort of agoraphobia and/or claustrophobia that is the source of most of the anxiety. Are you addressing your phobias in your therapy sessions? If not, you might ask your therapist to address them in addition to your depression. The anxiety is probably a combination of both the phobias and the depression, so it will work better if your therapy addresses both underlying causes.

 

[taylorwilsdon]

This stuff is going to come back to bite you once you're out of your parents protective grasp. You should try to get a handle on it now so that its not a burden in real life. When you're in college, you can't afford to own a car in most circumstances and the bus is going to be your primary source of transportation (again, for most people - some are luckier then others, I don't know you)

Take some dry runs now and build up a little courage.

 

[devilot]

ghall, I get it.

Maybe not the same as with you, but I have similar feelings.

But I have a feeling for what makes me anxious.

1) The damned bell/ light doesn't go off no matter what I do to try to signal next stop. It gets to the point that people around me look at me like I'm insane, and reach up and do it w/out a problem. I just thank them and stare at the ground.

2) I'm terrified I'll get on the wrong bus or get off at the totally wrong stop or get on the bus going the wrong direction. Waste of time and money and means prolonging my anxiety-ridden bus rides.

3) I've had two very negative associations w/ public transit and that has forever cast a shadow on public transit for me. No, I will not get into details here.

 

[ghall]

Yeah...I wouldn't recommend taking the Alprazolam just for a bus ride. As I understand it, that's for more acute problems. Maybe talk to your Dr. to see if there are any medications that might lower your "rest-state anxiety / background nervous energies" so that theses sort of situations might not seem that stressful to you.

Since you've been diagnosed with depression, you are doing some sort of cognitive behavioral therapy in addition to the medications, right?

Talk to your therapist to see if they are familiar with meditation therapy. Various forms of meditation have been shown effective against both anxiety and some forms of depression.

Just from what you said above, it sounds like you might also have some sort of agoraphobia and/or claustrophobia that is the source of most of the anxiety. Are you addressing your phobias in your therapy sessions? If not, you might ask your therapist to address them in addition to your depression. The anxiety is probably a combination of both the phobias and the depression, so it will work better if your therapy addresses both underlying causes.

I've been doing different kinds of therapy over the years and none of them have been very effective.

I agree about the agoraphobia and the claustrophobia.

 

[TheAnswer]

I've been doing different kinds of therapy over the years and none of them have been very effective.

I agree about the agoraphobia and the claustrophobia.

Has your therapist been dealing with the phobias in addition to the depression? I'm not a doctor, but it seems that dealing with both the phobias and the depression might be more successful in lessening the anxiety than just addressing the depression by itself.

If you haven't tried meditation before, talk to your therapist about it. Also, since everyone is constantly maturing and growing, don't lose faith in any particular type of therapy. Just because a particular therapy technique didn't work before, that doesn't mean that it won't work if you try it again. Sometimes you just have to be in a particular mindset before things will click.

 

[ghall]

Has your therapist been dealing with the phobias in addition to the depression? I'm not a doctor, but it seems that dealing with both the phobias and the depression might be more successful in lessening the anxiety than just addressing the depression by itself.

If you haven't tried meditation before, talk to your therapist about it. Also, since everyone is constantly maturing and growing, don't lose faith in any particular type of therapy. Just because a particular therapy technique didn't work before, that doesn't mean that it won't work if you try it again. Sometimes you just have to be in a particular mindset before things will click.

Yes.

Well, I don't think I'm in quite the mindset to try meditation. I just don't think it would help me.

 

[TheAnswer]

Well, I don't think I'm in quite the mindset to try meditation. I just don't think it would help me.

That's cool. Just try to be open-minded.

Remember on a basic level, both your depression and anxiety are just tricks your mind is playing on itself because of the way it is structured and the chemical balances inside. Just be open to new ideas and to retrying therapy techniques if your therapist trys to reintroduce them in the future. Studies have shown, that, just as your mind is playing tricks on itself creating your mental state, you can use your mind to play other tricks on itself to change that mental state to a more positive one. Mindfulness meditation is really about examining the nature of how your mind works, how it plays those tricks on itself, etc.