Driving while DID?

Another new thing I've started to worry about. What happens if you switch, or just dissociate out seriously, while driving?

Does this happen? Or does the system generally make sure you don't do something potentially fatal... Am I just coming up with new things to worry about?

So, what is the plan here?
do you want to drive yourself crazy by worrying about everything and 95% of that will never be a problem you are facing? that is a waste of energy.
life takes place in the present, not in worrying about the future.

some alters actually drive better than their hosts. why dont you focus on getting to know yourselves to find out if maybe your system offers that too.
when there is a problem it helps to stop the car and work on grounding.

birdsong87 wrote:do you want to drive yourself crazy

It feels like that would be a very short trip lol. Some days I think we're already there.

birdsong87 wrote:why dont you focus on getting to know yourselves to find out if maybe your system offers that too.

We are trying. Trial and error. There's just so much going on, it's an awful lot to absorb. Haven't found a decent DID Guidebook yet, just snippets here and there.

From Violet's perspective, we didn't even exist 3 weeks ago. The body was someone else and she knew nothing of DID. That host's gone and we're here and trying to cope and to survive.

It's another month yet before we have our first meeting with a therapist. Some days things are ok, some days it's one worry after another.

We're reading as much as we can, when we can, but we also have to try and keep up with the day-to-day stuff as well. Maybe all we need now and then is someone to give us a friendly "don't sweat it, you'll be ok."

"lol or take away our computer access, that'd keep us quiet for a while." someone just suggested.

Anyways, sorry. It's just trying to understand it all.

There are a few threads about driving. I know because I asked the same question some time ago. I drive. My license is under medical review at regular intervals, I have to surrender it every 3 years and am instructed to give it up it things deteriorate. I have switched whilst driving but only between drivers. Anyone who can't drive would not get in a car and try to.....however there have been times when I know we have not be ok to drive and we have not done so because we are unstable. If our behaviour is erratic to my knowledge we do not drive. I do know that some members on here have surrendered their license on occasion if they have been unstable. It is always best to err on the side of caution. Things are confusing and you can't just get your head round everything all at once. Take your time and go easy on yourself.

We don't drive anymore, haven't for ages. When we did have a licence driving scared us so it was never something we did unless we had to. The only reason we even got a driver's licence was for a job we had in our early twenties. Now that we are aware of our multiplicity it makes sense to us that driving was so scary to us then.

I had the same concern earlier this week when I became aware I was driving but knew I wasn't in control. Looking back now it doesn't seem so bad - it's not as if nobody was in control, she's a perfectly safe driver... It was just the panic of coming into co-conciousness and being behind the wheel.

VioletFlux wrote:


We're reading as much as we can, when we can, but we also have to try and keep up with the day-to-day stuff as well. Maybe all we need now and then is someone to give us a friendly "don't sweat it, you'll be ok."

"lol or take away our computer access, that'd keep us quiet for a while." someone just suggested.

Anyways, sorry. It's just trying to understand it all.

we have been there, trying to learn it all in a day. it is stressful and taking in so much trauma-related infos isnt even that helpful in the end. we value practical help over books that explain. life takes place today, not in the book.
if you would take the advice... take the weekend off from your research. go to a park. watch some animals. taste some cake. smell the coffee. talk with the mailman. do normal life for a weekend without hunting down answers for problems you dont need to solve today.
slow down. you sound hectic, stressed and overwhelmed and if you continue on your wild hunt if might be enough to destabilize the whole system.

Most 'normal' people dissociate whilst driving, it's a well known phenomenon. Still, like people say, if you know yourself that you are mentally unstable at the moment it's best not too. I did have an experience years ago of coming too at the end of a journey that I didn't remember covered in blood. And I used to park my car places and disappear. A couple of days later I would have no memory of where I parked my car!

So far I have been aware when I (the host) am dissociated and unsafe to drive. This happens after a T appointment where someone is out. Especially true when someone has done EMDR. I have waited in the car for up to 3 hours until I felt safe enough to drive.

-- Sat Dec 09, 2017 6:56 am --

So far I have been aware when I (the host) am dissociated and unsafe to drive. This happens after a T appointment where someone is out. Especially true when someone has done EMDR. I have waited in the car for up to 3 hours until I felt safe enough to drive.

I think this is a complex topic. driving is a set of skills. normal people vary wildly in their ability to drive. and light dissociation is so common while driving it is called "highway hypnosis" and is an oft used example of dissociation for normals.

It's pretty normal for me to switch while driving. but I mean in a regular way. not an upset, triggered way. driving takes me from activity to activity. so the mom might wake up and get ready and take the kid to school, but then on the way to work I will phase to work me. or maybe on the way home I may change too. or even a pleasure weekend. driving is mildly hypnotic so it's easy to change.

waking up and being lost is not a big deal. if you have a phone you can look at a map and get home. or what I did before smart phones was drive until I passed a gas station and look at a map there. it's ok to even ask someone to show you where on the map you are. they usually try to butt in but just say something generic like, I am visiting a friend and took a wrong turn. sometimes you can be in a familiar place and still get lost. that's also no big deal. just keep on til you figure out where you are.

now what is scary is spacing out while driving and not paying attention. because that can cause an accident. if you are not well enough to drive: DONT.

I think DID aside. you need to very realistically assess your skill set as a driver. are you experienced? do you drive well? are you confident behind the wheel? is defensive driving a second nature habit? I spent a dozen years making a living behind the wheel. for me driving is a non-issue. however, I know not to drive if I am upset or begin to panic. i have friend who lives in a very large city. i drive to the outskirts and park and he picks me up. because we both know I cannot deal with the city traffic.

I used to compulsively worry. this is what I would say to you. you cannot control the future no matter how much energy you devote to worrying about it. you can only control your actions. do the best you can. plan ahead and stay safe. but if $#%^ goes down. you'll handle it.

one thing I know about all of us is we are strong. we survived. and we can handle some $#%^. so ###$ the world. have faith in yourselves. and know deep down inside beyond a shadow of a microgram of doubt. that you are a bad ass #####& who can handle this.

###$ the #######4 and carry on. life is a journey and the only thing we can do is keep walking. through hills and valleys and seasons and darkness. just keep walking.