Driving

[Syntheso]

There's something I've been wondering for a while now, but now I'm pretty much convinced. Whenever I get in my car and drive.. I start feeling really spaced out and lethargic. See this account here for example; http://hppdonline.com/index.php?/topic/2200-migraine-mini-seizures/?p=17078. I have half acknowledged the link for a while and often attributed it to something else like 'ah well it's probably this supplement I took, or because I'm tired.. blah blah'. But consistently whenever I get in the car and drive I start feeling particularly weird. It would make sense in the context of HPPD I guess, given that you are moving quickly and thus having to process visual data much more quickly.. which could explain an exacerbation of co-morbid symptoms.

I just wanted to check if anyone else has noticed this though?

 

[onedayillsailagain]

I'm jealous: I can't drive with this shit. I tried; almost crashed... messed up the gears as well because I'm so out of tune. I used to be an excellent driver prior to this; usually driving high speed with top precision, quick reflexes etc. Perhaps a little reckless but I felt it was not, for I would only do so if I could fully focus. Hell I even zone out when I'm in the passenger seat now.

I think your theory is correct though with having to process more visual data faster.
Note: I even look 7 times before crossing the street by foot now.. that's how screwed I am. I might just be an exception haha.

[Syntheso]

I'm jealous: I can't drive with this shit. I tried; almost crashed... messed up the gears as well because I'm so out of tune. I used to be an excellent driver prior to this; usually driving high speed with top precision, quick reflexes etc. Perhaps a little reckless but I felt it was not, for I would only do so if I could fully focus. Hell I even zone out when I'm in the passenger seat now.

I think your theory is correct though with having to process more visual data faster.

Note: I even look 7 times before crossing the street by foot now.. that's how screwed I am. I might just be an exception haha.

Is that to do with your visuals or cognitive dysfunction (or both)? I can drive perfectly well, doesn't seem to affect me that much other than described above. If I thought I were a danger I wouldn't drive obviously

[onedayillsailagain]

Both, though I suspect the cognitive dysfunction to be the main culprit.
Haha that's why I don't drive anymore!

[etardnow]

I think it has something to do with the phenomenon where you dont really realize you're getting closer to something. I don't know if its just a normal illusion but when I walk in my apartment corridor, it doesnt feel like the end of the hallway is getting closer and closer until im actually there.(edit: now that i think about it, i remember talking about this phenomenon when I was tripping.) When I was on LSD and drove, i experienced the road zooming in and out. Another part of the 'perception' disorder if you will.

 

I do sometimes feel spaced out very minimally but it might be because im consciously seeing all the bright headlights(in canada, daytime running lights are the law, and even those have starbursting effects :\) and it makes me think about HPPD somewhat. With that said, I dont really have a 'problem' driving. 

 

"I used to be an excellent driver prior to this; usually driving high speed with top precision, quick reflexes etc. Perhaps a little reckless but I felt it was not"

 

Me too. I feel like some of the lifestyles we hppd-ers have are very similar and wonder if it has to do with predisposition. 

[onedayillsailagain]

Certainly not "out of the box" lifestyles indeed. Ha I found a way to use that term in a different context, nice! Perhaps my left DL-PFC is active?
As for the phenomena you describe: yes indeed.. but I believe that might have more to do with DP if anything. As for driving under the influence, the only accident I ever made was on/after cocaine. Never (!) drive on that stuff. I'd much rather drive drunk than that.

[disguyhere]

i had no choice but to learn to drive during the initial trip that melted my brain. i had prior to that never had a problem driving while on any substance. my lack of depth perception always made me adjust to driving differently then most people would have to and that helped me overcome the worst of the things i went through after the initial trip. worst of it was my windshield would turn into an oil painting on canvas. any window fog would become overblown and any color in the general area of the fog would start spreading out like someone splashing the screen with paint. but i made it home that day. and forced myself to drive daily the next few months as i continued tripping and having 0 sleep. since i never let on to anyone that my brain was gone , i had nobody to rely on to pick up my slack and drive me places. hell i was the only one of my friends with a car or real job at that point so i really had no choice.

 

since then the only thing thats kept me from getting in a major accident has been my ability to compartmentalize my visuals. i treat them like a HUD, overlaid on my vision but not interfering with it. some days it actually works to my benefit. Like it i subconsciously pick up on a disturbance a few cars ahead of me, i start getting a colored "aura" building up around that general area. my brain picks up on it before i notice it consciously, and helps me react quicker. its not always the case and sometimes it can be super distracting, but i never relied on certain aspects of my vision to drive to begin with so its not bad enough ever to make me unable to deal. I'm still one of the few people i know who can smoke herb for hours straight, get in my car, and have 0 difference in my ability to coordinate or pay attention to the road.

 

 

night driving.. thats a different story. you take away my ability to see shadows and you take away any ability for me to discern distance. plus i get really bad flaring that screws up my depth perception even more. but i generally dont drive at night so i avoid that issue.

[brake]

Driving actually makes me feel better. It keeps me focused. The only problem I have is at night when there are a lot of headlights on from oncoming traffic.

[Heyguys]

^Same. I can drive fine, but at night headlights are a lot brighter. Burn my eyes bright. I'm constantly questioning whether the car that just passed me had their high beam on!