Transport challenges (mental health)

Italia

Hey everyone!

I'm Talie, and part of my role alongside working with the community is making sure your voices are at the centre of everything we do!

I’m hoping to get some of your insights on something we’re exploring. If you’ve ever felt like mental health challenges make using public transport harder, we’d love to hear about your experiences. Whether it’s anxiety, panic, feeling overwhelmed, or anything else, your input would be really helpful.

We’re considering researching how a text-based support service might make things easier for people who struggle with public transport due to mental health. But before we dive in, we want to understand what these experiences are like directly from you.

If you’re up for sharing, please drop a comment below – your story could help others realise they’re not alone!

Any questions let me know.

Thanks so much for being open about this. 😊

TheNightmare

Italia wrote: »

Hey everyone!

I'm Talie, and part of my role alongside working with the community is making sure your voices are at the centre of everything we do!

I’m hoping to get some of your insights on something we’re exploring. If you’ve ever felt like mental health challenges make using public transport harder, we’d love to hear about your experiences. Whether it’s anxiety, panic, feeling overwhelmed, or anything else, your input would be really helpful.

We’re considering researching how a text-based support service might make things easier for people who struggle with public transport due to mental health. But before we dive in, we want to understand what these experiences are like directly from you.

If you’re up for sharing, please drop a comment below – your story could help others realise they’re not alone!

Any questions let me know.

Thanks so much for being open about this. 😊

Good thread idea. Im into cars a lot and luckily drive now which I'm grateful for but I used to have to get the bus home from college, just waiting around, in winter or autumn it was cold and wet. I ended up getting lifts but had to wait around then a bit. I didn't have to use it much after, just in September I had a work related session, I did a couple of test runs to just make sure I know where to go but I was worried what if I get off at the wrong stop then get lost or just get lost anyway so I was a bit anxious like just getting it in the past I didn't like it too because I was into cars, I was comparing myself to people who can drive and then I don't like most public transport anyway especially the bus.

Italia

Hey Nightmare,

Thanks for sharing your experiences. Can I ask (without sharing specifics) are you in a city or a village or town? It sounds like the public transport isn't very frequent if you had to wait a long time?

I hear that you felt anxious about missing your stop, or getting off at the wrong stop - that happened to me last week, it's so disorientating!!

Doing test runs sounds like a good idea It is a lot of extra time and effort (and money) to do that though isn't it? If you were feeling worried about having to take public transport would a text based service be helpful? What would you want from that?

Can you tell me more about why you don't like the bus?

Excited to hear you drive now! I love driving too.

Can anyone else relate?

Lucy_21

Hey @Italia I don’t know why it didn’t send so is different to my original post but I used to have to get taxis to college every morning but I have anxiety and prossesing problems so it made me nervous and I would suppress attacks until I got to college with my friend who sat with me until it passed. They would be late messing up my routine, I felt vulnerable being with someone I didn’t know, with my disability and they were not carful with my aids ither (wheelchair or frame) which also messed with my anxiety.

Then on busses I get nervous about stops and would always get pushed out the way by girls with prams so they can sit there (in the wheelchair area) but my anxiety stops me saying anything and end up unbalanced and tired. Then my anxiety makes me feel sick so I’m a mess the whole day at college

Princesslouise02

Hi Italia I get the bus I have that much axciety getting on it as I usually cry as I have health axciety and I really don’t like it as I feel like I am the centre of attraction when I get on the bus as everybody stares when you get on to when you get off so that is really makes me feel ten times worse than I are really am feeling it’s awful the dread the feeling you get you feel like people are looking at you and knowing that your crying and tensed up even though I have my axciety and autisum badge on aswell as me having people sitting side me eating loud stuff and me have sensory and loud noise problems makes me tense up even more and it’s a horrible feeling axcious that people are going to say something to you or look at you when you get tensed up