Sorry that happened Cheryl, oh boy do I remember stoplights!!!
When I used to work in another town seemed I had this particular stoplight, since I had the same EXACT symptoms as you did at the stoplight, and everyday just approaching it would bring back the memory of it. I went to the extent of, as approaching it if It was red, I would drive slowlyyyyyyy down this stretch, hoping that by the time I got there it would be green. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not. I think its the complete stop and feeling closed in, as for me, I would have to be in the left hand lane to turn at this light, crossing traffic, wasnt like if I was in the right hand lane, I could pull off to exit that road, getting the feeling of escape.
I would curse my disorder everytime it happened, over a freaking stoplight of all things! That stupid little thing hanging by wires with a red, yellow and green light was controlling my disorder, setting it off. Ugh!
Anyway, I make it a bit around town now, but still get antsy at lights, I read a good tip a couple months ago, and applied it when I had to take my daughter across town to a tanning bed appointment, and used it driving and while waiting in the car. I didnt pull up close to the car when I was at the stop, and the whole way there, every road marker from what I read, was to count the numbers up in your head, and the license plate numbers of cars, I did this the whole way there, JCT 151 and 62, im in the car saying 7 and 8 and that is 15, etc. Im passing by cars adding up license plate numbers, etc. During the time I waited in the car for my daughter, I counted up the phone numbers on the signs of the businesses nearby, I would read it different ways in my head too, like the JCT 151 could be 7, 16, or 52. And it worked. I was mentally distracting myself before hand that my focus of the stoplights I would come to didnt allow me to think about it. I still cant master everything yet, but just these little things help. Hope your day gets better, and dont dwell on the episode, we all have minor setbacks to major ones, Im still waiting for the day when the Rover isnt on Mars, but on some type of Star Trek transporter, where I can just transport to somewhere and be back home in nano seconds, you have to laugh sometimes about how we th
