fear of driving highways

need I say more? The fear of being stuck in traffic and suddenly needing to go is a real fear based on a real problem. Generally I prepare for trips, and if shopping, make it a focused shop. No more aimless driving. I have to have a plan and stick to it. Same in stores: meandering around in a hugh store is sure to bring on panic. So again I now plan and stick to it. One department for shoes. No checking out several stores or departments.

Boy, can I relate!! MANY of us can! This goes hand in hand with panic. " I am known as the "back roads" queen because I can get to just about anywhere on small streets and county roads. I always feel like I need to have a place I can pull over". Me too! LOL. I HATE highways. I explored this fear with my therapist years ago, and she explained to me that the fear stems from our basic fear of becoming "trapped" somewhere, with no option of "escape".

I have been dealing with driving anxiety for several months. It is mainly on highways. Somedays i do great and i can drive on busy highways fine. OTher days even smaller highways around 55 mph freak me out. IT worse on straight roads w/ litle traffic. NOw, im even scared to ride w/ others on hwy. i have been in therapy for a few months and we are going to start emdr. I am taking buspar 30 mg a day. I dont want to start taking an ssri because i want to have a family soon. Any suggestions???

My own sister developed a fear of driving on highways when she was much younger. Just as you said, she too can drive perfectly fine on other roads but not the main highways. I myself have never had a problem driving on any road or highway yet I cannot get on an airplane. My sister has no problem going on an airplane. Thats how are minds are, we develop fears that will be hard to break unless we face them head-on. So yours is more common than you might think.

Some people with panic and anxiety disorder have a fear of driving on highways. It is more common than you would think. Do you notice any significant amount of anxiety off the road, or is it only when you are driving? I would see your doctor.

I always had them when I was driving on highways. Well in November of 2008 I finally stood up too him, and took cusotdy of my kids back. I began the panic attacks once again, when I was trying to cross a bridge I had crossed, hundreds if not thousands of times. Why did they begin again? I am so VERY ANGRY that he has any sort of control, in any manner, over me. I lecture myself, about how stupid it is too be scared to cross the bridge.

I still drive, butI am terrified of someone hitting me one day! And luckily my belly doean't touch the steering wheel yet.

I have the same symptoms but only about 20% of the time. Due to this occuring during driving on major highways, I stick to the highways that have stop and go lights. I just read an article from Harvard medical school listed as Broken Heart Syndrome. It basically states that after extreme stress, a few days later these symptoms may appear. After my husband passed my heart has been broken by my children and a sister.

The best way to describe it to people is that when I am driving on the highway I get a strange and trippy feeling like I am driving forward but everyone around me is going backwards or that I am stopped...its a very strange feeling which causes me anxiety and my palms sweat, heart races and i usually have to pull over. This is taking over my life! and I can no longer drive on the highway which causes alot of issues living in chicago. I am wondering is this an anxiety attach??

At that time, i realize that my only fear is death. In order to get rid of anxiety, i convince myself that every living thing will die. So, i dont care anymore if i die. After all, death will find me anyway. Finally, my anxiety gone without any medication. You should face your fear and put that away.

I was in great health physically and mentally up tilI had my daughter 10 yrs ago.. At the birth I lost alot of blood and had a blood transfusion, 6 months later I was over tired and was losing hair then they said I had a thyriod problem...After about 6 months of taking med's for my new thyriod issue the hair loss continued..I told my Dr. I felt I was losing too much hair and thought something else was wrong..I then went to another Dr. and was told I had Lupus..

It triggers my nervousness and same extreme symptoms as soon as I see the road or a traffic light. Is it because of the fear of very first episode happened on the road? how to overcome.. Please help! Anybody else in this situation?

All the symptoms you mentioned are typical. Your quite normal in fact. One of the hardest parts of anxiety is believing when other people tell you the symptoms you feel are normal. The reason is, they seem soooo severe! I know. I've been there and still get them. But, knowing its anxiety and not lifethreatening is your first step on the road to recovery. I suspect that if you try to go out on a casual drive around the block (that's it) you may not experiece this sensation.

I highly recommend the follwing resources to help you over-come this fear of driving. In my opinion they are priceless and well worth the money. If you can afford them, I would order them today so you can get your recovery on the road. They have been instrumental in my recovery and I actually keep them in the car with me, just in case. 1) The Driving Fear Program - www.drivingfear.

For reference I did not have any of these problems as an young man under 30, it all started when I was about 30, I still remember the surprise episode that I associate as my first panic when driving. I think my fear of flying happened around the time I earned my first electrical engineering degree (with high grades) and I realized engineers (and pilots) didn't in fact know everything.

I too suffered from many of the same symptoms outlined in so many of the posts. Over a year later, I'm able to drive without too much distress and dizziness. While it is not perfect, I am no longer petrified of driving. I'll give more of my details and bio at the bottom of the post, but here are the actions that I took to improve my case: 1) I underwent Balance Retraining Therapy.

i also dont like driving at night outside of the town i live in. i will make my boyfriend drive to where i want to go out side of my confert zone. i have only had my own drivers lic. for 2 months. i know the cause to my fears is that 6 months ago i was in a really bad wreck and we was hit head on and altho i wasnt driving and no one in the truck was seriously hurt but all did spend a night in the hospital.

Hi HamiltonM, I posted a comment about 6 years ago about fear of driving in curves. Especially curves ciming downhill. I feel my car will tilt over. I noted your comment about similar symptoms. I haven't been in this chat room since then...anyway I wanted to know if anything helped your situation?

t even get on the highway to go to the next town! Driving or not! A lot of it has to do with my anxiety I believe. And I psych myself out, like what if the car breaks down, what if the breaks dont work, what if we hit someone or someone hits us. If I absolutely have to go then I will.

As long as you have the right tires and you drive safely, ya know, not going over the speed limit, you should be fine. The highways are usually the first to get cleared of snow when a big snow storm goes through anyway.

I went to the ER the 2nd time this happened when I was driving and they did tons of tests..EKG, pregnancy test, CT scan, chest x-rays, and found nothing. I made an appt with my primary care physician and she thought it might be panic attacks. I have been on Zoloft for 2 weeks and seen no improvement. I started thinking they probably weren't panic attacks because this sensation occurs every time I am in a car, from the time the car is moving, to the time it stops.

You are not actually fearful of driving or travelling itself, but rather the fear of losing control if you have another panic attack. This is because when we have a panic attack, the first thing we want to do is to retreat to our "safe place", which for most people is our home. The further away from our comfort zone, the more uncomfortable we feel.

To tell you the truth, I avoid driving much at all now b/c I always have at least one of my kids in the car and just driving triggers that confused out of it feeling and I find I have difficulty concentrating and am easily distracted. So for now, I only do short day trips and I have to wait for my hubby to be around to do the long trips or at night driving. I am hoping as I keep healing from surgery that this is one of the things that is going to get better b/c with 3 kids...

ll have a better reaction. For example, one of my issues is being in a car and being confined (particularly highways) while having a panic attack or palpitations (PVCs) So on a bad day, I'll drive back roads to work and avoid the highway because I'm already having palpitations and high anxiety and I'm certain it will be an issue when I get on the highway, but I'm not sure if this is re-enforcing my fear. thoughts?

I too struggle with panic attacks and the fear of them returning. Have you talked to your dr about this? You might want to consider talking with a therapist. I do know that if you let the fear take over your mind it is only going to get worse. The best advice I can give you is to talk to someone and try to face the fear. Get back in your car and go for a drive even if it is only around the block. Each time you do it it will get easier. You have to take your control back.

He does not get sick on the boat, however. We have a long trip planned in a couple of months, with two days of driving, one way. I consider him part of the family, so I really want to take him with, but if he throws up an hour into a trip, what am I going to do with two days of driving?!!! Help!!!

i was driving confidently for the last 8 years. suddenly start to fear driving especially curves...now i could not take the vehicle in the middle of the road..i try to avoid and automatically i drive on left side of the road instead of straight...so i loose balance..i am sittiting also slightly towards left...this problem is giving me sleepless night...please advise me..........

Fear of driving highways

Common Questions and Answers about Fear of driving highways

fear