Fear of driving a car

Common Questions and Answers about Fear of driving a car

fear

Avatar n tn 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. I should really learn to take my own advice. I wish you the best of luck and I hope you feel better.....
Avatar m tn I have a huge fear of driving and being a passenger in the car! It started out of the blue about a year and a hald ago! Nothing happened to bring it on it just happened! Its awful as I drive 60 miles every day for work! I have panic attacks along with it some days and have to pull over! My psychiatrist put me on Ativan that I take before driving to and from work or when I am getting into someone elses car and it seems to help al ittle bit. I am also on Effexor....
Avatar f tn m going to go into labor while driving! Is there a certain time to stop driving? Has it happened to anyone?
Avatar f tn Recently I have been so terrified to get in a car or even the school bus. I did get into a car accident 3 years ago (my mom was driving) where we hit a deer and the airbags went off but no one was hurt and I wasn't fazed at the time. Whenever i'm in a car now i feel my stomach clenching and it's hard to breathe. I feel like i'm gonna throw up and it doesn't stop until i'm out of the car. This didn't start happening until recently but it's quite severe.
Avatar m tn t have an accident, i feel confidence in my driving skills. maybe for someone who has no fear of diseases, its the same way. maybe they get a wave of fear, and then get over it. maybe we should try to rationalize our fears & doubts, instead of trying to run away from situations that cause anxiety, try to face them and deal with them. and trust in god in every situation.
1804812 tn?1329677557 Well, you COULD, but not without making a heck of a scene (another one of our fears). Driving for panic sufferers is a real challenge. So, what do we do about it? For one, I think it's ok, to an extent, to find alternate routes when we may be facing a driving task that is just off the charts. What I did for myself is started setting up little goals and working my way up. The initial tasks were SMALL...down the road and back.
Avatar f tn You could also bring along a puzzle book, like a word search, etc. I have a lot of anxiety in the car when my panic is peaking, and puzzle books are a really nice distraction for me, they help a lot. That's because I'm focused on something else, while at the same time, not looking AT the carm or the traffic and other things that would make me anxious.
3997096 tn?1349317861 Kinda caused me to have a fear of driving. Pretty weird. I still have a slight fear of driving. I live fairly close to Chicago and have never had a fear of driving through there as many people do who don't live there, but haven't been able to do it since eot. Hopefully one day I will get over this fear.
8377023 tn?1399509160 My biggest fear out of everything is my water breaking while driving their car. I am absolutely terrified that this is going to happen. I have already gotten contractions while driving with one of the twins, thankfully the contractions weren't crazy bad, and this happened today. I dont know what to do besides calling their aunt, Chris, my mom and my doctor. Like what should I tell their aunt if that happens? To just meet me at the hospital or what?
Avatar f tn Hi Pepper, driving is dangerous and your fear is normal. Being in a car is not an extension of our own bodies and also, as you mention, there are the other cars around you that you cant control. Ive been driving for 40 years without an accident. This is due to being active and proactive. When i am driving, i also watch out for the other cars and project there movements. I used to drive a taxi so my experience is a bit better than the average person.
Avatar f tn Ok, this might sound crazy but I recently got into a car accident two months ago, the lady hit me and my girlfriend from the side of our car and we went sliding across the street. Luckily there werent any cars coming and I thank god my girlfriend is more than okay! But since then I've been scared of driving, I always feel like im going to run someone over or hit someones car I don't even know why I have the fear of running someone over!
Avatar n tn I have son who just turned 5. He had/has sort of the same fear. He's always hated to have the window down in the car while driving and if it starts looking like a storm or the wind picks up while outside he starts getting anxious. He wants ALL his toys from outside picked up and put in the garage right away. He has no fear of fans though. I'm just a Mom, but I would say, wait it out. She is still very young. At that age it is hard to talk to her about fears and explain wind.
Avatar m tn but every time I see one, my anxiety sky rockets. I have a fear of even driving by a used needle and thinking it could be contaminated with hepatitis b or c. its as though I fear blood from the needle will get on my car or tires and then on to me. really cant comprehend how to deal with this.
510814 tn?1213264975 Soon after that PA I went out and got myself a new car and that helped a bit. Yes I am still terrified of driving in traffic because I haven't addressed that fear. I drive to work every day, have no problems driving really. But if I end up in traffic....oh GOD my heart starts pounding and I get the tunnel-vision, hands get sweaty, etc. and I just have to get off at the next exit.
Avatar n tn Again, folks, all thoughts are intrusive. Good ones and bad ones. Creative ones and boring ones. They all come from nowhere. It's how they affect us that is the key, so please, intrusive thoughts isn't a disease, it's a description of people who think thoughts and for some reason they become very disturbing when before they weren't.
Avatar f tn 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.
1785438 tn?1314987935 Hi. Unfortunately this all evolves around your anxiety and you're developing Agoraphobia which will hold you prisoner in your home (safe place). Driving is a big trigger for many with panic attacks it goes along with Agoraphobia, fear of open places and fear you'll have a panic attack, the feeling of being "trapped" wherever you are.
1154065 tn?1262184706 The most potent of my anxiety triggers is certainly being in a car, most often that is not being driven by myself. Meaning I just stepped out of a car with a friend of mine who drives a little wild and the entire 25 minute ride home, I was convinced I was dying, up until I type this post.
Avatar n tn I have issues in the car as well but I have a handle on them now. This is my take on anxiety and OCD. I do not give in. I used to think something different (I won't name it for fear you will project it onto yourself) but basically I was afraid I would lose my job because of this fear I had that would make it so I couldn't drive. When this happened you would find me driving the Parkway near my house in the middle of the night just to prove that I could.
Avatar n tn m not sure if it is in my head or not (well, I guess it is, haha), but I swear for a split second, when I see a car driving on TV I get that same feeling. It is so weird. But I was/am not completely convinced that it is anxiety because I don't have any other symptoms, and I don't FEEL worried. I'm not thinking "Oh my gosh, I'm out to get into a car accident, this is so dangerous, etc.
Avatar f tn I was recently chased by a car due to accidentally cutting them off when I tried to make a right-hand turn in the intersection. It was around my neighborhood where I do a lot of driving. The car followed me around me neighborhood for a least 5 minutes. Now, I'm afraid to go out because I don't know if that driver is looking for my car to retaliate! It was an honest mistake on my part that I cut them off, I made a bad decision while driving.
394991 tn?1214255907 s not like I feel completely normal while driving, but fear that I will all of a sudden have a panic attack. I have no fear of this; these weird feelings are already and always there. I also HAVE tried densitization--baby steps. Sitting in the car, pulling out of the garage, driving around the subdivision. This did not work. I appreciate your trying to help though.
1522533 tn?1291391549 I get the same thing. As soon as I'm in the car, I feel as though my throat is closing in! I think it is the fear of gettign stuck in traffic for me. I feel as though I can't escape and I will not be able to call for help since I'm stuck in the car. I'm alot better if someone is with me or I am the passanger. I'm new to anxiety as well and I wish it would just leave as fast as it came.