Amaxophobia?

[mariposa1139]

Hi, I am new here.. I have had some anxiety throughout the years. Now I have anxiety when driving or being a passenger in a car. After the pandemic it has overtaken my life. Does anyone suffer from this? I feel like I am the only one. I've been through therapy and it didn't get any better.

[Agora1]

Hi mariposa1139 and Welcome..

Have you ever been in an accident while someone else was driving?

Did you drive at all during the pandemic?

Once you've been away from driving yourself, everything can seem

strange and scary. As if you were trying to adjust to life once more.

After I was Agoraphobic for 5 years, driving again was my first big challenge

once I was able to get myself to the garage. Everything needed to be done in

small steps in order to feel comfortable as well as safe.

When someone else drives you, it's all about trust. The loss of your control

is the biggest issue. I had been in 2 near horrific accidents years ago where

I was not the driver. It left me with PTSD regarding trusting someone else

with my life.

As for driving myself, I hated going on the expressways especially merging.

I realized that it was because I did it so infrequently that I was unaccustomed

to the proper way of merging safely. I also found that if I did my deep breathing

'while driving,, I was much more relaxed and in control of the traffic. I was taught

from the very beginning to drive on the defensive. Don't assume because there

is a stopsign/light ahead that the crossing traffic will obey the law.

Just as in life with anxiety, there may be things we cannot be in control of such as

someone driving too close behind us. So we make adjustments in our driving

avoiding a possible accident. Practice makes perfect but when driving it's about

learning to drive in all weather and traffic.

Remember that in order to get from Point A to Point B, it's not about taking the

shortest route or speeding but about getting there safely. Maybe a refresher

course in Safe/Defensive Driving might be worth the effort. xx

[mariposa1139 in reply to Agora1]

Thank you for responding!! I haven't been in an accident in over 25 years. But I've had some close calls. During the pandemic I worked from home for a short while, but then I went to work. My job is 10 min from my home so no highways etc. I have tried to pin point what got me here and I just can't. I haven't been on the highway in over a year. And I need to. I'm just so scared something is going to happen, no matter what, but...Thank you for giving me a boost. I need to get out there!!! The rest of my life is going so well and this is hindering the enjoyment of it all. Thanks again! I hope I can post back soon and give you good news. 😊

[Agora1 in reply to mariposa1139]

I hope so as well. It's funny in that when I first learned to driveit was to take my daughter to school and back. Within a few weeks,

I wanted the freedom to go a little further. Each time my confidence

grew. I wish this for you as well. Let us know where your journey

takes you xx