08/12/2013
Even if one has driven for years without incident, it is easy to wipe out the safe memories of driving and replace them all with one bad experience. When this happens, even thinking about getting in a car cues the accident memories, and it may lead to thoughts of driving becoming almost as frightening as driving itself.
If one has a panic attack or other panic symptoms while driving, one might come to believe that a panic attack is dangerous and that it will cause you to either lose control, go “crazy,” or pass out. If this were to happen, the consequences could be severe, so the typical thought is that it is best not to drive so that this will not happen.
People may also fear harming others, and they will avoid driving so that they will not be the cause of someone being hurt. And some people may have a significant fear of getting lost, so they stop driving because they don’t want to get themselves or their passengers lost. Even if it is just in their neighborhood, over a route they’ve traveled hundreds of times while someone else was driving, they may fear that they might forget where to go.
When it comes to a specific phobia, like open spaces or heights, it doesn’t matter what you do not fear. You may be a mountain climber who fears driving in vast areas. You may be a pilot who fears driving over bridges. Reasons for having phobias often don’t make logical sense, even though they appear to make a great deal of emotional sense to the person experiencing the fear.
The site is a virtual support system for people who have been through this driving anxiety roller coaster.
