Discover
What causes and maintains your panic attacks.
Fear of Driving
Or Fear of Panics Attacks?
Most people who contact me about a fear of driving are really worrying about having a panic attack on the road. At some point they experienced a panic attack while driving, and now, they’re afraid to drive, dreading another one.
They think that if they have a panic attack while they are behind the wheel, they’ll freak out and lose control of their vehicle, causing an accident that injures themselves or others. Another common concern is the fear of being “trapped” on the freeway, unable to exit.
Judge By Facts,
Not Feelings and Thoughts
When you are panicking, your feelings and thoughts are not reliable – – meaning that just because you feel like you’re losing control of yourself does not mean you really are out of control.
You’re getting tricked by the body’s “fight-or-flight” response. In a panicky state, your thoughts are just like your physical symptoms of panic: an unreliable barometer of what is actually happening.
Your racing heart doesn’t mean you’re having a heart attack – – it means you’re panicking. The feeling that you’re losing control doesn’t mean you’re going crazy – – it means you’re highly anxious.
Fear of Driving
What Really Happens
When someone comes to me for treatment of a driving phobia, the first thing I ask them is what happened when they had a panic attack while driving. Can you guess what they tell me? They kept driving!
When I ask them where they were driving at the time, they often say on the freeway! And when I ask them how they coped with it, they typically tell me they called their significant other, or drank water or turned the radio on – – all while driving on the freeway and having a panic attack! And – – they didn’t get into an accident – – meaning, they obviously didn’t lose control. It just felt that way.
In fact, when I go out driving with my clients who have this fear, I am not concerned about getting into an accident – – because my patients are excellent drivers! They don’t actually lose control of the vehicle. They just worry about this happening.
The More You Avoid,
The Worse It Gets
If you have a driving phobia you may be avoiding driving altogether or – – more commonly – – limiting your driving to certain conditions. Maybe you’ve stopped driving on freeways. Or, maybe you “white knuckle” it on the freeway to get someplace you have to go, but always stay in the far right lane in case you start to panic and want to get off.
You might be avoiding certain streets or traffic conditions that frighten you – – like getting “trapped” at a red light. Or, you may limit your driving to a narrow geographic area. In other words, in your desperate attempt to avoid having a panic attack while driving, you’ve become agoraphobic – – meaning you are now avoiding any driving situation you fear will trigger another attack.
I don’t have to tell you how this limits your life – – especially here in Arizona where public transportation is so spotty.
Panic Attack
Treatment
If your fear of driving is due to a fear of having a panic attack, there are 2 things you’ll need to do to overcome this problem:
- Learn how to manage a panic attack with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and
- Gradually expose yourself to the driving situations you avoid. This is called Exposure Therapy – – a proven way to overcome panic and phobias.
I will teach you:
- How to manage a panic attack;
- How to respond the right way to panic – – so it calms down;
- How to design and practice exposures to overcome your fear of driving
How To Get Started
Contact Me Today
I offer a free phone consultation to discuss your situation, answer your questions and tell you how I would approach treating your problem.
