Driving You Crazy: Driving Phobia And Its Treatment
If you suffer from driving phobia, or fear of driving, it can have a profoundly negative impact on your life. Not only does it affect your ability to participate in every day activities like work and school, but it can also cause an increase in severe anxiety and panic attacks - not to mention the inability to drive. But relief is possible! There are many treatment options that are available for people who want help with their driving phobia.
That’s what this post is all about: Everything you need to know about this debilitating anxiety disorder, including some common causes of the problem, how often it actually occurs (surprisingly often!), and what treatments are available ranging from medication to therapy.
So let’s get started!
What Is Driving Phobia?
Agoraphobia is a fear of being in places outside of safe, familiar surroundings and/or having access to escape routes (e.g. elevators, stairwells, etc.). Agoraphobia sometimes also involves a fear of driving. If you have these fears in combination with an intense dislike for driving, you might be suffering from driving phobia.
A s the name of this disorder suggests, the key problem is with anxiety and panic attacks: These are usually triggered by thoughts of being in an unsafe or potentially dangerous situation while you are behind the wheel. It’s important to realize that this phobic reaction is not a rational fear. It is much more like an intense, irrational panic attack that is triggered by various stimuli, just like other phobias.
One of the main reasons why driving phobia is so common in the United States is that we tend to be a very car-centric nation. It can be very difficult for people who are anxious about driving to accommodate their fears because all kinds of things require the use of a car, from getting groceries to taking children to school and activities. But if you can recognize that driving is one of your biggest problems and that it is not safe to use a car in the situation where you are most anxious, you will be able to make some changes in your life.
The good news is that driving phobia can be treated. The bad news is that many people with this illness do not seek help for it. This means there are still many who suffer from this anxiety disorder and have no idea what causes it and how they can get relief from their problem. This post will help you avoid some of the most common mistakes people make when trying to treat their problem.
The Causes Of Driving Phobia
Much like agoraphobia, driving phobia often stems from a specific traumatic experience. The most common cause of this type of driving phobia is a car accident, or one that involved injury to another person or property damage. Encountering an accident can be extremely traumatic and cause an intense fear of driving afterward. Some people have even experienced complete paralysis with their legs because they have been unable to move in response to an accident.
It’s important to recognize that another common cause of the problem is experiencing a close call while behind the wheel that caused extreme fear and anxiety. You might have an accident and arrive at the scene only to discover that there was nothing wrong with your driving. But because you have had a negative experience in the past, it is much easier to associate anxiety and panic attacks with driving.
Other people generally become anxious about driving once they start learning to drive. Over time, they develop a fear of becoming involved in a car accident or of getting into an accident themselves. The fear can then become so intense that they find they cannot use the car at all.
Most people associate this type of anxiety with teenagers who are just learning to drive. But anyone can become afraid of driving and that includes people who have been driving for many years.
The Symptoms Of Driving Phobia
Even if you do not experience an accident or get into a collision while behind the wheel, you may still find that your fear of driving is getting in the way of your daily life and interfering with your ability to use a car for transportation. For example, if you don't want to take the bus to work, then you need to own a car in order to get there regularly. But you can't drive, because of your fear.
"There are a lot of things I used to be able to do in the car and I can't do any more," said a woman who had suffered from panic attacks while driving. "I can't go out and listen to music. I've lost my friends because I don't want to go anywhere."
There are many other ways that people with phobia of driving have found that their fear prevents them from getting to where they’re going. For example, people with this phobia often don’t use public transportation because it is too time-consuming and they would rather have a car, at least for some trips. They may also avoid family gatherings because they don’t want to use up another car.
But it doesn’t have to be that way! You can learn concrete skills and strategies for dealing with your driving phobia and find you no longer need the car for any of your daily activities. In fact, you can stop driving entirely!
The Treatments For Driving Phobia
There are two main kinds of treatment available for people who are suffering from this type of anxiety disorder: medication and therapy.
Medication is frequently the first line of treatment anyone will receive if they have a phobia, because medication is very effective in helping an individual control the symptoms. There are so many different types of medications with different purposes that it is best to find a mental health professional who can work with you to achieve the greatest benefit from your treatment. Most people who suffer from this disorder find that taking medication on a regular basis is essential to control the thoughts and feelings associated with their fear of driving.
The second type of treatment for driving phobia is therapy. This is almost always used in conjunction with medication, because it helps individuals understand what triggers their anxiety and provides coping skills so they can avoid driving when they’re feeling anxious or dangerous. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work every time. Some people are still able to develop a phobia of driving even after they’ve received therapy. It is also possible that some individuals can overcome the problem on their own by learning tools to deal with their panic attacks and other issues with driving.
There are some good programs for people who are trying to overcome a phobia of driving, and none of them require you to hit the road before taking the course. That is great news for anyone who has not been able to find relief from this anxiety problem, because it allows you to try one approach without putting yourself in a difficult situation at first.
Conclusion
Driving phobia can be a very scary problem to deal with, because you cannot drive and your life might be completely disrupted if you can’t. But it doesn’t have to stop you from doing in all of the things that are important to you like going to work, leaving the house for vacation or taking your kids to school. There are many ways that you can begin to overcome this disorder and start using a car again without experiencing any more intense feelings of anxiety than before.