Terrified of ROADS.

LegacyUser

Hi there,

This is probably the oddest post you will have read in a long time but it is really beginning to get me down!

I am absolutely terrified of most roads.

When I am driving I get the most terrible anxiety attacks to the point I cant go on a lot of roads: dual carriageways, M50, M1 etc. I can only drive on much quieter roads where there isn't more than 1 lane, or too much traffic. Even then I still am a bit nervous but I can manage (just about).

I also cant even be on the bigger roads M50 etc even as a passenger. I totally flip out to the point of full blown anxiety attacks where I am visibly shaking with fear. I recently was on the M50 and I had to ask the driver to pull off three exits too early because I simply thought I would faint with the fear.

I don't know why or when this developed but there are a number of factors which contribute to my fear - the higher speeds that people are driving at on the larger roads, the fact I know if you have an accident you are much more likely to die if traveling faster, the swerving in and out of multiple lanes.

I have tried to "talk" myself out of this ridiculous phobia but I cant. I need to deal with this as I end up taking much longer routes to places just to avoid driving on certain roads, etc and also it is very unpleasant.

Does any one have any advice or have heard of this before? Is there anything you suggest I could do to get rid of this?

mikemac

Not everyone can cope with driving and if you can't deal with it and can find ways around it then don't do it.
Some people go their whole lives without learning to drive.

But that's not realy solving the issue, only avoiding it.

I suppose find a sympathetic instructor and start from the beginning again. Step by step you'll build it up. Confidence will come from experience.

Like you I was nervous when I started driving. I started learning on rural roads, then I drove to the nearest town and after a few months I drove to the nearest city Limerick on my own.
If you can handle the Parkway roundabout in Limerick you can handle anything :eek: I was terrified!

After then I started on a moped and it was even scarier and you'd be filtering cutting through lanes (and cycle lanes ).
But you build up the confidence and in no time you'll be cutting up taxi drivers and swerving through traffic like a seasoned hooligan :pac:

So OP, find a situation you find difficult and when you cope, find the next situation and so on.
This will help you as a driver and as a passenger

cournioni

scared086789 wrote: »

When I am driving I get the most terrible anxiety attacks to the point I cant go on a lot of roads: dual carriageways, M50, M1 etc. I can only drive on much quieter roads where there isn't more than 1 lane, or too much traffic. Even then I still am a bit nervous but I can manage (just about).

I don't know why or when this developed but there are a number of factors which contribute to my fear - the higher speeds that people are driving at on the larger roads, the fact I know if you have an accident you are much more likely to die if traveling faster, the swerving in and out of multiple lanes.

If it is any help at all, driving on larger roads is actually much much safer than driving on a road with one lane. Motorways are actually one of the safest ways of travelling on any Irish road at the moment due to cars travelling in the same direction. It is a proven statistic.

Trinity

I'm exactly the same OP. I dont know how or why. I think its the long open road and there is no driving involved really it gives you too much time to think.

Its only in the last couple of weeks i have started to go on it as a passenger and am getting used to it.

I think once you panic in a particualr situation, you will almost always panic when you are back in that situation. A panic attack is something telling you you are in danger and your body reacts. If it happens on a road, and you go back on the road, your brain is triggered to remember that you were in danger here before (even though you werent to begin with). Sorry I am not explaining well.

Basically there is no cure only to do it again and again. Breathing technique is very important. You must breathe your way through the panic and change your way of thinking. If i tell you not to think of a pink elephant in a dress you will think of a pink elephant in a dress. Therefore if you think about a panic attack you will probably have one.

Before i wouldnt drive over a bridge at my house and went the long way to school,. as all morning all i would think about is please dont have a panic attack please dont have a panic attack and of course when i got to the bridge i had a panic attack every bloody time. Then i stopped thinking about whether or not i would have a panic attack and started telling myself about how many times i had crossed the bridge and nothing happened and that even if i did have a panic attack, as awful as it feels, nothing will happen. I breathed myself through the first one and it didnt happen again after that. Once you do it once without having a panic attack, you have begun to break the cycle. Basically shrug your shoulders and say so what if i panic it will pass i will get over it.

Its very difficult, i know first hand and i myself have yet to drive on the motorway but i will. Take your time, get someone to go with you at night when its quiet. A lot of them have road works and are down to one lane and speed is reduced to 60 anyway why not try start there.

Feel the fear and do it anyway you will be very proud of yourself.

Kirnsy

try seeking professional help or maybe hypnosis honestly if it can help peole quit smoking it can help people overcome their fears.

Phibsboro

First off, its not odd at all, driving phobia is actually quite common (my mother drove everywhere in circles for years so as not to ever have to take a right hand turn!). I recently had a touch of it when I was wrecked tired and ended up lost on the ringroad round Belfast - though I felt somewhat justified when I later saw the underpass that particularly freaked me under 20m (metres!) of water due to flooding!

In my mind I think phobias become an issue when you are tired or stressed, and the longer you stay tired/stressed the more likely you are to trip off a phobia, I think cos your alert system is so fecked by stress that it misjudges a situation. So if that rings any bells with you, first thing to do is to try and relieve the stress (long break, leave that job, whatever). Beyond that, here's an interesting article on the subject...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/article386526.ece

He basically says he realised that pottering along in the slow lane is fine In that vein, its useful to get back on motorways in a controlled fashion, maybe by doing one section (slip to slip) on an early Sunday morning. Then the next week maybe do two sections etc. You might never want to go onto the M50 at 3pm on a Tuesday but at least its not completely controlling your life.