Amaxophobia help

[Elizabeth72]

Hi,
Does anyone else out there have Amaxophobia? (fear of being in a car or driving one)
I have crippling anxiety about being driven in a car which is a real problem in the modern world. It's got to the stage now where I don't even like looking at traffic lights because my panic is worse at the traffic lights!
I know it sounds peculiar but I would love to hear from anyone out there who has the same feelings.
Elizabeth72

 

[triceps]

Hi and welcome. I take it that you're unable to drive yourself. You might think it's an odd phobia but how is it any different than a fear of flying which so many folks have. I have so many odd and unrealistic fears. Just going to my mailbox, for one. Some of them get better the more I face them but some don't no matter how many times I face it without the outcome I fear doesn't happen. Are you on any medication? Sometimes taking a benzo like Xanax prior to the scary event can lessen the suffering.

 

[Kaynil]

Hi. I have always seen vehicles as a tools that can potentially harm others. They are unatural metal boxes going in high speeds that everyone elwe sees like normal part of human lifes. I don't know if it was movies what started it but I know it was my dad who cenented that idea verbally onto me when trying to teach me how to drive. I've always been a daydreamer and the idea of carrying other people's lifes by driving scares me a lot. I cannot think of giving lifts, and I am atraid of not seeing a crissing pedestrian coming out if nowhere or just not having the reflexes to react in time.

I dunno if that's comparable since I am trying to get the courage to learn to drive and people say is natural to be nervous and it will go away but I guess we'll see.

Ifvyou haven't already, maybe talking with a therapist can help you pin point where it comes from snd/or give you pointers on how to cope and slowly ease into them.

 

[Elizabeth72]

Hi, Thanks for the replies. I used to take Sertraline for 20 years. It helped me feel better at first then it stopped working. Then I couldn't stop taking it due to the side effects of stopping. I've been without any drug support for about 1 year now.

I would love to see any mental health professional/ therapist but I live in the UK and where I live basically there is no help for me. Unless I was suicidal there is no help for people like me. My GP's are useless, I've yet to meet one who has the first clue about anxiety. It is getting to the point when I am so deeply unhappy about feeling trapped at home. I would love to know what has sparked this deep rooted fear in me. I am a logical person about the rest of my life which makes it all the more bizarre.
Thanks for the support

 

[shay1988]

Oh yes I do! It all started when I had a severe panic attack in bad traffic one day. I couldn't get to the shoulder to stop or pull over. There was 5 lanes of traffic and I was in the middle, I was shaking, sweating, dizzy and My heart was beating so hard I knew I was going to pass out. I had to call my mom crying and asking her to talk to me to calm me down. Every since then it's like I freak out every time I have to drive anywhere! Or even ride with someone. It makes my life very hard! I have to go to work, pick my kids up from school and so on. But yes mine gets worse at red lights as well! I'm not sure why! Maybe it's where I was at a red light when that bad episode happened to me. But I am still struggling with it today. I'm a little better then I was but I still have anxiety every time I go out. It definitely sucks