Panic attack while driving on the freeway

[bartleby]

This past weekend, I had a panic attack while driving on the freeway. It was a freeway I do not frequently need to use, so I was unfamiliar with it. Long story short, I got panicky enough that I had to pull over and stay on the shoulder for a few minutes. Luckily, I was only a couple of exits away from my destination, so I didn't have far to go. I was driving my daughter to a birthday party, and she was in the back seat saying, "What are you doing, Mommy? Why are we pulling over?"

This is not my first freeway panic attack. I had one 15 years ago that set into motion a spiral into panic and anxiety that lasted for a year or two until I got stable with meds and therapy. Since then I have always dealt with a certain level of anxiety (generalized) and depression, but it's been manageable.

Since the first attack 15 years ago, I have had a phobia of driving on freeways. Sometimes I've been able to manage it, sometimes I do what I can to avoid freeway driving. But, now that I've had another freeway episode, I find my phobia is rather heightened now. I hate how it limits me, and I want to work through it, but since I don't drive on freeways often, it's kind of easy to avoid it.

Does anyone else have this phobia? If so, how have you worked through it? I can't make my husband do the freeway driving all the time, and there are some places you gotta go where it's inevitable.

[Fujiko]

I hate driving on the freeways, too, and I am very anxious when I have to, or at least I used to be. But I've never had a panic attack. I just had to drive the freeways over and over until I felt more comfortable. Exposure therapy? lol. It also helps to look on Google maps close-up and ground view so I become acquainted with where I'll be driving before I'm going. And I try to get into the lane I need as soon as I can; lane changes are the worst!

[MidnightCommando]

And I thought I was the only one! I grew up driving on the freeways, never had a problem until 3 years ago. I was driving to the airport and thought I was suddenly having a heart attack. It happened on my vacation too and I managed to either have DP drive or avoid it. When I got home I went to my doctor and she diagnosed it as a situational panic attack. No reason why this developed now except for maybe shifting hormone levels after DDs birth. I also developed a severe phobia of any road that has a drop-off which sucks since I live in the mountains.

I havn managed to avoid the freeway for 3 years now, but it's pretty easy since we live far away from one and DP drives when we need to travel. I was given an Rx for xanax but it seems to make things worse when I take it (for mountain travel) so I avoid driving those roads now too.

I've thought about exposure therapy but am worried that I would put myself and others in danger since I literally freeze up behind the wheel on the freeway.


Sorry I don't have any tips on how to work through it but wanted to let you know you are not alone. DP and I are thinking about moving and I am terrified that we will live somewhere where taking the freeway is the only viable option.