Question:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’ve had this problem for the last 13 years and I happened upon an article on the web about panic attacks and it seemed to describe exactly what I go through. Either it’s a panic attack or a phobia of some kind and I was wondering if you could maybe give me some insight. This is my situation. My older sister was killed by a drunk driver 13 years ago (I was a junior in high school at the time). Ever since then, whenever I get into heavy traffic, I seem to freak out. I don’t have this problem on 2 lane highways and I don’t have this problem if I am the one driving either. If I’m driving, I feel completely in control and I don’t feel any danger. If I’m a passenger and we’re on a 2 lane highway, I seem to be fine because traffic is not surrounding me. However, If I’m a passenger on a 4 lane highway I just totally freak out. All I can see are cars all around me, people switching lanes without even looking if it’s ok to do so, people speeding like crazy….etc. This feeling of death comes over me so strong I can’t breath. I break out in a cold sweat and I clutch the door handle with everything I’m worth. I just want out of the car at those moments so bad and it takes everything I have not to burst into tears. I just feel like I’m going to die any second. That someone is going to make a wrong move and there will be a bad accident and there is nothing I can do about it. When we finally reach our destination, I can’t even enjoy it because I’m so nauseous by that point and all I can do is think about having to go through all of that again to get home. It’s absolutely awful. We live in a small town but have a large city only 30 miles away from us. It’s gotten to the point where I’m afraid of going there unless I do the driving. Would that be considered a phobia of some kind or is it a panic attack? What can I do about it? It’s getting worse and worse as the years go by and I would like to solve this somehow. Did I always have this problem and my sister’s accident brought it out or was the accident itself the main cause? Drugs are out of the question as I’m 22 weeks pregnant right now. And that also brings up another concern…. I want to solve this problem so we can go on family trips when our kids are older. My husband is very understanding but after a while I start to make him nervous and he can no longer enjoy the trip either plus I make him second guess his driving. Plus, while pregnant, I just flat out refuse to go anywhere where 4 lanes of traffic are involved because now not only could I die in an accident, but so could my unborn child. It took us so long to become pregnant with this baby, that my mind just won’t let me put myself in any kind of danger. Does anyone have any advice of any kind or insights? Thank you for taking the time to read this, I didn’t realize it would be such a long post. Cherie
You probably have panic disorder (fear of having another panic attack), and agoraphobia (fear you will be trapped in a situation where you are unable to escape in order to get relief or find help). Are you afraid of enclosed spaces, elevators, crossing bridges, being in large crowds? That’s all part of agoraphobia. The two treatments of choice that have been shown to help are meds (benzodiazepines and antidepressants) and cognitive behavior therapy. Chip – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –
Response:
I wanted to thank you all for your responses. Only my husband knows of this problem. I’ve never told my family because I didn’t want to bring up my sister’s accident. It took us all so long to get over that and I didn’t want to bring up all those bad memories. It was so nice to sit down and write that post, to finally let others know how I feel. I will take your advice and see about counselling, as I don’t think I can keep going on the way I have been. I thought I was over my sister’s death, but apparently I’m not, even after all of these years. Thank you for letting me know that I’m not crazy. Thank you also for the good wishes for my baby. I wish you all the best. God Bless! Cherie
Response:
Hi Chip. No, I don’t seem to have a fear of being in large crowds or in elevators, etc…. It only happens in cars during bad traffic when I’m not driving and since my car has died my husband does all the driving because his truck is a standard, which I don’t know how to drive. In a couple of months we’ll be buying me a minivan, so that will help having me do a lot of the driving. I am going to be looking into therapy. I really believe that most of this stems from my sister’s accident, and if I could just work through that then maybe these attacks while being in bad traffic will go away. Thank you for your insight and I’ll be sure to keep everyone updated. You have all been so nice!! Cherie
Response:
Hi Cherie, Welcome to ASAP. Yes, it does sound like anxiety. It is a control thing. If you are in control driving, than you can manage just fine, but when you have to let someone else drive in the four lane situation, you panic. This is understandable, considering what happened to your sister. Cognitive Behavior Therapy should be a great help to you, and no drugs are needed. You would just be changing your thought process and learning how to over come this. Take really good care of yourself! Liz – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’ve had this problem for the last 13 years and I happened upon an article on the web about panic attacks and it seemed to describe exactly what I go through. Either it’s a panic attack or a phobia of some kind and I was wondering if you could maybe give me some insight. This is my situation. My older sister was killed by a drunk driver 13 years ago (I was a junior in high school at the time). Ever since then, whenever I get into heavy traffic, I seem to freak out. I don’t have this problem on 2 lane highways and I don’t have this problem if I am the one driving either. If I’m driving, I feel completely in control and I don’t feel any danger. If I’m a passenger and we’re on a 2 lane highway, I seem to be fine because traffic is not surrounding me. However, If I’m a passenger on a 4 lane highway I just totally freak out. All I can see are cars all around me, people switching lanes without even looking if it’s ok to do so, people speeding like crazy….etc. This feeling of death comes over me so strong I can’t breath. I break out in a cold sweat and I clutch the door handle with everything I’m worth. I just want out of the car at those moments so bad and it takes everything I have not to burst into tears. I just feel like I’m going to die any second. That someone is going to make a wrong move and there will be a bad accident and there is nothing I can do about it. When we finally reach our destination, I can’t even enjoy it because I’m so nauseous by that point and all I can do is think about having to go through all of that again to get home. It’s absolutely awful. We live in a small town but have a large city only 30 miles away from us. It’s gotten to the point where I’m afraid of going there unless I do the driving. Would that be considered a phobia of some kind or is it a panic attack? What can I do about it? It’s getting worse and worse as the years go by and I would like to solve this somehow. Did I always have this problem and my sister’s accident brought it out or was the accident itself the main cause? Drugs are out of the question as I’m 22 weeks pregnant right now. And that also brings up another concern…. I want to solve this problem so we can go on family trips when our kids are older. My husband is very understanding but after a while I start to make him nervous and he can no longer enjoy the trip either plus I make him second guess his driving. Plus, while pregnant, I just flat out refuse to go anywhere where 4 lanes of traffic are involved because now not only could I die in an accident, but so could my unborn child. It took us so long to become pregnant with this baby, that my mind just won’t let me put myself in any kind of danger. Does anyone have any advice of any kind or insights? Thank you for taking the time to read this, I didn’t realize it would be such a long post. Cherie
– Problems are only opportunities in work clothes. –Henry Kaiser
Response:
well it sounds like you have post tramatic stress which is triggering panic attacks. I was in a bad accident in Jan and it wasnt until 3 weeks ago after surgery did i start freaking out. You went through a very painful situation that is unfortunatly very common. I have the same problem when in the car. All i can do is pray we dont get into an accident. Its awful. I would recommend some counseling while i was pregnant (by the way part of being pregnant is worrying like crazy about te health of your unborn child) Then when no longer pregnant your doctor can prescribe you a valum or ativan just to take when you go on those road trips since you ont seem to have anxiety or panic at any other time. COunseling would really help you the most i think. Good luck and let us know how things go. GOd Bless you Julie
Response:
Cherie wrote…….
I’ve had this problem for the last 13 years and I happened upon an – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -article on the web about panic attacks and it seemed to describe exactly what I go through. Either it’s a panic attack or a phobia of some kind and I was wondering if you could maybe give me some insight. This is my situation. My older sister was killed by a drunk driver 13 years ago (I was a junior in high school at the time). Ever since then, whenever I get into heavy traffic, I seem to freak out. I don’t have this problem on 2 lane highways and I don’t have this problem if I am the one driving either. If I’m driving, I feel completely in control and I don’t feel any danger. If I’m a passenger and we’re on a 2 lane highway, I seem to be fine because traffic is not surrounding me. However, If I’m a passenger on a 4 lane highway I just totally freak out. All I can see are cars all around me, people switching lanes without even looking if it’s ok to do so, people speeding like crazy….etc. This feeling of death comes over me so strong I can’t breath. I break out in a cold sweat and I clutch the door handle with everything I’m worth. I just want out of the car at those moments so bad and it takes everything I have not to burst into tears. I just feel like I’m going to die any second. That someone is going to make a wrong move and there will be a bad accident and there is nothing I can do about it. When we finally reach our destination, I can’t even enjoy it because I’m so nauseous by that point and all I can do is think about having to go through all of that again to get home. It’s absolutely awful. We live in a small town but have a large city only 30 miles away from us. It’s gotten to the point where I’m afraid of going there unless I do the driving. Would that be considered a phobia of some kind or is it a panic attack? What can I do about it? It’s getting worse and worse as the years go by and I would like to solve this somehow. Did I always have this problem and my sister’s accident brought it out or was the accident itself the main cause? Drugs are out of the question as I’m 22 weeks pregnant right now. And that also brings up another concern…. I want to solve this problem so we can go on family trips when our kids are older. My husband is very understanding but after a while I start to make him nervous and he can no longer enjoy the trip either plus I make him second guess his driving. Plus, while pregnant, I just flat out refuse to go anywhere where 4 lanes of traffic are involved because now not only could I die in an accident, but so could my unborn child. It took us so long to become pregnant with this baby, that my mind just won’t let me put myself in any kind of danger. Does anyone have any advice of any kind or insights? Thank you for taking the time to read this, I didn’t realize it would be such a long post.
Dear Cherie, It sounds like you have a phobia of being a passenger in a car, however, only a psych doctor can really diagnosis you. The best thing you can do and it isn`t medication, is to find a therapist that practices cognitive behavioral therapy. This therapy can be quite effective for anxiety disorders. Take care 
Jackie ~*~There are many stops along the road of insanity, I will greet you when you
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’ve had this problem for the last 13 years and I happened upon an article on the web about panic attacks and it seemed to describe exactly what I go through. Either it’s a panic attack or a phobia of some kind and I was wondering if you could maybe give me some insight. This is my situation. My older sister was killed by a drunk driver 13 years ago (I was a junior in high school at the time). Ever since then, whenever I get into heavy traffic, I seem to freak out. I don’t have this problem on 2 lane highways and I don’t have this problem if I am the one driving either. If I’m driving, I feel completely in control and I don’t feel any danger. If I’m a passenger and we’re on a 2 lane highway, I seem to be fine because traffic is not surrounding me. However, If I’m a passenger on a 4 lane highway I just totally freak out. All I can see are cars all around me, people switching lanes without even looking if it’s ok to do so, people speeding like crazy….etc. This feeling of death comes over me so strong I can’t breath. I break out in a cold sweat and I clutch the door handle with everything I’m worth. I just want out of the car at those moments so bad and it takes everything I have not to burst into tears. I just feel like I’m going to die any second. That someone is going to make a wrong move and there will be a bad accident and there is nothing I can do about it. When we finally reach our destination, I can’t even enjoy it because I’m so nauseous by that point and all I can do is think about having to go through all of that again to get home. It’s absolutely awful. We live in a small town but have a large city only 30 miles away from us. It’s gotten to the point where I’m afraid of going there unless I do the driving. Would that be considered a phobia of some kind or is it a panic attack? What can I do about it? It’s getting worse and worse as the years go by and I would like to solve this somehow. Did I always have this problem and my sister’s accident brought it out or was the accident itself the main cause? Drugs are out of the question as I’m 22 weeks pregnant right now. And that also brings up another concern…. I want to solve this problem so we can go on family trips when our kids are older. My husband is very understanding but after a while I start to make him nervous and he can no longer enjoy the trip either plus I make him second guess his driving. Plus, while pregnant, I just flat out refuse to go anywhere where 4 lanes of traffic are involved because now not only could I die in an accident, but so could my unborn child. It took us so long to become pregnant with this baby, that my mind just won’t let me put myself in any kind of danger. Does anyone have any advice of any kind or insights? Thank you for taking the time to read this, I didn’t realize it would be such a long post. Cherie
I think what you describe is a *situational* panic attack while driving triggered by the memory of your sister
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