Anxiety on the Road

Does anybody here get anxious when driving through unfamiliar areas/on the highway/driving in general?

I live in a suburb just outside of Chicago, and I've never once driven into the city before. The thought of it alone makes me sick. The only areas I drive in are my hometown and the 2-3 other towns surrounding my hometown. Even driving to these nearby cities can get me extremely anxious. I get this horrible tight feeling in my stomach, making it hard to breathe. This feeling gets especially worse if there's heavy traffic/an accident/etc...

Anybody else suffer from anxious driving?

I dont drive...purely because of my anxiety. I can't have driving lessons because I have panic attacks and I'd be useless trying to do my test. So I understand completely! One of my symptoms of anxiety is excessive urination so I feel like I need to pee everytime I'm anxious, really restricts what I can do.

Ahh, nice to know I'm not the only one who panics when they drive. I never learned because every time I get behind the wheel, I die.

Everything gets blurry and I get confused and I'm scared about not being perfect because I'm a perfectionist and it's just a big mess lol (:

I know where you're coming from. I get anxious while driving often, and it prevents me from driving on highways/unfamiliar areas I've never driven to before. I have no sense of direction and have a huge fear of getting lost and God forbid, getting into an accident. The fact that there are a million drivers who are constantly texting/talking on the phone doesn't help either. That's why I'm hesitant to drive to new places. I'm 18 and I've had my license since 16. I never really started "driving" until I entered college in the beginning of September, so needless to say, I'm not the most "experienced" driver out there. The first week of driving on my own, I got a parking ticket and another ticket for passing a red light. I've never even been on the highway alone! Pathetic, I know.

A few weeks ago, I was driving back from school and noticed the police blocked off the road I usually take to get back home. I panicked, because I had no idea where I would go next. I was going to go with my gut and "try" to take this new road, but I doubted myself in fear of getting even more lost. I quickly dialed my mom at a red light to ask, but she didn't answer. So, I ended up driving back to my school's parking lot and called my sister. It was dark and my lack of "direction" caused me to freak out. Anyways, I got directions and fortunately ended up home. They were so simple, that I should've just took the chance and went off on my own.

Sometimes, we can't run away or prevent ourselves from the inevitable. The city is a big deal. Hell, I live in NY and there's no way I'll be driving myself to NYC anytime soon, haha. However, it could help if you have someone who's experienced to sit next to you and guide you into driving somewhere as big/crowded as the city. In situations like that, you just have to take extra precautions and be more aware of your surroundings. Hopefully if you ever do drive to the city, you'll get there easily and safely. Next time it won't be so bad!

Oh goodness, driving. Let me tell you.

I got my license when I was 18, but didn't start driving until recently because I didn't have anywhere to go/my mom didn't trust me. Fortunately, my mom had us go back and forth to my school (it's somewhat local) to practice making sure I knew where I was going. I get terribly tense while driving because everyone around here has no regard for the safety of others, and it gets worse if you don't know where you are.

The first time I drove up in the day, I had no problem. But because I had night classes, I was worried about not being able to see the same markers. So I freaked out when I didn't see anything familiar and instead of a highway, I was in the historic part of the city. Then I remembered that there are signs, and I knew which highway I was trying to get to, and followed them until everything became familiar again. But I did get lost in the same area one day and no one would let me over, so I got even more lost and it took all my energy not to pull over and cry (mostly because it was a shady part of town). Fortunately, I found my way to school and came home safe and sound.

Highways are a whole different story. I try to avoid the actual freeways, where there are no businesses and homes around, because different lanes take you different places. One morning I had to drive my mom to work and I was extremely unfamiliar with the area. I ended up missing my exit to go back home and since it was rush hour traffic, I started panicking while I was driving. I tried to get off at the next exit, but it took me down a different highway. Fortunately, it was the highway to my aunt's so I was able to get home from there.

The moral of my stories is: land marks and signs are the best things to soothe your mind, somewhat. I still get apprehensive about driving though, and sometimes forget to breathe.

Actually, I'm quite the opposite. I absolutely love driving. In this particular situation, I feel like I don't have to run into anyone I know, I don't have to make any communications, and while I'm keeping to myself, I'm also visiting a new area (which is fun for me). It's when I get lost that I start having my panic attack. I can't bring myself to ask anyone for directions, and I sure as hell don't like talking on the phone. Luckily, I've been fortunate enough to be able to backtrack and eventually find my way, but I understand that this is not the case for everyone.
If you ever get lost on the freeway, find the nearest exit and pull over to gain composure (be brief since you're in an unfamiliar area). You don't want to drive when you're not able to see or think straight, so I recommend what daiyadarko suggested: find things to soothe your mind and don't forget to breathe.

I'm so glad I'm not alone in this!

With driving on the highway, I think I get super anxious just at the thought of it because I have little to no experience driving with it. I want to get more experience because I feel so limited.

My friends and I attend anime conventions in the Chicago-land area. Since most of the conventions are faraway, the most convenient way of traveling is on the highway. I hate asking my friends if they can drive to these conventions just because I'm too scared/anxious to drive myself. They say that they don't mind, but it still bothers me. I know I'll have to drive on a highway at least ONCE in my lifetime, so I want to get some experience NOW.

As GND said, having an experienced driver with you helps, and my Dad has offered to be with me and help me with driving on the highway, but since school is starting up for me soon, the amount of free-time I have to just go out and practice is little to none. I'm going to try and make time to get out there and just DO IT! I need that experience!