They feel really stuck!
I've had driving anxiety for a while, it's come on and off through out the past few years but last year I had a panic attack on the highway, I was stuck on side of road in the emergency lane unable to calm down with all the cars racing past me while I was being cooked in the sun. I stayed there for nearly 6 hours on the phone with family until I was to able to slowly drive to nearest exit and wait at a gas station for someone to pick me up.
Ever since then I've then basically unable to be in a car without being incredibly stressed. I take side roads everywhere I go but even that is barely manageable because I'll start hyperventilating if I'm stuck in traffic or have to go on a freeway for a few minutes. And generally because of this I've developed some extreme form of claustrophobia where if I can't immediately exit a situation I don't feel comfortable doing it. I can do my daily commute If I account for the extra time it takes me to go on side roads or go to the grocery store but at this point I basically feel incapable of doing anything that requires me to leave my neighborhood and I don't really know what to do!
Posted Jun 3, 2025, 7:31 AM UTC