(05-18-2014 05:51 PM)Snooks Wrote:  I think you certainly need to try and learn some relaxation techniques to help you. Meditationm self hypnosis etc are all avenues that are available that dont involve the use of drugs.

I agree with Snooks!

YOU ARE SO RIGHT, NOW TO TRY TO LEARN RELAXING TECHNIQUES........

I have this fear as well but never knew it had a name. I prefer to drive by myself but I can ride with one other passenger. I am anxious being a passenger with a family member driving (either mother or sister) but I can get through it. I've never been an an accident so there's no one event I can call triggering. My boss wants to take a bunch of us on a work-related field trip soon and there's no way I can do it. I almost had a panic attack just reading the email about it! But if I decline, I'm going to be viewed as uncooperative.

I live alone far away from family and I have no friends here so I have to drive myself everywhere. I only have a 10 minute commute so I can't even carpool and work on my phobia that way. I don't think I have a problem with buses or taxis. I've even ridden a plane before with no problem though that was over a decade ago.

I either have to get rid of this phobia in the next week or quit my job.

Perhaps a confidential discussion with the boss would help? Explain it is a phobia, not just an uneasy feeling.

He may be sympathetic epecially as you are being totally honest with him.

Hi everyone, I am so glad I googled fear of riding in a car and found this group. Nice to know I am not alone in my fears. My husband very loving, kind and understanding has finally had enough and after a 20 min drive to my mothers. He calmly turned off the car and asked me what is wrong with you, your acting crazy!! When riding I feel every moment, every passing of a car or going over 30 mph is a death sentence just waiting to happen!!!

I grab the hand rail, I hyperventalate , I put on the brakes....I say slow down or you too close to the edge of the road or your too close to the center, your swerving, drive with both hands..ect... This all started about 3 years ago, I haven't been in any accidents lately...I told my MD about it he said since I am over 50 that it was probably a hormone issue.

Most the time I just have the issues when riding..tho I do get nervous when passing trucks and a couple times as im driving and it hits me...I'm going so fast (55) and a fear that makes me sweat happens.
I'm so glad I'm not going crazy and others have the same fears.
God Bless

Hi

You certainly arent crazy you are simply suffering from an anxiety condition, a phobia. The problem is that people that arent afflicted find it very hard to take your fears and concerns seriously.

Do you know when you first felt this way or of any situation that may have sparked it off?

(03-02-2008 01:09 PM)MrFreedom Wrote:  Hello, I've just joined this forum a couple of days ago. I'm hopeful I'll be able to find a practical solution to my problem.

I've had this embarrassing phobia for the past 18 years, now I've found out there is a name for that: Amaxophobia (fear of riding in a car - as opposed to "driving"). I panic every time I have to sit as a passenger in a vehicle, be it a car, a bus, a taxi, ... Every time I find myself in a vehicle where I'm not in control, I feel trapped and experience all kinds of symptoms: feeling unable to breath, dizzy or faint, absolute terror and anticipation of accidents, etc..

I can't even accompany my six-year old daughter in amusement park rides for kids! Needless to say, I never took a plane .

The good thing is, I have no problem driving my car... fortunately, otherwise, how could I get anywhere! Since I can't "ride", I drive all the time and always find excuses to use "my" car, as opposed to someone else's. I have no problem at all when it comes to being in control. The problem is when I realize that I have no control; I feel trapped.

Even my closest friends don't take me seriously and think I'm "acting" (how insulting! angry1 ), they all make fun of it. In the past, I have asked some close friends to drive my car for therapy purposes and let me sit there as a passenger... I ended up making a fool of myself (with friends like this, who needs enemies?).

I'm in the process of reading "Don't Panic: Taking Control of Anxiety Attacks - R. Wilson" (I've read the first 100 pages) and I've already learned a thing or two... not the miracle cure I was hoping for so far, but hopefully this book will provide me with good tools to overcome my problem.

I've had some good moments in the past where I thought I was cured or on the way to recovery. There has been some instances where I took the bus for a short ride going into work, or the taxi downtown, I sat a couple of times as a passenger in my mother's car (for some reason, I tend to trust my mother, even though she's over 70 and doesn't have a great attention span and her vision is fading).

Since none of my friends are willing to help me out with this embarrassing problem, and my wife doesn't have a driver's licence, and my mother lives 6 hours away from me... I thought I could organize a group in my area where people will take turn driving each others cars... but I have to find those people who share the same phobia as me. Am I the only one? confused1

Any tips on how I can overcome this embarrassing problem? Anyone is interested in forming an amaxophobia support group and help each other out by driving and riding in each others' cars? Anyone living around Toronto (Canada)?

Hi MrFreedom,

I have suffered with this phobia for a long time. I am horrified to get in the passenger of a vehicle. I have lost friendships and relationships over this. I want to be better, and God knows I did not choose this and I don't want it! I have no idea what to do to cure myself of this, or if it is even possible. You are not alone, there are many people with this phobia. I am worse than you are, you mention you have taken short Taxi rides, etc.. I cant even do that! I have fight or flight, and my body wants to get out of the situation and I am terrified I may jump out. People think it is funny and all in my head, and I can and need to just get over it. I would if I could. I have even thought of hypnotism. I also don't like freeways or left hand turns or left hand turns at red light. I feel trapped.
I wish you the best!

Hi MrFreedom,

I have suffered with this phobia for a long time. I am horrified to get in the passenger of a vehicle. I have lost friendships and relationships over this. I want to be better, and God knows I did not choose this and I don't want it! I have no idea what to do to cure myself of this, or if it is even possible. You are not alone, there are many people with this phobia. I am worse than you are, you mention you have taken short Taxi rides, etc.. I cant even do that! I have fight or flight, and my body wants to get out of the situation and I am terrified I may jump out. People think it is funny and all in my head, and I can and need to just get over it. I would if I could. I have even thought of hypnotism. I also don't like freeways or left hand turns or left hand turns at red light. I feel trapped.
I wish you the best!
[/quote]

Have you conquered your fear? My panic started April 2009, it's May 2015 and has gotten worse. I haven't flown anywhere since and afraid to ride passenger and afraid to go to dentist, I don't drive further than 5 miles. I've avoid medication, please help!

(03-02-2008 01:09 PM)MrFreedom Wrote:  Hello, I've just joined this forum a couple of days ago. I'm hopeful I'll be able to find a practical solution to my problem.

I've had this embarrassing phobia for the past 18 years, now I've found out there is a name for that: Amaxophobia (fear of riding in a car - as opposed to "driving"). I panic every time I have to sit as a passenger in a vehicle, be it a car, a bus, a taxi, ... Every time I find myself in a vehicle where I'm not in control, I feel trapped and experience all kinds of symptoms: feeling unable to breath, dizzy or faint, absolute terror and anticipation of accidents, etc..

I can't even accompany my six-year old daughter in amusement park rides for kids! Needless to say, I never took a plane .

The good thing is, I have no problem driving my car... fortunately, otherwise, how could I get anywhere! Since I can't "ride", I drive all the time and always find excuses to use "my" car, as opposed to someone else's. I have no problem at all when it comes to being in control. The problem is when I realize that I have no control; I feel trapped.

Even my closest friends don't take me seriously and think I'm "acting" (how insulting! angry1 ), they all make fun of it. In the past, I have asked some close friends to drive my car for therapy purposes and let me sit there as a passenger... I ended up making a fool of myself (with friends like this, who needs enemies?).

I'm in the process of reading "Don't Panic: Taking Control of Anxiety Attacks - R. Wilson" (I've read the first 100 pages) and I've already learned a thing or two... not the miracle cure I was hoping for so far, but hopefully this book will provide me with good tools to overcome my problem.

I've had some good moments in the past where I thought I was cured or on the way to recovery. There has been some instances where I took the bus for a short ride going into work, or the taxi downtown, I sat a couple of times as a passenger in my mother's car (for some reason, I tend to trust my mother, even though she's over 70 and doesn't have a great attention span and her vision is fading).

Since none of my friends are willing to help me out with this embarrassing problem, and my wife doesn't have a driver's licence, and my mother lives 6 hours away from me... I thought I could organize a group in my area where people will take turn driving each others cars... but I have to find those people who share the same phobia as me. Am I the only one? confused1

Any tips on how I can overcome this embarrassing problem? Anyone is interested in forming an amaxophobia support group and help each other out by driving and riding in each others' cars? Anyone living around Toronto (Canada)?

Hi,
I have had the same fear (being a passenger in a car) for many years.
I was married for 11 years to a man who had never had a licence so I was always the sole driver for our family. That was many years ago and my children have now grown up and it was very distressing to them when I was trying to teach them to drive. I wasn't the best teacher in the world and very, very nervous.
I work in a job where I have to drive people around in a mini bus and usually I work with another staff member...so all of my work mates know that I prefer to drive. The other day though I had to be a passenger for the first time in a couple of years. Well, I almost passed out and felt as though I had to vomit. It is the most uncomfortable feeling. Yes, it is embarrassing and people don't understand.
I went to a counsellor to help me with my fear and she said I should allow my partner to drive occasionally. She said I need to try and trust him. Well I did that and became nervous and sweaty.....I just feel so totally out of control...it's very scary. When I drive myself I feel perfectly fine. I can fly in a plane - no worries, but being a passenger in a car is terrifying. Don't think I can help you but I fully understand how you feel.

Hi, I am a new member of this forum and arrived purely as a result of researching Amaxophobia via Google. I am a sufferer of this and feel the pain of everyone else who has it. It's such a 'niche' phobia and as a result isn't understood, nor does the sufferer gain the same type/level of sympathy that a more 'mainstream' phobia might garner.

For me the biggy is travelling downhill in a vehicle driven by somebody else. My stomach lurches like the worst roller-coaster ride you can imagine. Blind panic, tunnel vision, having to surpress the need to scream out load, being unable to get up and escape. I've just started some therapy for it, but it's early days. What I would like to do is share some techniques I've found useful. If possible, tell the driver you suffer and to hell with the embarrassment. Ask them to drive slow, steady, and keep in a low gear downhill. If you can get in the front seat, do so, and focus on a point in a far distance. Keep that point in vision at all times, focus on that, and not the journey. That is your destination, and when you reach it, pick a new point. That way you break the journey down into manageable tasks.
If you have a sympathetic friend, ask them to take you on drives, going only as quickly as you feel comfortable. Gradually, over time, increase the speed and go on more bumpy/downhill journeys.
understand that the root cause of this is adrenaline, because once you know that, you start to rationalise the symptoms. Best of luck to all of you and I hope you conquer this.

I am glad to know I am not the only one with this phobia! It has caused huge fights with my husband and embarrassing times with friends. I am OK with planes and taxis because I am with strangers whom I try to show respect and not tell them how to drive. But when with friends or family, I can't keep my mouth shut! I have never been in an accident with someone else driving, so not sure where this fear came from. It is definitely a control issue. I think it is the fact that when you get in a car, your life could be in danger. We currently live in a big city with A LOT of traffic and speeding cars, it just makes me nervous to think one wrong move could be the end of us.

I have been living with this particular fear mainly as an adult only. I'm now 33 and barely leave my house in the winter, and refuse to drive when there's snow. Summer for me is a bit more relaxing. But it has to be about 80 degrees or more, windows down, and no rush hour traffic. For me, it is also a control thing thing, as in I don't feel other pay attention enough, or hit break soon enough etc. Many sights explain all phobias to be irrational, including amaxophobia. But I have been in 26 car accidents and 5 school bus accidents as a passenger, 90% of them before high school. I have had exactly one minor accident as a driver, and although it wasn't horrible, I was put into early labor. So I really don't see my phobia as a total irrational fear.

I just turned 30 and I would say I have an extreme case of amaxophobia. I have never taken a drivers test and i have never owned a vehicle. I am terrified of other drivers and pretty much all things that go over 45. Funny enough I LOVE gokarts, rides and rollercoasters. I can drive and I believe I could pass a test but the whole thing seems like suicide to me. I have always felt this way since I was very toung. Unfortunately as if to confirm my fears I have been through and seen first hand horrible accidents. Its like being afraid of ghosts and actually seeing one. Driving would make my life so much better I know this but I have what feels like an uncontrollable physical reaction. Like my mind is calm but my body is constricting and sweating so intensely I have no choice but to get out of the car or bus and just walk until I calm down or get to the next bus stop. The good news is all this walking is great for me. Is it time i seek professional help?

Hello Biscuit1918

If this issue is causing you concern, making you unhappy and impacting on your life then you really should seek assistance.

You deserve a life free of this issue, seeking professional help can only assist you in doing so. A simple chat with your GP and a referrel to an approrpriate person will start the journey to freedom.

I hope you choose to do so

(03-18-2008 10:45 AM)MrFreedom Wrote:  Thank you all for your insight. Sorry for the delay in replying your posts.

The truth is, I'm not sure that discussing the details of an accident that happened a long time ago will help me tackle and irradicate my fears. I'm trying to take a proactive hands-on approach and keeping a current perspective of the situation. I recall Dr. Phil (popular American TV host) saying more than once "there is really only one phobia, and it's the fear of losing control". Now I'm still on the process of reading that book I mentioned before (Don't Panic), and realize that all phobias boil down to the same fear: the fear of being out of control and the fear of feeling trapped.

In my opinion, analyzing the circumstances of an accident for therapy purposes would support the idea that there is a logical explanation to a phobia, but I believe that there is nothing rational about it. I am aware and understand that millions of people take the bus, the subway, the taxi everyday, and we don't see them hyperventilate, panic or faint, and accidents, let alone serious ones, are not too common an occurrence. Oddly enough, if I can't be sitting as a passenger in a vehicle because I don't trust anyone else's driving, how come I'm not afraid to walk across the street, being fully aware that motorists (other than me) will be driving past me and around me? Like I said, I don't see anything rational or logical in this, but one thing I do know, I've been afflicted for so long with this cumbersome and embarrassing condition, that I'm determined to find the tools necessary to help me tackle and irradicate this phobia once for all. I want to enjoy this coming summer with my family a bit more, going on hay rides, thrill rides, etc.

Now, is this to say that all phobias can be treated the same way? I'm unsure about this, but as someone suggested above, confronting my fears head-on seems to be the only solution, with baby steps, of course. Some beathing and relaxation techniques can help a lot too, both before and during my self-imposed sessions.

Well I have been suffering from similar problems since last many many years. Due to this problem I have avoided travelling a lot I had to even give up free holiday packages as it would require touring in public transports etc. situation worsened up when i started get panic attack even while brisk walking too. My Doctors gave me some medicines which gave some relief in the beginning but does not seem to be having any magic effect as of now. He also gave me one another emergency medicine BETACAP TR40 which he asked me to have 30 minutes before boarding a flight or taking a journey by road but this too does not seem to be working. But If i sit in a car that is driven within 40kmph i do not have any problems but as it speeds up i get panicky. Hope there is some proper treatment in homeopathy or ayurveda. Please suggest some ways to address this problem which is getting worse by the day.