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Anyone feel disassociation while driving?

I am new here and hoping to find some answers. Like another poster said, I have a fear of traffic not driving.  In fact, I love to drive when the roads are near empty.  The problem is that when there is traffic, I begin to feel claustrophobic which leads to a terrifying feeling of disassociation.  It feels like I am in a dream and it scares the daylights out of me.  It becomes worse when I am under stress or when I haven’t had enough sleep. 

I can handle moderate traffic if another adult is in the car so I am forever getting people to go with me places so I can drive there. 

I have had this since I was 12 (it used to happen on crowded stairs in school or in grocery stores - now it mainly occurs while driving) and I am now 41.  My husband and I moved to a very congested area a few years ago and I am pretty much a prisoner of my house.  I go out in the mornings (after rush hour but before lunch traffic) but even then it is difficult and I stay near home. 

It is so bad that I convinced my parents to move 4 hours away from their home to live near me so I could have someone help me with the driving.  My husband resents me and my kids don’t understand why Mommy can’t drive them places.  I have tried Xanax, Zoloft, hypnosis and tons of therapy.  The best was Zoloft but it was limited in it’s help.

 The ironic part is that now I can’t even drive to a therapist! 

Anybody have similiar symptoms? 

Hi, first off I just want to let you know, I am probably the only guy on this entire forum, which probably makes me feel more embarrassed than anyone on here (not because guys are supposed to be better drivers, just because I think there is more of an expectation it seems for men to be able to drive, ie-a first date). To top that off, I’ll be 32 in june, so for the person stating they were going to break the world record for longest permit holder, I think I am definitely the winner there.

Now in response to this post about feeling disassociation while driving, I think I definitely have that! I still to this day do not feel right when driving. It really isn’t that I’m even afraid of getting in an accident, its just this overwhelming panic and fear I get that I’m no good at it. I too feel like I am in a dream, like I’m not supposed to be controlling this big metal thing surronding me. I feel like it would be way too easy to sway a little one way or the other an accidentally hit someone or something. I feel completely awkward driving, like everyone is staring at me and thinking I am the worst driver they have ever seen. I’ve had others tell me I’m a good driver, but I really don’t believe it. 

I recently even went to driving school and everything went fine. I even thought I conquered my fear of driving. I drove on the highway, in big cities, everywhere and was told by my instructor that I was a good driver and he felt comfortable having me drive him. I sort of felt like I was cheating though because he not only had a break, but a gas petal too, so I wasn’t sure if it was really me controlling the car at times, or if it was him. After I was done with my training, I started driving my girlfriend’s car and everything was fine. Then one day while driving, there was a bus ahead of me at the right shoulder with their 4-ways on and I had no clue what to do. I almost hit the bus and my fear immediately came back. Its like I’m fine and then the second I make a mistake, I tell myself I can’t do it, like I have to be perfect or something. The same thing happened after I took my driver’s test a few years ago and failed it. I suddenly didn’t want anything to do with driving again. 

Anyway, I just want you to know you are definitely not alone! It is so hard for me to live with this. For years I never had a girlfriend, for fear she would find out and think I was pathetic, so a lot of people thought I was gay. I told the current girl I am with about a year into our relationship and she ended up being fine with it. I was amazed because I never thought any girl could want a guy who didn’t drive. We’ve been together over 2 years and now we have a baby on the way in June. I still have no license and am afraid to drive but now its even worse because I’m afraid that when she goes into labor I’ll be afraid to drive her to the hospital. I’m pretty sure her parents think I’m pathetic and I don’t even blame them, I’m a 32 year old guy who is afraid to drive. 

One last thing. I think this not being able to drive thing that has been hanging over my head all these years has truly hurt me in so many ways. Trying to hide the fact that I can’t drive from people, having to always get rides from others, not being free to go where I want when I want, not being able to get jobs because they were too far to travel without the ability to drive has all shattered my confidence. I really don’t know how I have done it for so long, but it has been tough. For anyone else in this position, no offense but especially guys, it would be great to hear your story to know I am not alone. The girls on here at least know they aren’t alone (I don’t think I read one story from a guy). Thanks for reading my story.

This is my first time joining a forum that has to do with the fear of driving. I checked out the forum and this was the first post I read. After reading it I decided that I *had* to register.

I can fully relate to what yankeefan2010 said. It’s almost like you’re in a strange trance. Like you shouldn’t be controlling the car. I really connected to the whole second paragraph in his reply. 

For the longest time I thought that I was alone in feeling like this. None of my friends are afraid to drive and most of them enjoy it. I’m not afraid of getting into an accident. I am overwhelmed by the thought that I’m controlling this massive machine. It’s not a joke and I’m so scared I’m going to make a mistake. 

I, also, do not like to drive in traffic. I will work my schedule around heavily congested hours so I don’t have to stress about it. When I know I have to drive I spend all the hours leading up to it absolutely obsessing about it. I go over the route in my head a hundred times and when I am still not satisfied I go onto googlemaps. 

This fear is real and impacts my life on a day to day basis. All I want, is to be free of my fear of driving. You’re not alone. 

Hello, I am new to the site.  I am so glad there is a site for people who have a fear of driving.  In the sixties, I took a driving tests but did not pass because I was so very nervous.  My husband at the time made me feel like two cents and my confidence level after that was so low that I never retook the test. Getting behind the wheel has always made me feel as if I was not in control of the car.  An awful panicky feeling would come over me especially if I have been pressured to learn how to drive or have been given a deadline by someone.  I thought about being hypnotized.  I just don’t know what to do about my situation.  It has been hard for me to admit that I have a phobia because people can be so insensitive.  I know that I have missed out on a lot of business opportunities and functions because of my fear of driving.