Fear of driving on highways is a common problem that you can overcome.
This page explains why you have a fear of driving on highways and how to fix it. There’s a more detailed explanation on How to overcome driving anxiety.
Let’s start by looking at what causes a fear of highways, because if you’ve been using exposure therapy and think it’s all about pushing through and driving more, you’re getting it all wrong.
See my online driving anxiety course if you’d like help overcoming your fear.
Why you have a fear of driving on highways
A fear of driving on highways is caused by unresolved issues that are activated by driving.
This is why it feels so odd and makes no sense; the feelings you get when driving belong elsewhere.
Driving isn’t the problem, unresolved issues are.
The key things to remember are:
- Driving is the TRIGGER (something that fires up feelings from unresolved issues)
- Unresolved issues are the ANCHOR (trapped emotions that you feel when driving)
These old, unresolved issues can be anything from your life, and you’ll usually have absolutely no idea what they are. They will have no link to driving whatsoever. Here are some examples from clients:
- Falling off your bike as a child
- A pet going missing
- Arguments
- Bullying
You’re probably wondering what any of those things have to do with being scared to drive on highways. Nothing – that’s the whole point! These old fears are trapped, and coming out in the wrong place.
Exposure therapy and CBT fail because they make the mistake of working on the trigger (driving) instead of the anchor (what it really is).
No amount of driving will fix a fear of highways because all you’re doing is firing up the problem, not fixing the issue behind it.
Common symptoms of a fear of driving on highways
Common symptoms of a fear of driving on highways include:
- You’re fine driving around town but panic on a highway when there’s nowhere to pull over
- You panic if the next exit is a long way off
- You panic if someone is driving too closely behind you, feeling as though you’re slowing them down
- You start to overtake large vehicles only to have to abandon it and pull back in behind them
- Your hands keep steering towards to edge of the road because it feels safer, resulting in you hitting objects or bumping along grass
- You don’t like large vehicles overtaking you and feel boxed in
- You feel the need to stop and run from your car at any cost
Again, all of these are symptoms of unresolved issues.
In most cases, the issues you find will have nothing to do with driving in any way. It isn’t a car crash, it didn’t happen in a car and it has nothing to do with roads.
There can sometimes be a link where elements of the old issue can resemble driving so let’s have a look at such as case now to show you what the real problem can be.
Why do I feel trapped and need somewhere to stop on a highway?
If you’ve ever had the sensation of needing somewhere to pull over or stop on a highway then you’re not alone. This is by far one of the most common issues people talk to me about.
It’s not driving you want to escape.
One of my clients was locked in a cupboard as a child. This had given them a fear of enclosed spaces and a car is an enclosed space.
There is rarely such an obvious link. It’s usually very cryptic: I’ve known highway anxiety be caused by an old injury, a lost dog and all sorts of things. You can see examples in my driving anxiety case studies.
How to overcome fear of driving on highways
Now you know that overcoming a fear of driving on highways is all about finding and fixing unresolved issues in your mind, but how do you do that?
By using hypnosis.
The issues you need to find live in your subconscious so you’ll have no idea what they are. It isn’t about sitting there and logically writing down a list of events you can remember, that’s all conscious, rational thinking that will get you nowhere.
Hypnotherapy allows you to communicate with your subconscious mind and reframe how it views things. Old events can be made not scary any more, blocks in your mind such as you’ll never find love or you’ll never have confidence can be removed.
Hypnotherapy isn’t like people think. It isn’t about having your mind controlled, going into a trance or any of the nonsense people believe due to Hollywood films and online videos.
This video looks at what we actually do in therapy to fix your fear of highways
What if I can’t find the cause of my fear?
Many people worry they won’t be able to find the root cause of their problem.
You already have found it – that’s why you panic when driving!
If you couldn’t find the cause of your fear then it wouldn’t affect you. The very fact that you’re anxious when driving means that you already have a link to the problem.
What I do with hypnotherapy allows you to use that link to find what the cause it. This all happens subconsciously so you often won’t know what it is but it’ll still go.
Can I do this with YouTube videos?
YouTube videos telling you to be calm and relaxed do not work. They’re not getting to the root cause of the problem as we would by finding the issues as described above.
The best you can hope for from MP3 tracks is temporary relief but the problem will soon return. It’s like how you need to pull up a weed from its root to get rid of it. It’s no good just pulling part of it up or covering it up with a plant pot because the weed will still be there!
I have written a whole page titled Do YouTube hypnosis videos work? where you can learn more about why they don’t.
If you want a problem fixed properly then you need professional help.
You can see my YouTube channel here.
How do we fix it and how long will it take?
You can fix a fear of driving on highways online using Zoom. How long it takes is different for everyone so I don’t give a set time limit. You can do it in under an hour.
The great thing about working online is that we can work together wherever you are in the world.
What result will I get?
In some cases, your fear of driving will go and you can drive just like you used to.
Some people report feeling much better but with a slight niggle remaining. Others say they feel worse at first and then the problem goes a few days later.
Some people don’t get a result and their problem remains the same. This happens when you don’t find the root cause – what the cause of the problem really is.
There is no fixed solution or way of solving this. That’s why it’s essential you work with an experienced expert such as myself. Don’t rely on well-meaning amateurs and self-proclaimed “experts” in online help groups and on YouTube.
Watch someone driving after fixing their fear of highways
This video shows me going for a drive with someone after they overcame their fear of highways.
It can look like just a normal video of two people driving but when you understand the story behind this, it becomes incredible!
The driver had a huge phobia of driving on highways and had at one point had a panic attack which resulted in them dangerously slowing down when in the fastest-moving lane.
She had not driven a car for over a year and even then it was an automatic car, not a manual car as she was driving here. There was also a fear of being passed by lorries and being distracted by noise.
She thought that she’d never drive again yet here she is driving through as many distractions as we could add; high and long motorway bridges, the sat nav shouting out directions, me talking to her, her talking back, lots of wind noise, driving around Spaghetti Junction (the most confusing motorway section in the UK), and she did all of that in a manual car!
Contact me for help fixing your fear of driving
My online driving anxiety course helps you overcome your fear of driving without even having to take therapy sessions with me.
If you prefer to work with me 1-2-1, contact me to work with me online from anywhere in the world.