Agoraphobia when driving is a common problem that you can overcome.
It often happens when you see the horizon or are in an open space. Symptoms include sweating palms, feeling dizzy, breathing difficulties, eyesight problems, an increased heart rate, and panic attacks.
This page looks at common misunderstandings about this problem, what causes it and how to fix it.
Agoraphobia isn’t only about open spaces
A common mistake is thinking that agoraphobia is a fear of open spaces. While open spaces can trigger the problem, there’s more to it than that.
Agoraphobia is actually a fear of any situation where you perceive there’s no way of escaping or no help available.
Changing this perception is the key to fixing your fear of driving due to agoraphobia.
The single biggest thing you must know is that your agoraphobia when driving has nothing to do with driving. There is no point in taking driving lessons or pushing through the fear and hoping it will go.
Let’s look at what really causes agoraphobia when driving and the mistakes to avoid when fixing it. Reading this page carefully can change your life.
What causes agoraphobia when driving
The panic attacks and anxiety you feel when driving are not caused by driving.
Driving is what triggers the problem; it’s not the problem itself.
It’s vital you understand the difference between the trigger (driving) and the anchor (old feelings).
Think of it like a ship being anchored to a dock. Triggering the engines will do nothing until the anchor is raised!
These old feelings (the anchor) can be anything in your life, such as:
- Relationship issues
- Being bullied at school or work
- Financial worries
- The death of someone you loved
- Moving home
Fear Of The Horizon When Driving
Being scared and having panic attacks when you see the horizon while driving is common,
If you find your palms sweating, heart racing and an urgent need to pull over (with even more panic if there is nowhere to pull over), then you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.
This video explains why you have the problem and how to fix it with free resources you can find on this site and on my YouTube channel.
How to fix agoraphobia when driving
You fix agoraphobia when driving by finding and releasing the feelings causing the fear.
It’s those feelings you’re experiencing when you drive, and no amount of exposure therapy or driving will fix it. All that does it make it worse.
You need to find the old feelings (the anchor). Anybody who works directly on the trigger (driving) doesn’t understand what they’re doing and is trying to move a ship with the anchor still dropped.
Hypnotherapy is the best way to find and fix the anchors because it accesses your unconscious mind where the old feelings live.
See my page How to overcome driving anxiety for a more detailed explanation.
Tips for agoraphobia when driving
One of the most common questions I get on my 300+ videos about driving anxiety is people asking for tips to beat agoraphobia.
There are no tips, and you don’t beat it.
I’ve seen some hilarious videos saying things like wave your arms in circles when driving or name five things you can see, four things you can touch, etc.
These are gimmicky “solutions” that will do nothing for two reasons:
Firstly, nobody else can give you the answer to your problem. Only you know what it is because only you have lived your life. There is no universal answer that always works for everyone.
Secondly, counting things you can see and feel will not fix anxiety or agoraphobia. All that does is distract your mind and make it seem like your problem has gone – but it hasn’t! It’s still there waiting to come back as soon as you stop counting things.
What about not beating it? You don’t beat it because it isn’t an enemy or something to conquer; it’s an old feeling you have to process. It won’t go away until you do, and it’ll keep finding new ways to come out to get more attention. That’s why what starts as a fear of highways can spread to other roads and situations, like a fear of bridges.
When you fix your problem properly, it goes away in all situations, and you don’t need to do anything. It’ll be as though you never had a problem.
What is the link between this old feeling and agoraphobia?
There is no link!
This is another classic mistake: people always want there to be a logical explanation for everything, but there isn’t.
I’ve worked with clients who have wasted decades with psychologists who try to make it all add up with explanations like seeing the horizon when driving is making you think you haven’t gone far enough in your life.
That is nonsense because it’s someone else coming up with what makes sense to them.
What I do is accept that it won’t make any sense and not waste time looking for links that don’t exist.
There is no link at all between driving and the feeling you have come up. I’ve known it to be caused by a lost pet, being locked in a cupboard, and someone having an affair.
What do any of those things have to do with driving? Nothing!
Stop looking for logical links and accept it’ll make no sense, and you’ve just massively increased your chances of success.
Watch my case studies of driving anxiety to see what the cause of the problem was, and you’ll see that none of them has anything to do with driving.
Get help with agoraphobia when driving
Visit my Driving Anxiety Courses page to fix your agoraphobia when driving.
See my YouTube playlist Driving Anxiety And Agoraphobia.
There are many more videos covering it in other sections of this site, such as The Fear Of Driving On Highways and Panic attacks On Motorways