Driving Anxiety

I just had one of the worst anxiety/panic attacks driving today.  Was trying to drive north to see my boyfriend not even three hours away and got on the highway made it 15min before I got off in full panic.  I have always had highway panic but could usually deal with it if I was in a good mood and excited about where I was going.  In the past I have avoided it and taken back roads and this is what I eventually tried to do but it was all a mess.  If I had taken the highway it would have taken me 2.5hrs and instead I drove one big circle that took me 3.5hrs right back home...I tried.
Does anyone have any suggestions of dealing with highway anxiety... I really need help getting over it.  I have been living this way for years and have adjusted my life to accomodate the fear!

[CaliGirl48]

I have had this same thing for almost 2 years. It is truly the worst part of my anxiety. I hate it. I am a mom of 3 VERY active kids and driving is just something I HAVE to do.

Go to my profile. In my journals I have listed a few different breathing techniques that have REALLY worked for me. I have used them at home, at work, at my kids games, the grocery store, and even while driving!!

Please check them out, I really hope you can find them helpful like I did =)

Crystal

[barfer]

Oh Boy, have I been where you are! My suggestion to you is get right back on that horse!  About five years ago, I had a dramatic car accident and stopped driving for about six months to a year.  I started driving again and I won't go into how I did that but the highway driving, just isn't in the cards for me right now...but, I was determined to drive to my daughter's place that would take about 30 minutes by car and about one hour on back roads.  Naturally, I took the back roads and the first time, I only made it about 10 minutes from my home before I had to turn back...I just couldn't go any further.  Determine, the next day I tried again and made it about 20 minutes on the back roads and, yes, I couldn't go any further and again turn back for home.  OK, now this was really starting to annoy me, I was going to get there come H*ll or high water and I finally did it.  I was a little shaky by the time I got there, but I made it and the secret to this is, driving back is a lot easier than driving there because you know you are going home to your comfort zone.  So, to make a very long story short,  keep trying, even if you only go a few blocks, eventually you will be able to do it and don't forget to reward yourself for your success.  I'm a big believer in the reward.  It also gives you an incentive.  I know that the drive you have to do is a lot further than the drive I did, but the objective is the same and you can use the same basic principals.