Anxiety & fear of being far away from home

[Jcerillo70]

Hey guys,

My name's Joe, I'm new here.

about 3 years ago i re-developed my generalized anxiety. Since then it has only gotten worse and worse. I havent traveled or driven longer than an hour away from home. I guess because i know if something happened to me i am familiar with my surroundings and could get to the hospital/ etc. if something happened or my car broke down.

Now 3 years later i get heavy chested just being 20 mins from home. Meanwhile in the past i have traveled all around the world, Driven across country. etc. But now this overwhelming fear has taken over.

Recently i just got out of group therapy which taught me if you let the anxiety take over it will win every time. When i do get anxious and go through the mental battle with myself, I think about those words. I pump myself up and overcome the anxiety. But if i was away from my comfort zone, i dont know if i could do that.

I would say i dont think i have the confidence to know that i can shut down my anxiety if i was on an airplane or driving through a rural state with no-one around for miles.

Any suggestions or ideas?

[just1]

I can see that your getting better at resisting and throwing away anxious thoughts. That's good. I have a blog post which I know is going to help you on using affirmations stop those annoying thoughts- http://howtostoppanicattacksinstantly.blogspot.com

As for your problems regarding driving and being alone on an airplane and/or car. I recommend checking out the "Driving Fear" program. This program focuses solely on overcoming your fears of driving. As for flying- I'm sure it works the same.

Driving fear has been promoted by this forum for a long time so you know that it's a great product. Also, lots of media such as "The New York Times" and "MSNBC" has noticed Driving Fear. So this program has lots of credibility. If you don't see the banner anywhere, you can visit this link instead- http://tinyurl.com/CureYourDrivingFear

I sure do hope you get the book. There is also a bunch of video lessons, audio lessons, and PDF files. So, if your more of a visual learner, they have videos for you as well.

I Hope I Helped...:)

God Bless

[jessicathull]

Hello. I used to be care free and traveled all over the county with ease. 6 years ago, I worked at a prison as an officer/guard and had major panic attacks. It left me jobless and afraid to go to the grocery store. Several years, medicines, and therapy sessions later, I could see no results and knew it was time to take matters into my own hands.

My brother was getting married an hour away and I was elected to be a bridesmaid. There was no way that I was letting my only sibling still alive down. I practiced driving down the road, then the next one and the next one and then onto the next town. With my young son's help, I got better and better at it. Less and less anxiety.

I made it to the wedding and even stayed in a hotel overnight with 0 anxiety. What a feeling. I then took a job that I have to commute 27 miles one way and am still there today. It will be seven months tomorrow.

Now I still have an occasional anxiety moment and I have my "what if" moments too but I just go into the bathroom, sit down and use the I AM method. I say "I AM stronger than this feeling" "I AM the best at what I do" and so on until I calm down.

I still haven't been a long long way from home but I am working on it. If anyone has any suggestions for long long like 3-5 hours away or more travel please let me know. Also Praying is a big part of my life too. Thank you for listening and taking time to really read my blog. Amen and God bless us all.

[nervousbutterflies]

i am scared to go far away from home as well. I used to not be able to go somewhere a half hour away but this summer i went down to the beach with my aunt and grandmom which was an hour and 45 minutes away. I used to go on vacation every summer but now cannot even imagine taking a plane to an island or something. I really hope these fears go away someday because i am turning 20 this month and want to have a life eventually :( I also cannot drive on highways :(

[Iwanttotravelwithnofear]

I am from New Jersey and I share the exact same problem.
I have been all over as a child, teenager, and young adult...now in the past 6 years, I've developed this same far of being able to travel far away from home.
It's like a separation anxiety maybe?
I don't know but I hate it...I feel so stuck.

[Iwanttotravelwithnofear]

I have been in therapy for years, medication and self help reading...nothing helps.
I think the last option that I have not explored is just doing it.
I am so afraid but it seems there's no other options left except to go through it to get over it.

[KenPowell]

Hi all,

I used to have this problem with going somewhere far away from home as well. It was really bad at first, but over the years, I've learned certain techniques that worked for me and may work for you as well. Basically these techniques don't stop this anxiety totally, but it will help ease of some of that tension and stress, and make the journey or trip much more bearable.

First, this fear or anxiety is all "in the mind". I'm sure you've heard that soooo many times, but don't misunderstand. When you are at home, or are travelling nearby your house, you develop a certain "comfort map" that encompasses your home and some kilometers away..until it reaches a point where your brain tells you "this is too far away from my home! Everything is so foreign to me!" and it goes haywire. What I'd like you to do is instead of thinking that your comfort map is centralized at your HOUSE, mentally shift it so that it is centralized on YOURSELF. YOU become the center of your comfort map. Now, this means that wherever you go, you know you feel safe because you are in your comfort region. Of course, this is easy to say but tough to do. But just practice mentally shifting.. If you believe in a higher power, you can also try using an amulet or something small (like a stone) that has power to you and keep it in your pocket whenever you go out.

Secondly, PROTECTION. Remember how we would buy so many insurance policies because we just...have to? As a form of protection from an occuring panic attack or anxiety attack, figure out what usually causes or triggers your anxiety and then find out what kinds of protection can you use if it really happens (worst case scenario). For example, I used to fear that I would throw up on public transport, so I would keep a plastic bag in my pocket (you know, just in case). Turns out, I didnt ever need to use it, and slowly I started removing the bag whenever I travel. Caveat emptor: This technique may cause you to be "dependent" on the protection. You need to consciously know if you're improving and slowly stave off the protection once you know you can handle it.

These 2 methods really helped me , and I hope it will help any of you guys facing this too! God bless, and take care!

In gratitude,
Ken A. Powell

[sarahjms77]

For a long time, I was really scared of driving. It made me feel so anxious. Just the thought of getting into traffic or going through busy intersections would make my heart race and my hands sweaty. I was tired of feeling that way, so I decided to come up with a plan to overcome my fear.

I started small and took my first drive when there weren't many cars around. It was easier to concentrate on driving without the added pressure of lots of traffic. As I got more comfortable, I gradually took on bigger challenges. I drove in busier areas, learned how to merge onto highways, and even tackled uphill drives that used to make me really nervous. Each time I accomplished something new, it made me feel more confident and less afraid.

One thing that really helped me was the the video/audio guide drivingfear.info to learn more about driving and removing the anxiety part. They showed me different techniques and strategies, and I found it easier to understand and remember what to do when I saw it in action.