Slava Profina 07/25/2018 no comments
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Amaxophobia, or motorophobia, is the fear of moving in transport. There are quite a few varieties of this phobia: from fear of carriages to serious mental disorders. The disease can develop independently or together with others, including fear of responsibility, committing crimes and death.
What does it represent?
Interestingly, it manifests itself in different ways. I mean, amaxophobia is sometimes not just a fear of cars, buses, but directly, a fear of certain models or colors.
For example, such a person will not come close to a red Mazda. And in the rest he rides calmly.
It can also be a shame to drive non-executive class cars, because it will affect your image. Most often, this form of manifestation occurs in adolescents and women.
They are scared to even imagine themselves, say, as a Cossack or a Muscovite. But this phobia is simply intertwined with fear of condemnation, low self-esteem or arrogance.
But basically, a person is terrified by the possible likelihood of getting into an accident, injuring another, or suffering personally.
According to statistics, as already mentioned, it occurs more often in women. This is sometimes associated with an exaggerated need for security for the sake of preserving the life and health of one’s offspring, even probable ones.
The most common causes of irrational fear
- Driving in the dark, in poor lighting or in weather that impairs visibility;
- Intersections and generally places where it is necessary to give priority to other vehicles;
- Traffic jams and heavy traffic;
- Using someone else's car for which you are currently fully responsible;
- Unpredictable situations on the road, for example, when animals suddenly jump out;
- Doubts about your ability to overcome fear and cope with unpredictable danger while driving on the highway. Let’s say that if you don’t have the skills to drive a car in icy conditions, the amaxophobe will be incredibly afraid to go out at all until the winter passes;
- The passenger worries about the safety of his life if he does not trust the skills and knowledge of the driver.
- Responsibility for passengers, especially if there are small children among them;
- Lack of confidence in the skills and mental and physical state of other drivers with whom you have to cross during the trip.
Signs
At the thought of taking a ride in public transport, a person’s arms and legs may begin to tremble. By the way, they are still getting colder and starting to sweat intensely. Even at sub-zero temperatures indoors or outdoors.
Often a panic attack occurs; this is when a person loses control over himself due to anxiety and it seems to him that he is about to die. Choking or from a heart attack, because at such a moment a strong stabbing begins in the left side of the chest.
Blood pressure rises, the face turns red, and sometimes turns pale when fainting. Those who have problems with the gastrointestinal tract experience all the “delights” of diarrhea, as well as cramps.
You may feel nauseous and start vomiting. Loss of control leads to a change in perception of reality. She becomes extremely dangerous and evokes one desire - to run away and hide.
And this is just very risky. Because when running away in panic, a person does not notice anything around him and easily becomes a victim of an accident. Sometimes with a fatal outcome if he jumps out onto the road and ends up under a car.
In severe forms of manifestation, when obsessive thoughts take over the consciousness, amaxophobia simply decides not to leave the house. Because it’s unbearable to see cars around you. Even in the most remote village they exist, to say nothing of megacities.
Such isolation and alienation gradually leads to depression, degradation, and complete loss of social connections.
You will learn more about what degradation is in this article.
The most common complaints in the presence of fear of traveling in transport
- Phobias are obsessive fears. Phobic anxiety
- Feeling afraid in open places or on the street
- Fear of leaving the house alone
- Fear of riding in public transport
- The need to avoid certain places or activities
- Fear of fainting
Treatment of disorders with manifestations of feelings of fear.
Today, the fear of traveling on a bus, trolleybus, metro and other types of public transport, as well as the fear of traveling in an elevator, where a person encounters a limited enclosed space and a large crowd of people in this limited space, is quite widespread.
Call us and we can figure it out correctly and help you get rid of your fear of transport!
Examples of complaints about a feeling of fear before traveling on a bus, subway, or elevator:
“I’m afraid to ride buses after I found out that the bus overturned. As soon as I have to travel, my condition worsens. I understand that
something is wrong with my psyche, I try to distract myself, switch gears, but more often than not I can’t do anything. I am fixated on my feelings and feel constant discomfort throughout my body, but nothing hurts, only tightness in the heart area and sometimes a stone on my chest, my heart beats very quietly, almost inaudibly, my cardiogram is normal, my lungs are fine, my hands often get cold, legs and feel internal trembling, discomfort in the stomach. I saw a psychologist, worked with him for a long time using different programs, methods, and tried hypnosis. The psychologist says that this is a fear of closed spaces. It lets go for a short period of time and then it all happens again...”
“Two years ago I was riding on the subway, and there was a desire to go to relieve myself, but not a strong one. I was in the subway for a long time; I didn’t want to get out. It ended with me almost peing myself in public, which I had always been able to tolerate normally before. Now I'm scared to even go into the subway. It can suddenly come up, and I can’t stand it. When I go to the toilet, the urine is still a little clear. I saw a urologist - no pathologies. I went to the venereologist - too, everything is fine. I tried to be treated by a neurologist - without any changes. Now I’ve been going to a psychologist-psychotherapist for a year now (such a specialization does not exist, we are talking about an ordinary psychologist - author’s note). We've already talked about everything in the world, but the problem remains. And the worst thing is that now I’m afraid to ride buses. As soon as I want to sit in it, I immediately feel like I’m going to wet myself.”
“I can’t ride in elevators! I always walk, it’s good that I don’t live so high, only on the 8th floor. And I very rarely go out to visit a friend; I have to go to the 22nd floor. Although I myself have never gotten stuck in an elevator, my fear of elevators is terrible. It all started when a friend of mine got stuck in an elevator and talked about it so vividly that my chest felt cold. I’m very afraid of cramped and closed spaces.”
Fear is a feeling of internal tension associated with the expectation of threatening events and actions. This is a protective reaction of higher nervous activity aimed at preserving life.
When the central nervous system malfunctions, various kinds of pathological reactions can form, causing feelings of fear, which are called “phobias” in official medicine. Basically, the formation of fears (phobias) of traveling in public transport and elevators, being in cramped enclosed spaces are associated with a high load on the human psyche in everyday life.
Phobias are obsessive and senseless fears, such as, for example, fear of heights, large streets, open or limited, visually closed spaces, crowds of people, fear of getting terminally ill
disease, fear of fears, and this can include
fear of traveling in elevators, buses, subways
and etc.
Obsessive fear, or phobia, is an intense and irresistible mental state that engulfs a person, despite the understanding of the meaninglessness of his fears and attempts to cope with them on his own.
Phobias, or obsessive fears, for example, the fear of riding the subway or other public transport, today are often defined as the presence of neurosis, but this is not always the case. It is impossible to immediately talk about its true origin just by the external manifestation of a mental disorder.
Phobia (fear), in any of its manifestations, is only a symptom, a small fraction, which indicates the presence of any mental disorder, and does not give clear indications that this mental disorder is neurosis, even if it is combined with so-called panic attacks , which, like a phobia, is a symptom.
If a psychotherapist encounters a symptom in the form of a phobia, his main task is to conduct a differential diagnosis in order to accurately determine the main source that causes this mental reaction - obsessive fear.
If we talk about the fear of traveling in public transport (bus, metro, trolleybus, tram) - fear of confined spaces, then this diagnostic index may be included in the context of such mental disorders as:
1. Various types of neuroses - Borderline mental state. These mental disorders most often include obsessive fears.
2. Anxiety disorders – Borderline mental state. As with neuroses, obsessive fear often manifests itself in this mental state.
3. Depression – Borderline mental state. Occurs in long-term and deep conditions.
4. Toxic brain damage - alcohol, drugs, toxins, other psychoactive substances.
5. Organic brain damage - trauma, infection, tumors, etc.
6. Endogenous mental diseases – Developing as a result of disturbances in the metabolic processes of the brain.
7. Acute psychotic states – psychoses.
In the overwhelming majority, all mental disorders are treatable, but for this you need to pay due attention to your mental health and consult a competent psychotherapist who will correctly assess the condition, identify the true causes, individually prescribe and conduct adequate complex therapy.
Causes
Injury
An accident is a traumatic event for the human psyche. At such a moment, he realizes how fragile life really is, how unpredictable it is, and that he is completely unable to predict what will happen to him in an hour, a day, a minute.
Living with powerlessness is not easy, especially for those who are prone to control and power.
Plus, due to injuries on the physical level, information is stored in the subconscious that transport is associated with pain. Sometimes insanely strong, which he is not able to withstand.
The condition becomes more complicated if you had to recover for a long period. Moreover, a phobia will begin to develop if a person, after a car accident, has lost the ability to walk and move in general.
For some individuals, it is enough to be not a victim of an accident, but a witness, to understand how dangerous cars are.
mass media
The media covers car accidents every day. You don’t even have to turn on the TV, just scroll through the news feed on social networks.
And besides, in the age of modern technology, every witness to any accident can take a photo and post it for everyone to see. Thanks to this, not a single small event is left unattended.
And how can you not be afraid to drive a car if almost every minute someone crashes into someone else and knocks them down?
Heredity and character traits
People with an unbalanced psyche, quite vulnerable, impressionable and with a wild imagination, easily become “owners” of any kind of phobia and, in general, mental disorder.
Every time they encounter news about a road accident, they will simply imagine themselves in the place of the victims, only intensifying the symptoms of amaxophobia. Which, by the way, can be inherited.
And the conditions of upbringing play a significant role in its occurrence. If a significant adult experiences horror when a trolleybus or car passes by, the child may decide that this reaction is the only correct one.
Otherwise, mom or dad would behave calmly in such situations. And he simply copies the behavior, thinking that this is how it should be.
Causes
A road traffic accident triggers dromophobia in some people, so the latter can be classified as a subtype of panic disorder with agoraphobia.
As such, fear of crossing streets alone may be a component of accident-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), in response to a situation reminiscent of a past traumatic event, as a consequence of watching a television show or movie that depicts scary and realistic scenes of car accidents on the streets.
Sometimes a phobia can be misinterpreted during the assessment of PTSD symptoms as caution (i.e., normal learning behavior) rather than fear (irrational avoidance behavior).
The disorder sometimes develops due to anticipatory anxiety associated with the patient's limited mobility.
Dromophobia can occur in children with autism because crossing the road involves complex skills, such as judging the speed of an approaching car.
Treatment
In principle, if you feel anxious at times when driving a car, but it practically does not bring discomfort to your life, no special treatment is required.
Especially if you manage to overcome anxiety on your own. Which can sometimes even be beneficial.
Since a person who is worried about his safety will more closely monitor the road and the maneuvers of other vehicles.
Before going anywhere, he will definitely check the condition of his car, and, moreover, he will not drive drunk.
And he will not go anywhere with an inadequate driver who raises suspicions about taking alcohol or drugs.
If you understand that even the role of a passenger is beyond your strength, consult a psychotherapist. It will help to investigate the reasons that provoked this condition. And also discover resources so that you can rely on them when panic attacks occur.
A psychologist or psychotherapist will be able to refer you to a psychiatrist. If amaxophobia affects not only the quality of life, but also health.
Which, in turn, will prescribe antidepressants. Or medications that relieve anxiety, help restore sleep and improve mood.
Recommendations
- If you feel panicked while driving, you can easily overcome it on your own. Just park in a safe place, turn on your hazard lights if necessary, and close your eyes. First you need to restore your breathing and eliminate dizziness. Breathe into your palms, this will return the oxygen level in your blood to normal. Which, due to shallow and frequent breathing, increased to maximum limits. Provoking even more anxiety and leading to loss of consciousness.
- Then use the method of positive affirmations. That is, statements that will help you calm down and believe in yourself. Start moving when you feel like you're back under control.
- Practice meditation and breathing techniques. This will help you find harmony within, relieve tension and other effects of stress.
How is the treatment carried out?
There are several ways to overcome your fear of crossing the street. Phobias are treated with medicinal and non-medicinal methods. The treatment regimen depends on the severity of the patient's condition. To reduce anxiety symptoms, medications are prescribed. Medicines are also needed for patients with complicated phobias, against which depression and other disorders develop.
The most effective way to combat agyrophobia remains cognitive behavioral therapy. Another effective method of dealing with irrational fear is a gradual rapprochement with the subject of fear under the supervision of an experienced psychotherapist.
Professional help
To combat a phobia, a doctor can use a method of gradually approaching the object of fear.
Medications are used to reduce symptoms of anxiety in patients with severe types of phobic disorders. Tranquilizers are usually prescribed to help reduce psycho-emotional stress. The choice of drug is made only by a doctor, depending on the severity of symptoms.
Note! Tranquilizers do not cure a phobia, but only reduce the feeling of anxiety and panic when confronted with an object of fear.
If a person is diagnosed with concomitant neuropsychiatric disorders, medications are used to reduce their severity, for example, antidepressants, antipsychotics, etc.
To effectively combat a phobia, the method of gradually approaching the object of fear is used. Thus, treatment of fear of crossing the street consists of several stages:
- determining the cause of the development of fear;
- working through fear in conversations with a doctor;
- going outside with a doctor.
After accepting his fear as a result of working with a psychotherapist, the patient should begin to gradually get closer to the subject of fear. If it is fear of crossing the street, first the person begins to approach the end of the sidewalk, then crosses to the other side through an underground passage, and after some time, crosses the road at a pedestrian crossing.
After completing each stage, the patient tells the doctor in detail about his emotions and experiences. The process is quite lengthy, but gives a guaranteed result. Dromophobia is completely surmountable.
The cost of treatment depends on the pricing policy of the clinic where the person is undergoing therapy. As a rule, one session of psychotherapy will cost 500-1000 rubles.
