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Original poster

Driving - panic attacks on motorway

59 replies

CooEeeEldridge · 15/03/2026 12:36

Has anyone overcome driving anxiety before?

for context I’ve been driving since I was 17, now 43. Been driving all over the country since then, would happily drive 4 hours to a meeting and 4 hours back again in the same day. No issues previously, would happily bomb along constructing pub quizzes, work emails (dictating obvs) saw the driving part of a trip as ‘me time’ where I would play music, form my own concert etc.

from nowhere I’ve developed driving anxiety. I say nowhere maybe the past 4 years it’s crept in to the point where in Dec I had to be picked up by police as I couldn’t leave a lay-by and now I’m in an uber paying £100 each way having to dump my car in a little village as I couldn’t get on a dual carriage way.

I already take propranolol but it’s the brain side now that needs fixing.

it could be a post covid thing? The fear is simply not being able to get off / out. It’s like I feel not tethered to the road and all I want to do is stop. Generally ok on single carriage ways but dual (new thing)and motorways I just want to stop.

has anyone overcome this? As I say if you told my friends this had happened they wouldn’t belive you as I was always the one that would drive, super confident etc. I have aging parents that live 2 hours away so need to overcome this.

OP posts:

Olive567 · 19/03/2026 21:59

Yes, have experienced this - after being super confident motorway driver for 30 years. Had woozy feeling of disorientation on motorway late last year and ended up having full blown panic attack as it was smart motorway and couldn't stop. Related to menopause i think and was going through very stressful time with separation. I drive a lot for work so i've had to push through it but avoided motorways for a while. Bridges, tunnels, being undertaken by lorries, would give me a vertigo type feeling and leave me panicking and hyperventilating for a period - was horrid. But I do seem to have come through the other side these past months so i'm pleased I forced myself to to not become completely motorway avoidant. I'm more careful about what i eat to stop blood sugar dips, take frequent rests, and therapist friend gave me some coping mechanisms too. My sleep has improved too for various reasons - think bad sleep was a contributing factor.

Arraminta · 19/03/2026 22:02

Mischance · 15/03/2026 17:46

It may be that menopausal women are subconsciously aware that their reflexes might be slower and their concentration slightly impaired and this triggers a concern about high speed driving.

Perhaps that's an element but it's primarily a chemical reaction. Fluctuating estrogen & progesterone + lower testosterone directly impacts on your dopamine levels, pregnanolone levels etc.

It's so frustrating because blood tests won't pick it up. These hormones are constantly fluctuating all of the time, it's like trying to herd cats. So bloods taken on 3 separate days will show completely different results.

Romeiswheretheheartis · 19/03/2026 22:40

This is me too. I get really sweaty palms, which makes things even worse as it feels like I can't control the steering wheel. I especially hate passing a slip road and having to move into the middle lane, I just can't speed up enough and then end up getting undertaken and can't get back into the left hand lane. I've got to do a short motorway journey tomorrow and am dreading it.

nextchapterplease · 19/03/2026 22:49

Hi OP not me oersonally but two fronds have had this one was early 40s and HRT sorted it completely. The other was on and off HRT due to needing some other investigations and has let herself now become reliant on her husband driving.

itsnotalwaysthateasy · 19/03/2026 23:14

Whatever it is. A good driving instructor will show how it works.
To be honest< I think every new driver should spend time on a motorway with a driver.

Startoftheyear2026 · 19/03/2026 23:37

I’ve had it OP. I’m over it now. I had some sessions with the agency that @OfCourseIStillLoveYou recommended. There’s also some videos etc you can access if you search Google or YouTube. Good luck.

Pinkissmart · 19/03/2026 23:46

Mischance · 15/03/2026 14:01

I have a lot of sympathy ... motorways are not human scale. A moment's fleeting loss of concentration could lead to carnage. I worked for a head injury service and saw so much misery.
Lorry drivers reading at the wheel, people driving when they are tired, drivers getting distracted, drivers with a loose dog in the car .... it happens so easily.
Every time I am overtaking a lorry I remember these cases. They are real. They happened. I saw the results. I am inches from annihilation.
But it is modern life so we just get on with it.

Helpful 🙄

TopazQuartz · 19/03/2026 23:51

FirstCuppa · 15/03/2026 15:24

Yes, I have a huge panic attack and there is no hard shoulder to pull into anymore. I was doing 40mph and struggling to see other than small circles in the centre of each eye, people honking and flashing at me while I just had to make it to the next junction to get off. I know you said proprananol isn't what you are looking for but for me there is no changing the fact it is the only thing that works - I took 40mg and about 20 mins later had calmed enough to finish my journey. Having some in the car helps, also listening to podcasts while driving helps me re-focus from angry men tailgating or other bad driving and threats which can trigger them. As others said I was also beginning peri so it has probably been helped by being on HRT as well. I wouldn't go anywhere without a lot of proprananol these days as just not having it with me is enough to start me feeling anxious!

If this were to happen to me I think I'd put my hazards on as well so other drivers know something is wrong even if they can't see what.

TheMedusa · 05/04/2026 19:37

I think this is quite common, though really unpleasant and there's some good advice above. It'd probably be best to see your GP especially if you haven't been for a while. Obvious things to check apart from your general state of health are thyroid and sex hormones (you could be perimenopausal). Then there are some other approaches: CBT, drugs for anxiety of which there's a big choice or natural medicine (not usually available on the NHS) such as hypnotherapy, homoeopathy etc.
Best of luck with this. If you take a systematic approach to the problem and just decide it's not going to stop you, you'll get past it.

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