14. Driving Anxiety

About this episode

This episode explores driving anxiety, its causes, and how it relates to the fear of losing control and agoraphobia.

In this episode of The Panic Pod we explore driving anxiety, a very common and often misunderstood fear. Most people are not afraid of the mechanics of driving. They are afraid of the internal sensations that might show up behind the wheel. The racing heart, dizziness, intrusive thoughts, the fear of losing control. More accurately, the fear of what anxiety might make them do. We unpack how this becomes a self reinforcing loop, where the fear of fear takes centre stage. We also look at how driving anxiety often overlaps with agoraphobia, particularly when certain roads, distances, or escape routes start to feel unsafe. The episode focuses on understanding the threat response and changing how we relate to it, rather than trying to eliminate anxiety altogether.

People in this episode

Host: Joshua Fletcher

Topics covered

• driving anxiety
• fear of fear
• agoraphobia
• threat response
• mental health

Keywords

• driving anxiety
• fear of losing control
• agoraphobia
• anxiety symptoms
• mental health

More episodes of The Panic Pod: Anxiety Help

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• 20. Perfectionism in Anxiety Recovery · April 22, 2026 · 18 min
• 19. Sleep Anxiety (How to fall asleep when anxious) · April 14, 2026 · 20 min
• 18. The Best Technique For Anxiety · April 14, 2026 · 18 min
• 17. The Fastest Way To Calm Anxiety · March 24, 2026 · 19 min
• 16. How NOT To Measure Anxiety · March 11, 2026 · 16 min