Anxiety Support Group
Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...
How can I overcome this. There was a storm in the south and I was stuck in traffic for 9.5 hours now when I see traffic I am terrified.
When we had a blizzard last year I was trapped in my house with no heat or electricity. It took my town 24 hours to get to our road so we were trapped in a bad situation. We had 3 feet of snow so there was no way our car was going to make it down the street so we had to stay in our 40 degree house with no way to cook food and no way to get out. So, my therapist pointed out that I had choices. I could have walked down the street to a road that was plowed and had someone meet me there to get me out. I could have called the town and told them they had to come get me to take me to a shelter - and they would have had to figure out how to get me out. I also could have asked my neighbors if I could stay at their house because they had a gas fireplace that was providing heat. I had choices.
Your circumstance was also very extreme in that you normally do not have that kind of weather. Keep reminding yourself that that was an extreme situation and that you survived it. You made it through and nothing bad happened. Any traffic you encounter now will be minor compared to that. Also, remind yourself that you have choices - even in traffic. You can get off the road at the next exit. You can get out of your car and walk if you absolutely have to. You can pull over and sit by the side of the road. There are things you can do but most important is to keep reminding yourself that you are safe no matter the circumstance.
It is also important that you do not avoid traffic. The more you avoid it the more you will fear it. It's important to put yourself back into traffic because the more you do that the less fear you will feel.
Take care
I'm sorry you got stuck in that awful situation! It's definitely understandable that you'd have anxiety over being caught in a similar situation. Do you have a "smart phone?" I use the app Beat the Traffic before I get onto highways or major roads, so that I can be prepared for whatever situation I'm heading into. Maybe if you're able to see the road conditions before you head out, you can either find an alternate route or can mentally prepare yourself for the (almost for certain) brief delay.
Are you able to narrow down what aspect of the traffic is the most terrifying to you? Are you afraid of not being able to get home, or of being late to wherever you're going, or of having to leave your car and walk? Determiing what it is exactly that is causing you to panic could be really helpful in determining how to overcome it.