What Is Vehophobia?

Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers | Car Accident

What Is Vehophobia?

When a person suffers from vehophobia, simply sitting behind the wheel of a car can cause intense feelings of panic and doom. Vehophobia can severely impact day-to-day life, making it more challenging to commute and get around.

Suffering from vehophobia can be stressful and frustrating, but help is available. With proper treatment, you can overcome your fear of driving. 

Vehophobia Definition

A phobia is a persistent, irrational, uncontrollable fear of something. When a person suffers from a phobia, they go to great lengths to avoid their fears entirely. Millions of Americans suffer from phobias, ranging from mild to severe. 

Vehophobia is a fear of driving. Everyone experiences vehophobia differently, and the extent of a person’s fears depends on the circumstances. For example, one person may fear only one aspect of driving, like driving on the freeway, while another may even suffer extreme fears riding as a passenger. 

Like some other types of phobias, vehophobia develops after suffering from a traumatic experience. Because cars and driving are a part of everyday life, this type of phobia can be truly debilitating. 

Symptoms of Vehophobia

Vehophobia can produce certain symptoms resulting from feelings of fear and panic. Some of the common signs of vehophobia include:

  • Increased heart rate
  • Shallow breathing
  • Sweating
  • Nausea
  • Trembling
  • Tense muscles
  • Panic attacks
  • Chest pain

While these symptoms often arise while in the car, vehophobia can also cause other symptoms that happen at other moments, including nightmares and flashbacks. 

What Causes Vehophobia?

People aren’t typically born with vehophobia. Instead, it often arises as a response to a traumatic event, whether experienced first or secondhand. 

Vehophobia commonly develops after car accidents. Because vehophobia is a fear of driving, it is more regularly caused when you experience a collision as a driver. Still, you could suffer from vehophobia if you were a passenger or even a pedestrian. 

Fear of driving can also arise after losing a loved one in a collision. Even if you weren’t in the vehicle at the time of the accident, going through the pain of loss and knowing it was caused by a car accident can be enough to cause vehophobia. 

Additionally, you could suffer from vehophobia if you were regularly around someone who had a fear of cars and driving, especially during your formative years. Phobias aren’t “contagious,” but witnessing a loved one’s constant fear and aversion could easily affect the way you view cars and driving. 

Overcoming Vehophobia

With proper attention and treatment, it is possible to overcome your fears. Several treatment options are available, depending on the situation and severity of your phobia, including:

  • Exposure Therapy: As difficult as it may be, exposure therapy can efficiently help cure phobias by exposing you to the thing you fear most 
  • Talk Therapy: Sometimes, talking out your problems with a skilled therapist can help you get to the root of the issue
  • Hypnotherapy: Hypnosis is often used to condition individuals out of their fears so they can face problems that may be challenging while fully conscious 
  • Driver Education: If lack of driver skill and confidence is at the heart of your vehophobia, a driver education course can greatly help 
  • Medications: While medication doesn’t “cure” the vehophobia, it can help minimize uncomfortable symptoms 

Proper treatment for vehophobia may involve one or more of the above options. A qualified mental health practitioner or therapist can assist in creating the right treatment plan for you. 

If your vehophobia stems from a car crash, make sure to seek help from an experienced attorney right away. Treatment for vehophobia can be costly, but a lawyer can pursue justice and compensation on your behalf to help cover your accident-related expenses and economic or non-economic losses.

Contact the Clearwater, FL Car Accident Law Firm Of Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers for Help

For more information, please contact the Clearwater and St. Petersburg car accident law firm of Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers at the nearest location to schedule a free consultation today.

We serve Pinellas County and its surrounding areas:

Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers – Clearwater
1875 N Belcher Rd. STE 201,
Clearwater, FL 33765
(727) 796-8282

Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers – St. Petersburg
2560 1st Ave S,
St. Petersburg, FL 33712
(727) 349-1728