I used to travel the I-95 corridor between Stafford and Vienna, VA. At the time it was judged to be the worst traffic in the world. It hasn't improved much since then but I think it has since fallen to the #2 or #3 worst traffic in the past few years.

This was in the late 1990's. I used to have this weird feeling set in on me around the Fort Belvoir, VA area of 95 every single morning. The change was so regular, sudden and distinct, I seriously though it was some weird beam of energy, Microwave or something, that was affecting me every morning. My heart rate would go up along with my breathing and feelings of nervousness and paranoia of sorts. It would freak me out for 15-20 minutes and then go away. This happened every morning for 8-9 months. It was weird in that it was not something that I would usually think about at other times of the day... And not something I would worry about prior to it happening. It was sort of a spontaneous phobia of sorts.

In between that time I occasionally looked on the internet for any type of attributable cause. I found nothing. No microwave towers nearby. Nothing sinister looking anywhere I could see.

Then it hit me one morning... This ALWAYS happened in the same place every day. This was also the same place that traffic would start to back up and come to a complete stop. I started examining my feelings of this and realized that I was the cause of all this! After examining my thoughts and feelings I discovered that I was worried about what might happen to me if I were to have a heart attack or need some sort of immediate medical attention. There was no way an ambulance could get there, no place for a helicopter to land... If something happened to me and it was life or death... I would probably die! THAT is what I had been freaking out about. I was landlocked in a sea of traffic!

This was sort of an epiphany for me. I FINALLY figured it out!!!

Once I figured out the cause I was able to reason with myself that the odds would be low that I would need immediate medical attention and if I did.. .Yup.. I might just die! Shit happens!

Once I reasoned this out and accepted it.. I never again had that weird feeling. But I do understand a little better those that have anxiety issues. I continued that rush hour commute for 3-4 years after that and never had an issue again. Since that time I have helped a few others that have had anxiety issues figure out what their issues were and how to deal with them successfully.

Overcoming my fear of dogs is an even better story!