Enter said:

Just give things time and you'll be fine before you know it.

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Dreamer987 said:

Or you could accept death as an inevitability. Keep it with you all the time. So that when your cruising on the freeway, you can smile, and think "i could die right now"
See you have to make death your friend. Learn to accept death as the next big step. Like getting laid, or eating 7 grams of mushrooms.

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Bingo!

Tasty: Your fear is not of getting in cars. Your fear is of death. You have mis-labeled it, which is making it hard for you to solve.

Meditate on death... confront your fear. The idea of death cannot hurt you. Thinking about it might make you feel bad, but confront those feelings and realize that your feelings do not dictate reality. Acknowledge and accept that you will die someday. Keep death by your side like an old friend. If you're ever in a situation where you feel you might die, say to yourself, "This could be the day I finally unwrap the greatest mystery I've ever known."

Death is just another word for "the unknown." It is natural for humans to fear the unknown... it is an instinctive reaction. A "mini-program" that runs in the background, designed to protect us. It is a part of the ego, originally implemented for our benefit.

However... as one progresses through life without having stopped to acknowledge the existance of these automated response systems, they become "unchecked"... --which is basically just another way of saying that as we grow up we become lazy and no longer bother to remain aware of our own thoughts, behavior, and actions.

Our brains are like very complex computer systems with automated tasking to make things easier on the user. But even the most advanced automated computer systems need a USER to monitor it, because automated systems are prone to err... it's the price we pay for the convenience of automation.

When the user (each of us) thinks, "Hey! Look at this, this thing runs itself! I don't even have to pay attention!" Sure, things might go alright for a while, but before you know it some kind of conflict arises and you've got core meltdown going on and don't even know why.

Now... this fear of the unknown, or fear of death (whichever we prefer to label it for the moment) is just one of these automated systems running rampant. It needs the user (YOU) to step in, administer logical thought, and take control.

If one were to apply awareness and logical thought to the situation you find yourself in (I mean, literally, in the very moment you find yourself in a panic over the idea of death being possible) they would find a conclusion something along the lines of, "If everyone dies eventually, and I have NO way of knowing when that will be, there is NO benefit in worrying about it. By allowing these reactions, I only add unnecessary stress and anxiety to my life."

If you were to stop your emotional reaction dead in it's tracks and counter it with logical reasoning (such as above) you would see a drastic change in no time.

We have the power to control these automated systems, if only we choose to acknowledge it. (An easy and familiar example would be breathing... we do it subconsciously, but if we choose to become aware of it we can make it a conscious action that we control.)

This can be difficult, and it can take a lot of concentration, awareness, and willpower... but this does not make it impossible. If you commit yourself and stay focused, you are COMPLETELY capable of breaking yourself of ANY habitual or automated thoughts/actions.

Or if you'd prefer to stick to the so-called "easy" route: wait another year or two, you'll get over it. 

Tasty_Smurf_House said:

Was in a car crash last summer. Since then I've been often scared, sometimes extremely scared, while being in a vehicle. I can't stand it. It seems like everytime we turn I'm gonna get hit by a car or something. Sometimes when in a vehicle I'm like oh shit I'm gonna die

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I can relate completely.  Everytime I'm in a car, thoughts run through my head about how one millisecond could lead to instant death, slow, torturous death, or worst of all- paralysis, lost body parts and other permanenty injuries.  Driving honestly doesn't seem worth it at all to me, but in today's society there's few alternatives.  I generally try to walk places as much as possible.

and it's not necessarily how well YOU drive; some extremely unskilled or intoxicated driver could slam into you... or an experienced driver.  The driving system in this country is vastly overrated in my opinion and leads to so much death and suffering. 

Quote:

Same with me. My whole life I have always felt uncomfortable in a car. Especially if I am not driving. I get really tense and I think that any second we are going to swerve off the road and my body will attempt to mix with plastic and steel. I have had 2 bad experiences that mentally screwed me up.

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