Commuting Anxiety
Jake had developed such terrible panic attacks commuting to work every day that he decided to talk with a psychiatrist.
"Doc, it's terrible," Jake said. "I've developed a horrible fear and have anxiety attacks every time I get in the car with these other four guys and commute to work. It's turned into a special fear of tunnels.
Every day we go through the same long tunnel, and with the guys crowded in with me, it doesn't matter whether I'm driving or we're going in one of their cars. I just panic. I begin to sweat. I even get dizzy. Am I going crazy, Doc?"
Immediately, the doctor smiled and announced that he knew what Jake's problem was.
"You do? What is it, Doc?" Jake asked. "Am I losing my mind?"
"No, no, no, my boy," the doctor said. "You have something very common in these parts. You have what is known as....
. . . carpool tunnel syndrome."
Originally published January 01, 2005.
