Years ago, due to a stressful time at home I developed a fear phobia for buses and later also for trains.
I would feel trapped in them and start to hyperventilate, being afraid that I would throw up and humiliate myself in front of others.
I never used to have problems like this before but all of a sudden it got me and I would be nervous with the prospect of having to travel on a bus or a train.

For several years I have seen psychiatric counseling for my fears but nothing ever really came much of it, even though I was prescribed a mild calming drug (I do not know the right word right now).
Since last year I have been seeing a couple of psychiatrists who have been trying to pin point the problem and overcome the fear.

Now as part of a treatment I would try to ride on a bus from one stop to another and then build up from that part.
I tried it this morning and I am happy to say it was rather successful.

While I felt uncomfortable in the beginning, having the weird feeling again, this started to diminish when the bus started to ride, and I managed to stay in for several stops before I had to get out as I needed to go to the library to return a book.

I am to try it again this weekend, after this trip I am not so much looking against traveling with the bus as I used to do.
[Reply]

That is great news. I'm glad you are finally managing to overcome your fear/phobia.

Have you ever considered hypnotism? I'm personally not sure if I believe in it myself, but I think if I suffered from anything similar I would give it a try as you have nothing to lose.

When I was very small I would refuse to use escalators and my parents would have a nightmare trying to find alternative routes, especially on the London underground. I was only about 4-5 years old at the time though, and I'm sure it was due to seeing something on the TV where someone got trapped in an escalator. Possibly a horror film my dad was watching after I was meant to be in bed!
[Reply]

That's great Ghost!
May be it helps if you take the bus ride with a friend or familly, starting from small distances with less people may also help.
[Reply]

Glad to hear you managed to stay in the bus. Isn't that something like claustrophobia, like the fear of enclosed spaces? I also have that a bit, I always want to be sure to get out of one place if I need, that why on concerts, I'm never in the front rows, but always behind, so I can leave immediately when I think I feel faint or such.

I also pretty feel uncomfortable when watching a movie like The Descent, or lately Frontière(s), when they crawl to a very small tunnel and someone's following them.
[Reply]

I think most people are like that with really confined spaces like caves. And my wife is very similar in theaters. She likes to be on the end and not confined in a row.

I was going to say about going on the bus with other people. That way it would help take your mind off of just focusing on the bus journey.
[Reply]

@Ghost

The important thing is to take your time and don't expect to be cured overnight.
There maybe a few setbacks on the way, but that is normal.
Steady progress is the thing and it seems like your well on the way.

@Harrison

There have been a couple of bad accidents involving escalators fairly recently.
Not a totally irrational fear.
[Reply]

Hello all of you,

Tiago,

I am actually starting with very small distances when there are as little as possible people on the bus, when people are at work or on school.

TiredOfLife,

Well I am not expected to be cured immediately but this is a lot better than a couple of years ago when I still was uncomfortable on the bus, even when someone was with me.

Demon Cleaner,

Perhaps it is a form of claustrophobia as I recognize the symptoms, but I didn't have it from the start, it somehow 'crept in'.
[Reply]