Are you ‘traffic lagged’?

It’s a metro city bane, the weariness and frustration that accompanies being caught in traffic jams, which is second only to road rage. 

Call it traffic lag, taking off from the fatigue felt after being in a plane for long hours.

Says psychotherapist Seema Hingonrrani, “People who live high pressure lives in metro cities and additionally have to deal with traffic snarls can have anger and rage riding in them.”

She cites the case of a patient who came to her who became dysfunctional as far as his family life was concerned after he started commuting to work an hour-an-a-half away.

“Psychologically speaking a significant number of people need to be on the move and sitting for hours in a car can produce a high degree of stress. Many people also end up feeling psychologically trapped within the confines of the car since they may feel that it’s eating into their precious time,” she says citing the case of a patient who developed a car phobia as a result of commuting to work and caused his wife much concern by refusing to travel in his vehicle for a family break.

Actor Dipannita Sharma recalls being entangled in a jam once that had her break down. “I was new to Mumbai at the time and stuck in a cab at Sion for two hours. It was hot and dusty, they were digging the roads and I was in tears at my own helplessness,” she says.

Chocolatier Zeba Kohli who travels regularly to Andheri and Dahisar from town says she’s caught in a traffic snarl almost every day. Shaina NC who lives in Walkeshwar says sometimes when traveling to the international airport she wonders if she’ll make it in time for her flight which is hours away.

Says Dipannita, “I don’t drive myself, but even then when I return home from a bad traffic situation I feel fatigued.”

Zeba describes the feeling as “exhaustion, desolation and frustration” while Pooja Bedi says that it’s a “harsh reality” of living in a metro city like Mumbai.”