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For many drivers, once they get behind the wheel, they are totally calm and the act of driving is so natural, it becomes second nature. There are, however, those who get anxious about driving and every time they are behind the wheel, they experience different levels of anxiety. There are many ways to define anxiety and panic attacks. Most people define them as feelings of tension, fear or dread, in the absence of a direct threat or any clear justification. Those who get driving anxiety can not explain why they feel the way the do.
If the above symptoms sound familiar to you, then you may be experiencing Driving Anxiety Disorder. Though this may seem like something very difficult to deal with, because it is, there are solutions out there that will help and even some that will eliminate this anxiety.When a person experiences an anxiety attack it is because their mind is not reacting properly to a particular fear. For example, you had a bad experience while driving and now you have a fear of driving. When you get in the car to drive with this fear in your mind, you mind takes this fear and intensifies it into a larger fear. Your mind can start wondering away with scary thoughts where you feel as though you cannot control these thoughts.
A number of people who get the driving anxiety often find that getting off the road and stopping, will often help to calm them down. The minute they feel an attack coming on, they can pull over and calm down which often takes a few minutes. Once they are off the road, the obsessive thinking that comes with the anxiety attacks is diminished. It is, however, important to get back on the road after the attack has passed. Like with most fears, the best way to deal with it is by not giving in to the fear. The more you build up a negative experience, the worse it becomes.
Learn NLP.The fear of driving typically occurs because of previous car accidents or trauma while driving with one's parents growing up. The phobia occurs because the mind continues to live in the past and it creates irrational thoughts and mind movies of getting into future accidents. One way to overcoming driving phobia is to use NLP. NLP stands for neuro linguistic programming, and it is a technique that takes away the power of the negative images of your mind.Use Affirmations.The use of Affirmations has been another method for helping me conquer my fear of driving. Affirmations help to program the sub-conscious mind into accepting empowering beliefs. The best time to recite affirmations is before bed and upon waking up. It's best to set affirmations in a positive and present tense. An example would be "I am a safe driver and I have safe trips each and everyday".
Some of those who experience debilitating emotions, find that they are unable to control their actions on the road as they feel disconnected. Some feel like the car is not balanced and can swerve off the road at any time. They may even feel like swerving onto the path of an oncoming vehicle, or hitting the brakes in the middle of the road. Those who feel like this should not drive until the condition has been dealt with. They can cause accidents if the condition keeps getting worse. It is important for those with driving phobia to seek advice and help. Trying to overcome a phobia without any help can be very difficult. This is especially the case if it has been allowed to go on for a long period of time.
Anxiety while driving is a mental disorder affecting both males and females. This involves feelings of immense dread, anxiety and or apprehension towards driving with no justifiable reason. Experts have shown that this condition affects about one in ten people at some point in life. Anxiety while driving falls under mental disorders known as neuroses. Neuroses are phobias that affect individuals behaviour but not their rational thinking. They may exhibit anxiety every time they sit in a car driving or not. Though it affects both men and women, women are more affected by this condition regardless of their age.
This condition may be triggered by a traumatic experience in the past that affected the motorist like a collision, car accident or any other event. This may cause a motorist to be more apprehensive, unsafe and insecure while driving. The condition may also be triggered by driving under stressful conditions like speeding vehicles on a motorway, or traffic congestion regardless of previous driving experience or accidents encountered. The signs that show a motorist experiencing an anxiety attack are dizziness, trembling or shivering, nausea, headaches, flushing and stomach upset. As these anxiety signs progress, the motorist develops driving phobia. Phobias tend to protect the body against potential dangers. This is when the mind conditions the body into believing that driving is dangerous, so the person may be apprehensive and he may experience panic attacks while on the road.
The treatments for driving phobia/anxiety must come in the form of behavioral and mental conditioning. Drugs and medication have limited application in driving phobia/anxiety as they can only suppress your physical symptoms - they can never help you overcome your phobia/anxiety.Behavioral and mental conditioning works by slowly subjecting yourself to your phobias or situation that triggers your anxiety. During the process, you would need to experience the fear without running away and thus, becoming less sensitive to the situation. This idea is simple and it does not necessitate the help of professional (although you may choose to do so if you are really uncomfortable about it). Nevertheless, professional help or not, certain level of courage and determination is required as you would need to confront your fears and overcome them.
If the above symptoms sound familiar to you, then you may be experiencing Driving Anxiety Disorder. Though this may seem like something very difficult to deal with, because it is, there are solutions out there that will help and even some that will eliminate this anxiety.When a person experiences an anxiety attack it is because their mind is not reacting properly to a particular fear. For example, you had a bad experience while driving and now you have a fear of driving. When you get in the car to drive with this fear in your mind, you mind takes this fear and intensifies it into a larger fear. Your mind can start wondering away with scary thoughts where you feel as though you cannot control these thoughts.
A number of people who get the driving anxiety often find that getting off the road and stopping, will often help to calm them down. The minute they feel an attack coming on, they can pull over and calm down which often takes a few minutes. Once they are off the road, the obsessive thinking that comes with the anxiety attacks is diminished. It is, however, important to get back on the road after the attack has passed. Like with most fears, the best way to deal with it is by not giving in to the fear. The more you build up a negative experience, the worse it becomes.
Learn NLP.The fear of driving typically occurs because of previous car accidents or trauma while driving with one's parents growing up. The phobia occurs because the mind continues to live in the past and it creates irrational thoughts and mind movies of getting into future accidents. One way to overcoming driving phobia is to use NLP. NLP stands for neuro linguistic programming, and it is a technique that takes away the power of the negative images of your mind.Use Affirmations.The use of Affirmations has been another method for helping me conquer my fear of driving. Affirmations help to program the sub-conscious mind into accepting empowering beliefs. The best time to recite affirmations is before bed and upon waking up. It's best to set affirmations in a positive and present tense. An example would be "I am a safe driver and I have safe trips each and everyday".
Some of those who experience debilitating emotions, find that they are unable to control their actions on the road as they feel disconnected. Some feel like the car is not balanced and can swerve off the road at any time. They may even feel like swerving onto the path of an oncoming vehicle, or hitting the brakes in the middle of the road. Those who feel like this should not drive until the condition has been dealt with. They can cause accidents if the condition keeps getting worse. It is important for those with driving phobia to seek advice and help. Trying to overcome a phobia without any help can be very difficult. This is especially the case if it has been allowed to go on for a long period of time.
Anxiety while driving is a mental disorder affecting both males and females. This involves feelings of immense dread, anxiety and or apprehension towards driving with no justifiable reason. Experts have shown that this condition affects about one in ten people at some point in life. Anxiety while driving falls under mental disorders known as neuroses. Neuroses are phobias that affect individuals behaviour but not their rational thinking. They may exhibit anxiety every time they sit in a car driving or not. Though it affects both men and women, women are more affected by this condition regardless of their age.
This condition may be triggered by a traumatic experience in the past that affected the motorist like a collision, car accident or any other event. This may cause a motorist to be more apprehensive, unsafe and insecure while driving. The condition may also be triggered by driving under stressful conditions like speeding vehicles on a motorway, or traffic congestion regardless of previous driving experience or accidents encountered. The signs that show a motorist experiencing an anxiety attack are dizziness, trembling or shivering, nausea, headaches, flushing and stomach upset. As these anxiety signs progress, the motorist develops driving phobia. Phobias tend to protect the body against potential dangers. This is when the mind conditions the body into believing that driving is dangerous, so the person may be apprehensive and he may experience panic attacks while on the road.
The treatments for driving phobia/anxiety must come in the form of behavioral and mental conditioning. Drugs and medication have limited application in driving phobia/anxiety as they can only suppress your physical symptoms - they can never help you overcome your phobia/anxiety.Behavioral and mental conditioning works by slowly subjecting yourself to your phobias or situation that triggers your anxiety. During the process, you would need to experience the fear without running away and thus, becoming less sensitive to the situation. This idea is simple and it does not necessitate the help of professional (although you may choose to do so if you are really uncomfortable about it). Nevertheless, professional help or not, certain level of courage and determination is required as you would need to confront your fears and overcome them.
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