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Human phobias, which are generally defined as an intense, irrational fear of an object, place, or event, are mysterious. They are very common - experts believe at least 1 in 10 people will develop a phobia at some point in their lives. Yet it's often unclear WHY they develop.Phobias are fears, and fear is a normal part of life. Fear is a good thing in many cases. It's good to be afraid of things that really can hurt us, like certain insects, dangerous animals, or falling off cliffs. But the human mind can fixate on some fears and over-exaggerate them out of proportion to their actual danger.
Being afraid of something (even something irrational) is not in and of itself a phobia. A phobia is formed when we anticipate danger and begin to avoid places and situations we associate with that danger. So a phobia is irrational fear PLUS habitual avoidance.The 2 Main Ways Phobias Develop.Phobias tend to either develop gradually with no definable cause, or suddenly as a response to a traumatic event.In the case of driving phobia, some sufferers report their fear came on gradually, steadily becoming worse over time. This type of phobia usually has no apparent cause and is often a simple misfire between the brain and the feelings / nervous system. Driving somehow becomes associated with danger, even though nothing dangerous actually happened.Some people develop driving phobia as a direct response to trauma; things like car accidents, bodily injury, injury to other drivers, property damage etc. It's more obvious why the person associates driving with danger in these cases.
Tell yourself.I trust that life supports me. I am safe. The truth is, you are safe. Driving is an everyday activity that untold millions engage in without incident. The thing that makes you feel anxious is the belief you're in danger. You're really, really not.I am solutions oriented. Driving anxiety disorder is solvable. One of the main reasons people become more and more afraid of driving is because they see it as an intractable problem with no real solution. This is false. This disorder is very treatable - IF you're willing to change your belief that it's not. That's the starting point for all therapies: the belief that change really is possible. I take charge of my emotions, my desires and my abilities. You've gotten in the habit of letting fear take charge of you instead of the other way around. I know the fear feels big and unmanageable. That's perfectly OK. It's still just a feeling, YOUR feeling. It's a feeling that belongs to you. You don't belong to it.I'm confident. I know I will solve my problems successfully. Confidence is simply the belief you can do something. The more you believe you can do it, the more likely you are to do just that. Confidence starts with belief. Beliefs are just thoughts, and affirmations are an effective way to start changing them.
So You Have Driving Phobia. Now What? Whether your driving phobia is gradual or is a result of PTSD, I'm sorry. I sympathize, because I've also suffered with this phobia. It can be a tough thing to live with.The good news is that phobias respond well to treatment. Treatment options for driving phobia (or any other) include: Cognative Behavioral Therapy (CBT),Hypnosis,Gradual Exposure Therapy,Meditation,Self Help.Which Solution is Right for You? In a way, it doesn't matter how you choose to treat your phobia... as long as you take action and are serious about wanting to change. If you approach it sincerely and with a real desire to change, chances are that you will see significant improvement. And of course the opposite is also true.If you're brand-new to phobia and have no experience with anxiety treatment, I recommend you choose a good anxiety treatment therapist. You may need guidance early on in your anxiety recovery.
Those experienced treating and living with other phobias may find that learning meditation or using self-help resources is enough to successfully treat driving phobia. Keep in mind that self-help alone is often not enough for many people, especially if you're inexperienced.Treating Phobias Focuses More on Solutions Than Causes.Whatever caused your driving phobia, treating it successfully means learning new here-and-now skills. It will probably not be necessary to spend much time re-hashing the past.Modern anxiety treatment methods are about retraining your brain, nervous system, and emotions to judge and respond more appropriately to actual dangers instead of perceived ones.
Driving phobia is a complicated problem and it can even limit a persons daily activities. Due to this, it is worth concentrating on dealing with your fear of driving. There are a number of ways to do this. It's probably best to start by identifying the origin of the fear as this process can then offer ideas on how to proceed with reducing your phobia. Some alternatives to overcome the fear include self help programs, some forms of therapy, driver training, hypnosis as well as medication in other cases.
The initial stage to overcome driving phobia is to identify the source of the fear. To know the cause of the fear will offer significant clues to assist you in selecting a method to overcome it. Different fears - and even different people - react more readily to some types of help than others, so it's worth experimenting. After you have identified the cause of the fear, then you can choose a treatment option which can possibly help and start your recovery.
One technique which can help to overcome this problem is to go through a driving training course. Often the fear comes because you do not have enough confidence in your driving skills or because you have experienced a minor accident or even a moving violation. In circumstances like this a driving course will be of great help. The course will assist you develop your skills which will raise your confidence in your abilities behind the wheel. When you feel better regarding your capability in driving, you should be in a position to do it with no fear.
Driver Training / Coaching. Perhaps your fear is due to feeling that you lack good driving skills. Whether you need to learn how to drive, or just want to brush up your abilities, a good defensive driving course can make you more confident behind the wheel. Hypnotherapy. Common misconceptions about hypnosis are that you're under someone's "spell" and might be manipulated. This is mostly due to stage hypnosis that's used for entertainment. A qualified hypnotherapist treats anxiety by inducing a relaxed state where you learn to change your internal reactions to fear triggers.This also helps you control the physical reactions of anxiety like dizziness and hyperventilation by stimulating the parasympathetic response - your body's built in stress reduction mechanism.
Hypnosis is another helpful alternative to people having a typically milder fear such as general anxiety. Hypnosis can be conducted by a hypnotist or specialized therapist or sometimes it may be self-induced by use of audio recordings. The hypnosis should train your mind to respond to the experience to drive with tranquil confidence rather than panic and anxiety.If the driving phobia is more severe, possibly resulting from a traumatic incident like serious crash, the best choice can be to go for professional counseling and therapy. Jointly working with a professional, you can slowly overcome your fears in a secure environment. Techniques may be used that develop exposure to drive on a controlled road until you are in a position to perform the task without fear. Group therapy may also be helpful since you know that you are not alone. In the group set up, guidelines and techniques are usually shared concerning methods of overcoming the problem. Sometimes medication is prescribed to alleviate anxiety as another option to deal with driving phobia.
Being afraid of something (even something irrational) is not in and of itself a phobia. A phobia is formed when we anticipate danger and begin to avoid places and situations we associate with that danger. So a phobia is irrational fear PLUS habitual avoidance.The 2 Main Ways Phobias Develop.Phobias tend to either develop gradually with no definable cause, or suddenly as a response to a traumatic event.In the case of driving phobia, some sufferers report their fear came on gradually, steadily becoming worse over time. This type of phobia usually has no apparent cause and is often a simple misfire between the brain and the feelings / nervous system. Driving somehow becomes associated with danger, even though nothing dangerous actually happened.Some people develop driving phobia as a direct response to trauma; things like car accidents, bodily injury, injury to other drivers, property damage etc. It's more obvious why the person associates driving with danger in these cases.
Tell yourself.I trust that life supports me. I am safe. The truth is, you are safe. Driving is an everyday activity that untold millions engage in without incident. The thing that makes you feel anxious is the belief you're in danger. You're really, really not.I am solutions oriented. Driving anxiety disorder is solvable. One of the main reasons people become more and more afraid of driving is because they see it as an intractable problem with no real solution. This is false. This disorder is very treatable - IF you're willing to change your belief that it's not. That's the starting point for all therapies: the belief that change really is possible. I take charge of my emotions, my desires and my abilities. You've gotten in the habit of letting fear take charge of you instead of the other way around. I know the fear feels big and unmanageable. That's perfectly OK. It's still just a feeling, YOUR feeling. It's a feeling that belongs to you. You don't belong to it.I'm confident. I know I will solve my problems successfully. Confidence is simply the belief you can do something. The more you believe you can do it, the more likely you are to do just that. Confidence starts with belief. Beliefs are just thoughts, and affirmations are an effective way to start changing them.
So You Have Driving Phobia. Now What? Whether your driving phobia is gradual or is a result of PTSD, I'm sorry. I sympathize, because I've also suffered with this phobia. It can be a tough thing to live with.The good news is that phobias respond well to treatment. Treatment options for driving phobia (or any other) include: Cognative Behavioral Therapy (CBT),Hypnosis,Gradual Exposure Therapy,Meditation,Self Help.Which Solution is Right for You? In a way, it doesn't matter how you choose to treat your phobia... as long as you take action and are serious about wanting to change. If you approach it sincerely and with a real desire to change, chances are that you will see significant improvement. And of course the opposite is also true.If you're brand-new to phobia and have no experience with anxiety treatment, I recommend you choose a good anxiety treatment therapist. You may need guidance early on in your anxiety recovery.
Those experienced treating and living with other phobias may find that learning meditation or using self-help resources is enough to successfully treat driving phobia. Keep in mind that self-help alone is often not enough for many people, especially if you're inexperienced.Treating Phobias Focuses More on Solutions Than Causes.Whatever caused your driving phobia, treating it successfully means learning new here-and-now skills. It will probably not be necessary to spend much time re-hashing the past.Modern anxiety treatment methods are about retraining your brain, nervous system, and emotions to judge and respond more appropriately to actual dangers instead of perceived ones.
Driving phobia is a complicated problem and it can even limit a persons daily activities. Due to this, it is worth concentrating on dealing with your fear of driving. There are a number of ways to do this. It's probably best to start by identifying the origin of the fear as this process can then offer ideas on how to proceed with reducing your phobia. Some alternatives to overcome the fear include self help programs, some forms of therapy, driver training, hypnosis as well as medication in other cases.
The initial stage to overcome driving phobia is to identify the source of the fear. To know the cause of the fear will offer significant clues to assist you in selecting a method to overcome it. Different fears - and even different people - react more readily to some types of help than others, so it's worth experimenting. After you have identified the cause of the fear, then you can choose a treatment option which can possibly help and start your recovery.
One technique which can help to overcome this problem is to go through a driving training course. Often the fear comes because you do not have enough confidence in your driving skills or because you have experienced a minor accident or even a moving violation. In circumstances like this a driving course will be of great help. The course will assist you develop your skills which will raise your confidence in your abilities behind the wheel. When you feel better regarding your capability in driving, you should be in a position to do it with no fear.
Driver Training / Coaching. Perhaps your fear is due to feeling that you lack good driving skills. Whether you need to learn how to drive, or just want to brush up your abilities, a good defensive driving course can make you more confident behind the wheel. Hypnotherapy. Common misconceptions about hypnosis are that you're under someone's "spell" and might be manipulated. This is mostly due to stage hypnosis that's used for entertainment. A qualified hypnotherapist treats anxiety by inducing a relaxed state where you learn to change your internal reactions to fear triggers.This also helps you control the physical reactions of anxiety like dizziness and hyperventilation by stimulating the parasympathetic response - your body's built in stress reduction mechanism.
Hypnosis is another helpful alternative to people having a typically milder fear such as general anxiety. Hypnosis can be conducted by a hypnotist or specialized therapist or sometimes it may be self-induced by use of audio recordings. The hypnosis should train your mind to respond to the experience to drive with tranquil confidence rather than panic and anxiety.If the driving phobia is more severe, possibly resulting from a traumatic incident like serious crash, the best choice can be to go for professional counseling and therapy. Jointly working with a professional, you can slowly overcome your fears in a secure environment. Techniques may be used that develop exposure to drive on a controlled road until you are in a position to perform the task without fear. Group therapy may also be helpful since you know that you are not alone. In the group set up, guidelines and techniques are usually shared concerning methods of overcoming the problem. Sometimes medication is prescribed to alleviate anxiety as another option to deal with driving phobia.
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