How To Overcome Anxiety While Driving
If youre feeling anxious at just the thought of driving, chances are getting on the freeway is enough to tip you into a full blown panic attack. Youre not alone and there IS help, so listen up. Anxiety while driving is way more common than you might realize. If youre suffering with this debilitating condition, this article will give you strategies you can start implementing immediately to overcome your problem once and for all.
So, lets get started with some tips that will alleviate the anxiety while driving one step at time.
Rationalize your Behavior and Set a Goal
Recognizing the root cause of your fear is really the first step to overcoming your problem. Driving anxiety can originate from a multitude of places.
Have you ever been in a bad car accident or experienced a traumatic experience in the car? Is your generalized anxiety giving you an overwhelming fear of death? Do you have claustrophobic tendencies and feel trapped in the confined space of a car? Have you ever known someone close to you who also suffered from this debilitating condition? Were you deeply affected by someone who died in a car accident?
These are just some of the questions you should be asking yourself when you get into the car and that terrible fear takes hold. Rationalize your feelings by recognizing their origin. Although this tactic wont stop your driving anxiety, it will poise you to start treating it. Thats because understanding the root cause of your fear puts the problem in perspective. You recognize that its an irrational anxiety that can be stopped with treatment. The anxiety while driving is just an illusion that youve created for yourself with preconceived notions based on superstition and habitual behavior.
Thats the theory, anyway. The fear as you know is much more tangible.
After taking note of your fear and the feelings that overwhelm you, make a pact with yourself that you wont let fear steer the direction of your behavior.
Choose to run TOWARDS what you want in life. Dont run AWAY from what scares you.
Do you recognize the primary difference between those two scenarios? When you move TOWARDS your desires, youre taking action. When you run AWAY from what scares you, youre reacting (and irrationally as well). Take control and make the decision to overcome your driving anxiety. Making this commitment is the first step towards realistically attaining this goal.
Overcome the Panic
When you get in that car and the panic hits, its going to strike fast and furious. Have a plan and learn anxiety tactics that work. The very first sensation that will hit you is a feeling of not being able to breathe comfortably.
Youll probably have trouble swallowing normally and taking natural breaths. Youll feel claustrophobic. Youll feel like youre dying and trapped in your car. The list of symptoms goes on and on.
Learning to breathe the RIGHT way will be your best ally at plowing through the panic and building up a tolerance to the driving anxiety.
Start by inhaling deeply through your nose for 4 seconds and exhaling out your mouth for the next 4 seconds. Feel your diaphragm pushing your stomach outward as you breathe in and pushing inward as you exhale through your mouth.
Be methodical with your breaths. Dont rush them. Hyperventilation is a common symptom when driving anxiety hits, so this exercise will take control of your physical symptoms and allow you to calm your panic away.
The other idea of breathing is to change your focus. If you feel like you cant swallow, itll only feel more uncomfortable by thinking about it. Swallowing is an involuntary muscle reflex. Of course itll be harder to do if youre actually concentrating on the muscles in your throat. Focus on what you can control, your breath. Let this exercise calm you and give you the satisfaction of knowing youre doing something to actively stop your panic.
Getting Out of your Comfort Zone
When it comes to overcoming your anxiety while driving, dont think of it as turning off a light switch to make the anxiety effectively disappear. Instead, think of the process as wearing down your sensitivity to the fear until you are numb to the experience altogether and driving becomes a mundane activity.
There are a couple of factors that come into play here. Firstly, when youre driving, youre usually moving away from you home a place of comfort. This activity alone is something that may give you anxiety.
Try to make your car as comfortable as possible.
Make the temperature perfect with climate control. Have relaxing fragrances in the car if that makes the experience more enjoyable for you. Car fragrances help you take advantage of another anxiety fighting tactic Aromatherapy.
Also, music is a great way to take attention off your fear. Play your favorite CD or ipod playlist. Enjoy yourself. Who knows if you pamper yourself enough in your car, you may start looking forward to the longer trips.
The most common complaint about anxiety while driving is driving on the freeway. The higher speeds and increased traffic can be a huge hurdle for panic sufferers.
My recommendation is to take it slow. You can get out of your comfort zone using baby steps without pushing yourself too far. Stay in the right lane. Go a little slower than the speed limit if you need to. If youre in the right lane, youre not inhibiting other drivers from passing you, so dont feel self-conscious about your speed.
Dont Stop Here. Engage in a Proven Step by Step Program
Its easy to learn a few tips, casually practice them and then pretend your anxiety is gone for good. The truth is, long-term success is determined by your persistence to continuously learn new ways to treat your driving anxiety and adapt to new fears that may arise.
When it comes to ending driving anxiety for good and I mean PERMANENTLY, theres no program out there that compares to Driving Fear. Driving Fear is a program I discovered about a year ago while surfing through the internet, looking for ways to end my driving anxiety naturally.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover the program helped me completely eliminate driving anxiety by transforming my fear on the road. What was REALLY cool was that the program went beyond eliminating driving fear. Using the easily transferable techniques, I was able to overcome OTHER fears even when I wasnt in the car.
So, lets get started with some tips that will alleviate the anxiety while driving one step at time.
Rationalize your Behavior and Set a Goal
Recognizing the root cause of your fear is really the first step to overcoming your problem. Driving anxiety can originate from a multitude of places.
Have you ever been in a bad car accident or experienced a traumatic experience in the car? Is your generalized anxiety giving you an overwhelming fear of death? Do you have claustrophobic tendencies and feel trapped in the confined space of a car? Have you ever known someone close to you who also suffered from this debilitating condition? Were you deeply affected by someone who died in a car accident?
These are just some of the questions you should be asking yourself when you get into the car and that terrible fear takes hold. Rationalize your feelings by recognizing their origin. Although this tactic wont stop your driving anxiety, it will poise you to start treating it. Thats because understanding the root cause of your fear puts the problem in perspective. You recognize that its an irrational anxiety that can be stopped with treatment. The anxiety while driving is just an illusion that youve created for yourself with preconceived notions based on superstition and habitual behavior.
Thats the theory, anyway. The fear as you know is much more tangible.
After taking note of your fear and the feelings that overwhelm you, make a pact with yourself that you wont let fear steer the direction of your behavior.
Choose to run TOWARDS what you want in life. Dont run AWAY from what scares you.
Do you recognize the primary difference between those two scenarios? When you move TOWARDS your desires, youre taking action. When you run AWAY from what scares you, youre reacting (and irrationally as well). Take control and make the decision to overcome your driving anxiety. Making this commitment is the first step towards realistically attaining this goal.
Overcome the Panic
When you get in that car and the panic hits, its going to strike fast and furious. Have a plan and learn anxiety tactics that work. The very first sensation that will hit you is a feeling of not being able to breathe comfortably.
Youll probably have trouble swallowing normally and taking natural breaths. Youll feel claustrophobic. Youll feel like youre dying and trapped in your car. The list of symptoms goes on and on.
Learning to breathe the RIGHT way will be your best ally at plowing through the panic and building up a tolerance to the driving anxiety.
Start by inhaling deeply through your nose for 4 seconds and exhaling out your mouth for the next 4 seconds. Feel your diaphragm pushing your stomach outward as you breathe in and pushing inward as you exhale through your mouth.
Be methodical with your breaths. Dont rush them. Hyperventilation is a common symptom when driving anxiety hits, so this exercise will take control of your physical symptoms and allow you to calm your panic away.
The other idea of breathing is to change your focus. If you feel like you cant swallow, itll only feel more uncomfortable by thinking about it. Swallowing is an involuntary muscle reflex. Of course itll be harder to do if youre actually concentrating on the muscles in your throat. Focus on what you can control, your breath. Let this exercise calm you and give you the satisfaction of knowing youre doing something to actively stop your panic.
Getting Out of your Comfort Zone
When it comes to overcoming your anxiety while driving, dont think of it as turning off a light switch to make the anxiety effectively disappear. Instead, think of the process as wearing down your sensitivity to the fear until you are numb to the experience altogether and driving becomes a mundane activity.
There are a couple of factors that come into play here. Firstly, when youre driving, youre usually moving away from you home a place of comfort. This activity alone is something that may give you anxiety.
Try to make your car as comfortable as possible.
Make the temperature perfect with climate control. Have relaxing fragrances in the car if that makes the experience more enjoyable for you. Car fragrances help you take advantage of another anxiety fighting tactic Aromatherapy.
Also, music is a great way to take attention off your fear. Play your favorite CD or ipod playlist. Enjoy yourself. Who knows if you pamper yourself enough in your car, you may start looking forward to the longer trips.
The most common complaint about anxiety while driving is driving on the freeway. The higher speeds and increased traffic can be a huge hurdle for panic sufferers.
My recommendation is to take it slow. You can get out of your comfort zone using baby steps without pushing yourself too far. Stay in the right lane. Go a little slower than the speed limit if you need to. If youre in the right lane, youre not inhibiting other drivers from passing you, so dont feel self-conscious about your speed.
Dont Stop Here. Engage in a Proven Step by Step Program
Its easy to learn a few tips, casually practice them and then pretend your anxiety is gone for good. The truth is, long-term success is determined by your persistence to continuously learn new ways to treat your driving anxiety and adapt to new fears that may arise.
When it comes to ending driving anxiety for good and I mean PERMANENTLY, theres no program out there that compares to Driving Fear. Driving Fear is a program I discovered about a year ago while surfing through the internet, looking for ways to end my driving anxiety naturally.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover the program helped me completely eliminate driving anxiety by transforming my fear on the road. What was REALLY cool was that the program went beyond eliminating driving fear. Using the easily transferable techniques, I was able to overcome OTHER fears even when I wasnt in the car.
