How To Control Your Anxiety When Driving A Car
We all get anxious at some point in our lives and certain situations amplify this emotion. Cars can be a place to unwind listening to your favorite songs for many but for others it can cause serious anxiety or road rage. There are many different forms of anxiety that can be caused by driving and each individual will react differently in certain situations. I have put together this article for people who suffer from driving anxiety to help them control it.
The main cause of anxiety is stress which is why it is common amongst drivers as the roads can be extremely stressful places at times. Even if you are driving safely it does not mean the others around you are. This can cause anxiety as their unpredictable driving may cause you to have a fatal accident. There are many different incidents such as getting traffic tickets, breakdowns, traffic jams and being late that will greatly increase the levels of anxiety.
For those people that suffer from extreme anxiety, it can lead to serious panic attacks which can be extremely dangerous when behind the wheel. When these take place your whole body and mind is taken over making it impossible to focus on the road ahead. When you are in a car it is hard to escape because you are boxed in. This can amplify the situation due to fear taking place which is why you must pull over safely and give yourself plenty of time to recover.
Even if you are a calm person 99% of the time if a dangerous situation arises when you are driving you will experience high levels of anxiety. If you experience a near accident or do crash, the next time you are in a car your anxiety levels will have increased due to the fear of it happening again. It is also possible that when hearing about accidents or having friends involved in fatal accidents, can increase a person’s fear of driving.
Overcoming Driving Anxiety And Fears
If you are fearful of driving the best way to combat that is by driving more often. The only way to overcome fears is to face them head first and by avoiding the situation the problem will only get worse. It is important to identify the things that are making you anxious when driving so that you can come up with a plan to resolve it. For instance, if you are driving above the speed limit this will cause anxiety so you’re much better off relaxing and enjoying the drive head than racing toward your destination.
Conclusion
It is important that you look out for the signs of stress, anger along with anxiety so that when they do come around you have the self-awareness to recognize this and calm yourself down. If you suffering from extreme levels, you should consider learning meditation technique along with yoga which has been proven to help relax the mind. If you want to increase your confidences behind the wheel consider taking a driving safety course and that way you will be better equipped to deal with any situation.