Driving Anxiety Disorder - 7 Positive Affirmations for Anxiety to Ensure Success When You Drive
Do you hate red lights? Can't stand the feeling of cars backed up behind you? Do you dread traffic jams? Are you afraid others are judging you when you drive? Do you hate city driving but love going on road trips? It's easy to assume it's all due to driving phobia. But if you answered "yes" to more than one of these questions, it's possible the cause is actually social anxiety.Use the lists below to find out if it's really driving that's getting under your skin. You may be surprised to learn it's not driving, it's your fellow drivers.
A Few Problems with Just Assuming You Have Driving Phobia.You HATE having cars back up behind you at red lights: Having a bunch of vehicles behind you is very stressful. Who wouldn't feel stressed out? You dread traffic jams: Any normal person dislikes driving in heavy traffic. Having to deal with all those cars in close proximity makes you crazy! You think other drivers judge your driving skills: Look, we live in a very competitive society where we're judged on performance. It's natural that the skills we display behind the wheel will also be judged.
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.
These will probably feel strange at first because you're arguing with your negative, irrational thoughts and you won't believe the new things you're telling yourself. Remember that repetition is a key part of success for affirmations.Repeating healthy, life-affirming thoughts has a hypnotic, mantra-like calming and soothing effect that will eventually change how you feel. Say these affirmations to yourself (out loud, if possible) whenever you experience driving anxiety. They have a cumulative effect which may not seem like much at first, but it will lead to surprisingly positive changes over time.You're nearing the onramp. Suddenly, you notice a constriction in your chest. Driving up the ramp, you feel a rush of fear as adrenaline surges through you. It's like being on a rollercoaster; the sweaty, dizzy feeling as the chain drags the coaster to the top of that first monster drop. Except being scared on a rollercoaster is kind of fun. Feeling scared when you're accelerating, trying to merge safely into the steel river of traffic looming in front of you...NOT fun. Not fun at all.
Driving anxiety is an example of a specific anxiety disorder. A specific anxiety disorder is one in which an individual may not feel anxious in general, such as generalized anxiety disorder, but will become anxious and panic in specific situations. Many times, people with a specific anxiety disorder will feel anxious effects when socializing with others, but this does not hold true for all cases. In other situations, such as driving your car, people are still able to experience severe anxiety based on their surroundings.
For someone who suffers from driving anxiety, driving their automobile can be one of the worst regular occurring experiences in their lives. Traffic can be too congested, others may be driving too erratic, or it could be too dark out; whatever the reason is for your driving anxiety, it is nothing to take lightly.Driving anxiety should be addressed the moment it is discovered. People who become anxious while driving will often experience an increased heart beat, sweaty palms, and difficulty breathing. These symptoms will force your mind to think even more irrationally than it was before, forcing you into a state of panic, and possibly, a state of unconsciousness. What will happen to someone who loses unconsciousness behind the wheel on an expressway? This is why driving anxiety tends to be one of the most feared forms of panic and anxiety people can experience.
People who have experienced the symptoms of driving anxiety, and who possibly could have been severely injured due to an accident caused by anxiety, are capable of developing a driving phobia. When one possesses a driving phobia, they may begin to avoid certain highways, streets, intersections, or they may begin to avoid driving altogether. Taking these actions will only further associate driving with the fear and panic in your mind.As with any anxiety, it is possible to treat driving anxiety. Just because you have experienced a bad episode of driving in the past does not mean you are doomed forever in the future.
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.
A Few Problems with Just Assuming You Have Driving Phobia.You HATE having cars back up behind you at red lights: Having a bunch of vehicles behind you is very stressful. Who wouldn't feel stressed out? You dread traffic jams: Any normal person dislikes driving in heavy traffic. Having to deal with all those cars in close proximity makes you crazy! You think other drivers judge your driving skills: Look, we live in a very competitive society where we're judged on performance. It's natural that the skills we display behind the wheel will also be judged.
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.
These will probably feel strange at first because you're arguing with your negative, irrational thoughts and you won't believe the new things you're telling yourself. Remember that repetition is a key part of success for affirmations.Repeating healthy, life-affirming thoughts has a hypnotic, mantra-like calming and soothing effect that will eventually change how you feel. Say these affirmations to yourself (out loud, if possible) whenever you experience driving anxiety. They have a cumulative effect which may not seem like much at first, but it will lead to surprisingly positive changes over time.You're nearing the onramp. Suddenly, you notice a constriction in your chest. Driving up the ramp, you feel a rush of fear as adrenaline surges through you. It's like being on a rollercoaster; the sweaty, dizzy feeling as the chain drags the coaster to the top of that first monster drop. Except being scared on a rollercoaster is kind of fun. Feeling scared when you're accelerating, trying to merge safely into the steel river of traffic looming in front of you...NOT fun. Not fun at all.
Driving anxiety is an example of a specific anxiety disorder. A specific anxiety disorder is one in which an individual may not feel anxious in general, such as generalized anxiety disorder, but will become anxious and panic in specific situations. Many times, people with a specific anxiety disorder will feel anxious effects when socializing with others, but this does not hold true for all cases. In other situations, such as driving your car, people are still able to experience severe anxiety based on their surroundings.
For someone who suffers from driving anxiety, driving their automobile can be one of the worst regular occurring experiences in their lives. Traffic can be too congested, others may be driving too erratic, or it could be too dark out; whatever the reason is for your driving anxiety, it is nothing to take lightly.Driving anxiety should be addressed the moment it is discovered. People who become anxious while driving will often experience an increased heart beat, sweaty palms, and difficulty breathing. These symptoms will force your mind to think even more irrationally than it was before, forcing you into a state of panic, and possibly, a state of unconsciousness. What will happen to someone who loses unconsciousness behind the wheel on an expressway? This is why driving anxiety tends to be one of the most feared forms of panic and anxiety people can experience.
People who have experienced the symptoms of driving anxiety, and who possibly could have been severely injured due to an accident caused by anxiety, are capable of developing a driving phobia. When one possesses a driving phobia, they may begin to avoid certain highways, streets, intersections, or they may begin to avoid driving altogether. Taking these actions will only further associate driving with the fear and panic in your mind.As with any anxiety, it is possible to treat driving anxiety. Just because you have experienced a bad episode of driving in the past does not mean you are doomed forever in the future.
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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