Driving Anxiety

Driving anxiety is commonly found among many individuals. It often results up to panic attacks, preventing the individual to drive the car or stop driving abruptly. Driving anxiety is not impossible to overcome. With little bit of planning and determination, this anxiety can be removed completely.

Proper training in driving schools often helps the driver overcome driving anxiety. Driving Education in Oakville is quite famous. If you happen to live there, you can check out several driving schools there.
Having said that, now let us talk about driving anxiety. In spite of the prevalence of driving anxiety, not many of us are aware of the root cause of such phobia. Read further to understand the key facts of driving anxiety/phobia.

Cause

The cause behind driving anxiety is not clear. You will often come across people who once pro at driving have now developed fear towards it. When the driver witnesses any accident, then he/she automatically develops driving fear. Other common reasons could be:
• When the driver dives in terrible weather conditions
• When the driver drives in night
Note: the above-mentioned situations often put the driver in stress.

Symptoms

Common symptoms of driving phobia can be depression and panic attacks. Often those who are suffering from this phobia develop problems during driving like – sweat, headache, anger, nauseousness.
They also experience sleepiness and swallowing difficulty.

Read what the experts say about phobia:

Dr. Mark Dombeck - "Phobias usually first appear in adolescence or adulthood. They start suddenly and tend to be more persistent than childhood phobias; only about 20 percent of adult phobias vanish on their own."

Driving under any driving phobia is unsafe both for the driver and the people accompanying the driver. This is because, driving phobia can make the drivers experience sudden panic attack. They might behave illogically on the road. Thus, it is advisable to seek professional help for any person suffering from driving anxiety.

How can you overcome?
If you are someone who gets nervous while driving, here is a list of tips for you. Practice them to overcome your anxiety:
1. Before you drive, participate in some activities that will help you relax. Something like walking in a treadmill or watching TV will help you remove stress.
2. Make sure that you have your driving license and vehicle registration papers. Note: the absence of these things can make you nervous.
3. Understand your route before you leave. This will make you feel confident of reaching to the right place within the right time.
4. Check the gas tank of the vehicle.
5. Switch on the car music system. Breathe deeply. Imagine that you are exhaling all the nervousness and anxieties and inhaling confidence.
In case you start panicking during the journey, calm yourself down. If you are unable to control over your nervousness, stop the car at the side of the road and sit quietly for few minutes. Prepare yourself mentally to drive again.

Once you complete the journey, acknowledge yourself for doing this successfully. Remember that nothing works better than self congratulation.