Do I Have Driving Anxiety Disorder?

By Hu Tsui


A phobia is fear of an object, activity, or situation, which is irrational and in excess of the inherent danger of the object of the fear. A driving phobia can be very inconveniencing to one's life because it stops people from going where they need to be. It can interfere with one's ability to perform certain jobs that require frequent driving. When fear stops you from experiencing your life in full, then you should look for ways to deal with it.
[Driving Anxiety]


If the above symptoms sound familiar to you, then you may be experiencing Driving Anxiety Disorder. Though this may seem like something very difficult to deal with, because it is, there are solutions out there that will help and even some that will eliminate this anxiety.When a person experiences an anxiety attack it is because their mind is not reacting properly to a particular fear. For example, you had a bad experience while driving and now you have a fear of driving. When you get in the car to drive with this fear in your mind, you mind takes this fear and intensifies it into a larger fear. Your mind can start wondering away with scary thoughts where you feel as though you cannot control these thoughts.

This is your mind reacting in a way that drives the anxiety, what you need to do is learn how to control these thoughts by teaching your mind to not have this type of reaction and to realize that these fears are unnecessary.Having a fear of driving can take control of your life. If you are currently in a situation where you suffering from panic attacks, anxiety, embarrassment because you have a driving fear, this article is for you. I am going to provide with three tips on overcoming driving phobia.

Most people who have given up driving all together, are those who chose to give in to the fear. What started off as anxiety has been magnified to larger proportions and they are too scared to drive? In order to deal with the panic attacks, it is important to reduce the level by giving yourself permission to fail, without remaining in that position for too long. You should never feel guilty about the need to pull over until you are relaxed. As long as you do not attach much significance to the act, then you will find that you will need to do it less.

Some of those who experience debilitating emotions, find that they are unable to control their actions on the road as they feel disconnected. Some feel like the car is not balanced and can swerve off the road at any time. They may even feel like swerving onto the path of an oncoming vehicle, or hitting the brakes in the middle of the road. Those who feel like this should not drive until the condition has been dealt with. They can cause accidents if the condition keeps getting worse. It is important for those with driving phobia to seek advice and help. Trying to overcome a phobia without any help can be very difficult. This is especially the case if it has been allowed to go on for a long period of time.

Anxiety while driving is a mental disorder affecting both males and females. This involves feelings of immense dread, anxiety and or apprehension towards driving with no justifiable reason. Experts have shown that this condition affects about one in ten people at some point in life. Anxiety while driving falls under mental disorders known as neuroses. Neuroses are phobias that affect individuals behaviour but not their rational thinking. They may exhibit anxiety every time they sit in a car driving or not. Though it affects both men and women, women are more affected by this condition regardless of their age.

This condition may be triggered by a traumatic experience in the past that affected the motorist like a collision, car accident or any other event. This may cause a motorist to be more apprehensive, unsafe and insecure while driving. The condition may also be triggered by driving under stressful conditions like speeding vehicles on a motorway, or traffic congestion regardless of previous driving experience or accidents encountered. The signs that show a motorist experiencing an anxiety attack are dizziness, trembling or shivering, nausea, headaches, flushing and stomach upset. As these anxiety signs progress, the motorist develops driving phobia. Phobias tend to protect the body against potential dangers. This is when the mind conditions the body into believing that driving is dangerous, so the person may be apprehensive and he may experience panic attacks while on the road.

Causes of phobia are not fully known but it is believed that any fear is experienced after the situation was experienced before and the person felt fearful and what they feared actually happened. Phobias are not mere extreme fears but go beyond this to become avoidances. People with a phobia such as a driving phobia will avoid driving altogether.Driving phobia is a mental disorder that can be self managed or treated with the assistance of a professional expert. It may take a long period to overcome the fear or it may take a relatively short period of time depending on the severity of the phobia as well as the cooperation of the person suffering from the phobia.




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