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 I'm
not ashamed to tell you I have had anxiety while driving.
And I know how this horrible fear of driving affects every
area of your life. Here's a typical scenario:
I
remember clearly an episode once when I was driving on the
interstate around Atlanta, GA. It was around rush hour, and
traffic was particularly bad. Other cars and trucks were weaving
in and out of lanes, tailgating, and speeding. New lanes were
added all the time and the general flow of traffic was about
80 mph.
I
started to feel anxiety. My palms were sweating, my heart
was racing, I was tense and on the verge of tears. I was clearly
having an anxiety attack brought on by driving. Of course,
anytime you have 3000 ton trucks coming at you at 80 mph you
are perfectly entitled to feel a but nervous, but that is
not the same thing as a full-blown driving anxiety attack.
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More About the EasyCalm Anxiety Video Series
There
are many different definitions of anxiety and panic attacks
floating around, some with slight variations. Most define
anxiety and panic attacks as feelings of fear, dread or tension
without there being a threat or clear justification as to
why you are feeling these things. As a psychologist once explained
it to me, “Anxiety is irrational fear”.
It
is important to keep this in mind, and not jump to the conclusion
that you are having anxiety every time you feel nervous or
stressed, even when you are driving in heavy traffic. In certain
traffic or driving situations, some fear and even anxiety
may be justified.
But
the physical and emotional symptoms of real anxiety while
driving are always much more severe than just nervousness.
There is always a physical and/or emotional reaction to the
driving involved in the fear and tension experienced.
In
most situations, just getting off the road for a while will
help settle down. This works so well because it pulls you
out of the cognitive "loop" of obsessive thinking
that accompanies most anxiety attacks.
But
it is important that you "get back on the horse,"
and drive again after the attack has faded. The last thing
you want to do is build up the experience into a bigger deal
than it actually is, and give the fear a "life of it's
own."
There
is a specific issue that I see in my coaching clients time
and time again that creates (or at least aggravates) panic
attacks like these. It is something I call, "not having
permission to fail," and here's how it works:
In
order to take the "energy" out of the panic attacks
while driving, you need to have "permission to fail."
It needs to be completely OK with you (and people around you)
if you begin to feel uncomfortable and want to pull over or
stop driving at any given moment. The reason is, when people
are 'allowed" to fail at something, and they don't attach
any significant meaning to it, they tend to fail MUCH LESS
FREQUENTLY than people who feel this underlying pressure that
they "have to get it right."
This
means you must give yourself "permission" to stop,
start, slow down, pull over, or anything else that you feel,
WITHOUT putting any pressure on yourself. It has to be all
good, no matter what you do. When you get the hang of this
attitude, the "energy" of the panic and anxiety
dissipates to a great extent, and then you can truly begin
to make progress.
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More About the EasyCalm Anxiety Video Series
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