5 minutes agoAuthor: Shelly Acharya
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America According to a survey by ‘The Zebra’, a mobile computing company of India, more than 50% of people in the world are afraid of driving. Before going anywhere or while driving, their hands start trembling, they feel nervous and fidget, i.e. their legs start shaking.
If you feel shaky, your heart rate increases, you feel nervous, or you feel anxious just thinking about driving, you might be suffering from driving anxiety.
Why does driving anxiety occur? How to deal with this stress and anxiety while driving?
We will try to find answers to these questions in today’sRelationship‘ in the column.
What is the fear of driving like?
To understand driving anxiety better, it is important to know what the situation is when it is happening to you. Stress, fear or anxiety occurs when we find ourselves in a difficult or stressful situation. Who knows, you may be stressed about some work, money or relationship related problem. Due to these reasons, sometimes you may feel scared while driving.
While driving, we have to focus completely on the road, the vehicles coming from the surroundings and the speed of the vehicle, such as when to slow down, when to apply brakes, when to turn the vehicle. It is difficult to manage all this together and this can lead to stress. If an important call comes in the meantime, the level of stress can increase further.
The result is that we start feeling scared while driving. See the graphic below to know the signs of feeling scared while driving-
Symptoms of driving anxiety
Everyone experiences the symptoms of stress differently, as some symptoms can come on suddenly or be triggered by other worrying situations. Some symptoms can occur shortly before driving, such as after you have had a fight with someone. So you may experience symptoms of panic while driving suddenly or even after you have been driving for some time.
What is the difference between driving anxiety and phobia
One may feel a little stressed while driving, but there are some people who get scared just by thinking about sitting in a car. When this fear becomes more severe, it can become a phobia.
In the language of science, the fear of driving is called Amaxophobia. People suffering from this fear driving. If you have a phobia, you can worry more about any situation. Even about a normal thing like driving.
- In amaxophobia, the fear of driving reaches such a level that on hearing its name, all kinds of negative thoughts start coming to the mind.
- Some people suffering from this fear may feel so much stress due to driving that they hesitate to go to work or avoid going to other places. They use public transport to go anywhere.
- Some phobias related to driving may be such that a person cannot trust anyone else’s driving. He should not sit in a car which is being driven by someone else. Such people trust only their own driving, not anyone else’s.
- It may also be that someone is not necessarily afraid of driving, but is more afraid of getting injured or dying in a car accident.
How to Overcome Driving Anxiety
If you are experiencing the above symptoms of stress and anxiety, then it is important to know some ways to overcome it. Understand from the graphic given below-
These methods can reduce driving anxiety
- If you are starting driving, then you should choose an open area so that you get enough space. This will reduce your fear and you will be able to drive without any disturbance.
- You can start by driving around your home. Having a familiar area will help you deal with anxiety.
- Do not drive on very far and unknown routes. You may feel nervous in such a place.
- Increase your driving time gradually. This will also increase your confidence.
- Don’t panic at all while driving. Have faith in yourself.
- Avoid driving alone. Always go with someone.
- Give yourself a pat on the back for every small success every day. Try to increase your success rate a little bit every day.
- Try to learn something new every day.
- Note your feedback in a diary every day and try to improve it gradually.
