Driving Anxiety - Anxiety While Driving?

Difficulty breathing, feeling as though you can't get enough air while driving in a car, light-headedness, dizziness, shaking all over your body or afraid to hit something? Don't feel ashamed, we know quick & effective tips to cure driving anxiety.

Did you know that research showed that the speed and density of traffic in urban centres frightens many drivers into giving up driving completely! Don't let this happen to you! We know how to solve driving anxiety without medication.

Wouldn't it feel great to step into your car without any fear? And drive to anyone you like. Feel healthy again and forget the times you were so anxious.

Driving Anxiety is considered as a mental disorder that involves immense feelings of fear, dread, or apprehension towards something, often with no justifiable reason at all. Anxiety falls under the classification of mental illnesses called neuroses. A neurosis is a mental disorder which is primarily observed as a series of behavioral changes, but a person with this condition shows no drastic changes in his way of rational thinking. A person suffering from any of the forms of neurosis exhibits anxiety as one of the general symptoms.

Driving anxiety is a form of this mental disorder that is experienced by both men and women alike. However, studies in the United States and other nations have shown that women, whether young or old, are more likely to experience driving anxiety than men of the same age. So what exactly is driving anxiety? Medical practitioners explain this condition as going beyond the mere nervousness of driving, whether on a city street or a highway.

Driving anxiety may be caused by a prior traumatic experience by a motorist, such as a car accident, a collision, or others, causing him or her to be an apprehensive and unsafe driver. In some cases, a person may be affected by driving anxiety under stressful driving conditions, such as along speedy cars on a freeway, or extremely congested traffic. This is regardless of driving experience or previous accidents encountered.

An explanation of this may be the response of the nervous system and the hormones which are triggered by stressful factors. Studies by the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, published in 2003, explained the increase of the levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, in the saliva of subjects exposed to driving stresses, which can in turn be contributive to driving anxiety or driving phobia.

What happens to you when you experience driving anxiety? Because a stress stimulus is one of the main contributors to this condition, the adrenal gland releases the hormone cortisol, to activate the body's defense mechanism as a response. To conserve the energy of the body when it experiences a stressor, such as driving under adverse conditions, his or her blood vessels may constrict or narrow. Since blood flow is somewhat impaired, the heart then proceeds to beat faster than usual, a condition called palpitation. Along with palpitations, the breathing rate of the person speeds up as well, so he or she may hyperventilate. The muscles also become tenser, so the driver begins to sweat profusely.

Some of the other signs of anxiety, especially when driving, are: nausea, dizziness, headaches, shivering or trembling, chest pain, diarrhea, flushing, stomach upset, and many others. When a feeling of anxiety progresses to major levels, a person may develop a phobia for driving. Because a phobia intends to protect the body from a form of danger that the mind conditions it to believe, a driver can experience panic attacks while on the road. A panic attack is usually unforeseen, and a person who has this can suddenly feel paralyzed, unable to breathe, and is filled with overwhelming fear that is unjustified.

Driving anxiety usually leads a person to think irrationally while on the road. Some cases of drivers with this condition are unable to drive at the proper speeds, either too slow or too fast. When driving anxiety and panic attacks become more common, an overall phobia of driving may develop. A person with frequent panic attacks while driving might associate the feeling with driving in general, and may eventually completely fear riding a car or the act of driving. According to an organization called Phobics Awareness, these feelings can make a person more likely to become alcoholic, suicidal, agoraphobic or afraid of open spaces, and may even fear traveling or leaving the home.

What can be done if you experience driving anxiety? Before any mental condition can be determined as such, you could consult a medical professional, a psychiatrist or a psychologist, who can properly diagnose the condition and explore avenues for treatment. Some therapists use hypnotism to tap the subconscious of the patient, and condition you to remove the anxiety associated with driving.

What really will help you to eliminate driving anxiety is The Driving Fear Program. The Driving Fear Program is a downloadable e-book. The author, Rich Presta, will personally help you to overcome your driving anxiety. From personal experience I can tell you that his 4 step techniques are worth the money. I think this is the easiest way to overcome your phobia and without need of medication or visiting expensive psychiatrists.

When you feel driving anxiety, avoiding the act of driving is not always the immediate solution. It is recommended that you should learn how to relax and ease any form of tension being felt whenever you sit behind the wheel. The Driving Fear Program tells you exactly how to do this. Meditation is an important form of treatment that helps the mind and body relax, while strengthening the respiratory system through breathing exercises.

A therapeutic way of easing yourself into driving again is to take a few minutes per day just driving from the home, around the neighborhood, then back. It is suggested to try this out for 10 minutes, then to stop the car occasionally for a five-minute break. This helps you associate driving as a relaxing experience, and not only a means of going from a place to another. If you think these tips will help you to eliminate driving anxiety than I highly recommend you purchase: The Driving Fear Program now.