Driving Phobia - Fear of Car

One of the most common phobias in the world is a driving phobia. This can truly be quite serious as it can have the most negative of impacts on your life, and is also a highly restricting phobia. This is of course a very worrying situation for those people who either need to drive for a living, or who need to get to work by car. I know at least five or six people who have some degree of driving phobia, and depending on the strength of it, it can be very serious indeed. Some of the people I know only have a motorway driving phobia, but for them this has a huge restriction on their working and social life.

Allow me first to explain the nature of a phobia, any type of phobia really and then I will focus on the driving phobia in particular. Many people have phobias and in very simple terms they are fears and they vary greatly from, spiders, moths, feathers, wasps, dogs, the dark, crowds and a host more too numerous to mention.

Fear is sometimes mixed up with the word anxious and in reality anxiety is actually a milder form of outright fear. Being anxious about something can sometimes actually be a good thing as it puts the body and mind on alert when there is a potential for danger. Only when this anxiety turns into fear does it being to take on restrictive characteristics. If we feel in danger then we instantly get fear, and in those cases it is a good thing as adrenaline kicks in and sharpen up our senses to prepare us.

Now a phobia is a disorder because the body behaves in exactly the same way, and the feelings we get are the same, however there is no normal need to get into such a state. I know for example if a feather landed on me, I would lift it up, probably twirl it around a bit and then throw it in the bin. However for a person with a feather phobia, they would react in a very different manner. The important thing to remember is that for the person with a driving phobia, what they feel at that time is indeed very real to them, though sometimes inexplicable to others. Anyone who has a phobia understand that their reaction is irrational, but despite that it makes no difference whatsoever to its effect.

As I said earlier, the symptoms of a driving phobia fear vary greatly with some people becoming tense and right up the scale to an outright panic attack. In the case of a driving phobia this can kick in even before the person gets into a car and more usually when they are actually driving. Quite often that means they have to stop driving and that, as we would know can be highly restricting.

For many people the first inkling of a driving phobia is usually denied and the person makes a genuine attempt to overcome their fear. If they fail at this stage then they begin to avoid the situation whenever they possibly can, and then that become habitual in the manner of total avoidance. It has a circular effect really and when one gets a driving phobia the cycle keeps repeating itself. At that initial stage, getting away from the situation that is causing the anxiety is the start of a path of avoiding a situation and that then becomes a normal condition for them. It is a bit like avoiding a certain route home because of maybe a neighbour’s dog that you just don’t trust. Very soon this becomes your main and most likely your only route home.

A driving phobia can the normal symptoms of any normal type of fear, such as feeling sick, wobbly legs, sweating, a little dizzy, heart racing and pounding etc. In the severe cases this can escalate to lose control of themselves, go into a mad panic and mostly to just run far away from the situation. Many people think that they are simply sick and go to the doctors and get check-ups. This is to try and find an answer as to what is wrong as they think logically and need an answer to their problem. That is actually a sensible thing to do because the truth is it is always highly recommended to see a medical professional and try to get help. It isn’t actually a mental illness either but a reaction to a fear, which is quite normal, though very frustrating.

The driving phobia could be set off by many things such as being in a road accident, witnessing an accident, having to drive in poor conditions or something quite dramatic like that. It could also build over time without the need for anything specific. The good news is that it isn’t really that important with a driving phobia to understand the reason as you don’t need to know that in order to plan your recovery. The important thing is that you find a way to control the phobia and not to become depressed about it.

How to Overcome A Driving Phobia?

It becomes a process of re-conditioning, slowly overcoming the fearand experiencing the fear without running away, from the situation. As you learn to do this then you become less sensitive to the fear itself. You do need a good deal of determination, persistence and courage. It always works better if you can join a self-help group and your doctor might be able to help recommend a good one. Having you partner, family on friends can help a great deal with encouragement and support. It is a slow gradual process but the good news is that driving phobia help is available and it can and does work.

Think about the best way of overcoming a driving phobia for you, as each person will be different. Here are just a couple of ideas to begin the transition. Try going and sitting in the car with the engine turned off and try to relax. You are in control and you are not going anywhere so try and relax. Then repeat that a few times until you feel comfortable doing that and then try the same things with the engine turned on and running. Once again repeat that and remember there is no rush so take your time and learn to relax.

Once you gain that confidence then try driving a few yards, then a bit longer and so on until you get to the point where you can go out in the car with someone and drive your first mile. It’s best if you set yourself a set of dates for doing this just to give you some focus. Don’t worry if you slip behind the schedule, just rearrange the schedule and keep going. Remember always you are taking control of this so you set the agenda.

It is a little brave set of steps and you will soon take control of your driving phobia.