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Suffer No More From Panic Anxiety Attacks - Vanquish All Fears And Enjoy Life
http://www.anxietyandwomen.com/panic
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Panic Attacks Driving
Panic and anxiety attacks while driving
One of the more common questions I am asked is how to
cope with anxiety while driving. Ranging from fear of
being caught in traffic to crossing waterway bridges
people have many different fears in this area. Often the
anxiety stems from a fear of being trapped in the vehicle
in gridlock traffic or losing control of the vehicle and
causing a collision.
Needless to say even though they may have been battling with
a driving phobia for many years almost all of the people I
have consulted with have not had their fears of a mishap occur.
Lets look at the primary fear that of having an accident due
to the distractions of possible panic attacks while driving.
Panic Attacks Driving
Most people will work themselves into a state of high anxiety
even before they have pulled out of their driveway with imagined
scenes of causing ten car collisions on the highway because
they freaked out and collided with another vehicle. If you
have such concerns the first important thing to begin with is
a review of your driving history. Have you been a reckless driver
in the past? Have you a history of bad driving? Most phobic
drivers in fact have clean driving records and have never even
been in a minor road incident. Anxious drivers are not a deadly
hazard on the road; in fact they can be a lot more vigilant than
many ordinary drivers who after a long day in the office are
virtually asleep at the wheel.
Panic Attacks Driving
As we discussed previously when looking at the biology of anxiety
by virtue of his or her condition an anxious driver has a high
level of sensory alertness. This level of alertness keeps the
driver aware of any potential hazards and focused on the task
of driving not daydreaming chatting or rooting around in the
glove compartment. This of course is not to suggest that anxious
driving is the ideal way to commute (or being excessively worried
about panic attacks driving) but I believe it is important to
make this point because so many chastise themselves for being
anxious in their cars.
If you are generally a good driver then before you set out in
your car take confidence in that and reaffirm that fact to yourself.
Acknowledging and reaffirming that you are a capable driver will
go some way toward alleviating this concern.
Panic Attacks Driving
The second major concern of most phobic drivers is the fear of
being trapped in the car in some manner. By this I mean being
caught in traffic on busy threelaned motorways on long bridges
or even stopping at red lights. When allowed to the mind will
run away with this fear and will imagine all kinds of deadly
scenarios where you might feel cornered or trapped in your vehicle
with no assistance available should you experience a major panic
attack driving.
The important thing here is to curb these fears before they take
root by offering yourself viable solutions to any of these scenarios
and not letting your mind trick you into believing there is a
trap ahead. Give it some thought. Is there really any situation
such as the ones described above where you truly are trapped
with no means of escape?
No of course there isnt.
Eventually traffic always moves; it does not remain grid locked
forever. There is flow and there is always an exit. This may
mean having to figure the exit out for yourself but never let
these thoughts corner you into thinking that there is no escape.
When you counteract these fears with logical solutions you undermine
the control that fear holds over you. You begin to see the bluff
it is playing to keep you petrified of what could potentially
happen out there in the traffic.
Your mind may rebel and come up with the worst possible scenario
you may get stuck in but again is this really the terrifying
trap you imagine it to be? Be careful not to let these thoughts
trap your thinking. Every minute of the day peoples cars break
down in traffic. These drivers have no option but to put on the
hazard lights and leave the vehicle. Its not going anywhere.
There you are that is an exit albeit an extreme one; however
by using my technique it never needs to come to that. In fact
you are going to learn how driving can actually be an enjoyable
experience once again.
Panic Attacks Driving
To finish I want to give you some affirmations you can use while
out driving. These can be repeated silently or out loud and will
help relax and center your mind keeping you focused on driving well.
"I am a competent driver and always arrive at my destination safely."
"I am calm alert and in full control while driving."
I hope you have found something useful in this panic attacks driving page.
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Suffer No More From Panic Anxiety Attacks - Vanquish All Fears And Enjoy Life
http://www.anxietyandwomen.com/panic
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