Fear of the road, how to overcome it?
Millions of drivers use the road every day while driving. If this gesture is innocuous for most of them, for some it is a cause of uncontrollable anxiety and irrepressible fear. This anxiety has a name: amaxophobia. Behind this somewhat barbaric term hides a real apprehension, which affects a non-negligible number of the population.
More or less accentuated depending on the case, the anxieties resulting from a simple drive can be the cause of real moments of panic, even a source of danger for other drivers and users. If you are scared on the road and want to find effective solutions to calm your anxieties, these few lines can help you.
How is amaxophobia manifested?
Your biggest anxiety when you get behind the wheel, or as a passenger, is the fear of having or causing an accident? Your pulse is accelerating, your hands are sweaty, you sweat as soon as you enter a car? No doubt, you are amaxophobic. This disorder may be innate or result from a traumatic experience, such as an accident.
This fear manifests itself in different ways depending on the individual. Some will panic at the very idea of getting their car out of the garage, others will experience climbs of anguish at the entrance of a tunnel or blocked in slowdowns. Some symptoms must alert you and be taken into consideration because fear of the road can be a real danger for you and for others.
The disorders can also be felt in a more psychological way : Black thoughts, irritability, nervousness or emotional instability are all signals that should not be ignored.
Dangerous behavior that can be corrected
People suffering from fear on the road often tend to adapt totally inappropriate behavior. They will first try to find every possible excuse for not having to travel by car and will try to postpone the time when they will be facing the road. Their anxieties are then increased tenfold.
When a person is uncomfortable, she can not to focus properly. As a result, a driver experiencing fear of driving will not be able to pay attention to the road and its environment as it should. It will also tend to anticipate too much and overreact, which can cause unwanted braking or abuse of the gearbox subject to intense regime changes.
The paradox of this situation is that a person who is afraid on the road will be able to cause, because of his behavior, an increased risk of accidents.
Solutions to remedy the fear of the road
Some valuable advice is sometimes enough to remedy amaxophobia without the services of a professional. The first thing is to understand the fundamentals of the Highway Traffic Act in order to reduce the anxiety caused by a misunderstanding of the rules that govern all drivers.
To control your car well, to understand how it works, can also help to relativize in order to better manage your anxieties. Some refresher courses several years after obtaining the permit can help to build confidence. The ideal is to train daily , on short trips, to gradually dissipate his fears.
If despite these tips, you continue to experience anxiety, calling a professional may be the most appropriate solution. Different techniques are proposed to put an end to these anxieties. Some offer exercises to be performed daily before being debriefed and explained in private consultations, while others rely on more technological approaches.
While for many years, curing the fear of the road required heavy behavioral therapies associated with driving sessions under good supervision, new technologies now provide effective tools. Virtual reality is developing more and more in the healing process thanks to helmets allowing total immersion on imaginary roads.
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Posted on October 23, 2018.