What Others Are Saying
Read more of our reviews from happy learner drivers on Trustpilot
It’s great to have a website offering fantastic techniques to assist with the challenges of driving. The website recognises the fact that learning to drive can be stressful and there are strategies to help with this. The website’s name, ‘CONFIDENT Drivers’ is what a learner is aspiring to be, so it’s very positive. The techniques also apply to building general confidence in all walks of life, so useful again. Thank you!
I was so pleased when my instructor signed me up for Confident Driver. I loved the hypnosis sessions & I recently passed first time with one fault. Recommend 100%
Confident drivers has been a really useful tool in changing my attitude to the driving test. I hadn’t recognised just how much my negative thoughts about my ability rather than my actual driving ability have been holding me back and putting me off. I particularly liked the quick fix section that gives you strategies to calm down just before the test!
How To Get Rid Of Driving Test Anxiety
The best way to get rid of driving test anxiety is to work with an expert like myself that understands the mind.
Well be able to guide you back to the time you first had that feeling and detach it from driving tests.It sounds too good to be true but its not you really can go for a driving test and feel just like everyone else, or even better!
There are other ways of doing it and everybody is unique which is why YouTube hypnosis videos are very unlikely to work.
All of this can be done online in as little as one hour. It doesnt matter where you are in the world or what kind of test youre taking, it all works in the same way.
The really great thing that people dont realise is that fixing this problem wont just get rid of your driving test anxiety but it can help other areas of your life too.
This is because the problem youve attached to driving tests will also attach to other things. Youve maybe had a fear of tests at school, problems speaking in public or even going on dates.
Problems never exist in isolation so once you fix one youll fix others. The fun comes from finding out what those other things are by doing them and seeing how you feel!
What Are The Treatment Options For Driving Anxiety
The tips and techniques shared above are effective in overcoming ochophobia. Most of these tips can be actualized alone, meaning you can work on your driving anxiety at your pace and without bothering others.
However, it is essential to remember that driving anxiety is just another form of anxiety. And some anxieties need professional intervention to help overcome them. If you feel youre not making any progress on your own, you can approach a professional for an expert approach.
When it comes to professional treatment options for driving anxiety, psychological therapies are the first line of treatment.
Here are a few therapies that can be used to overcome driving anxiety:
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Keep Driving If You Can Safely Continue
Pushing through the fear that accompanies a panic attack can help you overcome it. Treating panic often involves the realization that however scary they seem, panic attacks dont actually hurt you.
Driving through your panic attack can help you realize it doesnt control you and reassure you that you can manage it without anything bad happening. This may help you feel more able to address a panic attack if you have another one.
Make The Car Peaceful
External factors like sounds and smells can contribute to increased stress while driving, especially if you are already feeling stressed. To help soothe yourself and create a peaceful environment, play soothing music while you drive and keep an air freshener in your car. Lavender is a common smell that relaxes, but you can pick any smell that helps you feel peaceful. Also, try to keep your car clean and organized for a clearer mind.
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How Youre Reinforcing Your Anxiety
Every time you get behind the wheel, you make your fear of driving even stronger.
You must be familiar with the phrase use it or lose it.
A guitarist loses his ability to pluck the strings precisely or play some chords when out of practice, a dancer may not be able to do a splits if they havent danced in a while, a singer may not be able to sing a high note if they havent been practicing.
These people may be able to do these things in the past.
However, they cant anymore because the neural pathways that were formed in the brain havent been retained thanks to the lack of practice.
How To Find The Cause Of Driving Anxiety
Finding the cause of your anxiety is not done in the way people think.
Many people say theyve been thinking for years and they just cant think what it is. You wont because thats not how you find it!
The problem exists in your subconscious mind so youll never find it just by thinking back to events that happened. Thats all conscious stuff and wont get you anywhere.
Watch the videos in the playlist below to learn more about the causes of driving anxiety.
They explain the three levels of driving anxiety and youll see how sometimes it goes much deeper than you think.
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How To Get Rid Of Anxiety While Driving
You might experience driving anxiety if youve recently been in an accident or if you worry about getting into a fatal accident. Some people have anxiety while driving due to generally being a nervous person. When this is the case, they can eliminate triggers, things in their life that are making their anxiety worse.
The Best Strategies To Overcome Anxiety When You Drive
The best strategies from DVSA to overcome anxiety when you drive. Includes relearning the skills you need to pass your driving test, how to stay calm, route planning and refresher lessons.
Seasoned readers of this blog will know that we spend a lot of time giving you insider tips on staying calm when you drive. Well, as its the holiday season and you may be planning a long drive the thought of which is freaking you out slightly! to your favourite beach, weve pulled together some of our own most effective strategies.
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What Can You Do About A Fear Of Driving
You may want to seek a consultation with a mental health provider experienced in the treatment of phobias and anxiety. If your concern is having a panic attack when driving, Greene says to find a provider who has experience treating panic disorder.
A therapist will recommend a variety of treatment options for a driving phobia, which may include psychotherapy, medication, support groups, or a combination of all three. Psychotherapy is often the first line of defense for severe driving anxiety or phobia. Several modalities can treat phobias, but some are recommended more than others.
According to Wind, exposure therapy is one of the most effective ways to treat a fear of driving. It encourages people to get comfortable with driving and become more confident about not losing control of the car.
The goal of exposure therapy is to help you confront your fears related to driving, either as the driver or passenger.
One small 2018 study found that virtual reality exposure for fear of driving can decrease anxiety. After evaluating the eight subjects , researchers concluded that virtual reality exposure therapy can play a useful role in the management of driving phobias.
Other modalities, such as individual therapy and psychoeducational therapy, can also complement exposure therapy to help you learn to manage your fears.
Your therapist may also recommend cognitive-behavioral therapy , which helps you identify distorted thinking and its role in creating fear and other issues.
Start Small With Exposure
Even though you may be tempted to take bold steps to resolve your driving anxiety, stressful situations require time and patience to resolve. Avoid putting yourself in a position where you are not likely to succeed.
To reduce driving anxiety, spend time thinking about the aspects of driving that trigger anxiety. Ask yourself:
- When does the anxiety start?
- What makes the anxiety peak?
- When do the anxiety symptoms decrease
- What does the anxiety feel like?
Be cautious, trying to move too quickly can actually increase the driving related anxiety.
Facing driving anxiety is not something you have to do alone. BetterHelp has over 20,000 licensed therapists who provide convenient and affordable online therapy. BetterHelp starts at $60 per week. Complete a brief questionnaire and get matched with the right therapist for you.
Choosing Therapy partners with leading mental health companies and is compensated for referrals by BetterHelp
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Coping With A Driving
Panic attacks are always troubling. Experiencing one while driving can not only be uncomfortable, but it can be dangerous as well.
Dealing with a panic attack while driving will take intentional, quick action. At the first sign of a panic attack, someone should:
- Acknowledge the physical and mental sensations related to a panic attack
- Let others in the car know what to do and how to respond
- Pull over immediately but safely
- Put on hazard lights to alert other drivers
- Stay in the car to avoid traffic
- Practice and employ healthy coping skills until panic attack passes
The first time a person endures a panic attack while driving, the situation will create tremendous fear and uncertainty. As they gain experience, though, they will discover a helpful process for effectively reducing symptoms and keeping themselves safe.
Facing driving anxiety is not something you have to do alone. BetterHelp has over 20,000 licensed therapists who provide convenient and affordable online therapy. BetterHelp starts at $60 per week. Complete a brief questionnaire and get matched with the right therapist for you.
Choosing Therapy partners with leading mental health companies and is compensated for referrals by BetterHelp
What Else You Can Do To Deal With Driving Anxiety
Whether you are getting professional help with your driving anxiety or not, it is important to know some relaxation techniques and other handy tips to ensure you can continue your daily routine as much as possible.
Figure out the cause of your fear
Often, this is something that you will do as part of your treatment with a professional. However, it may be quite helpful if you have not done this already.
Some causes of driving anxiety include a crash that you were involved in or being stuck in the wrong lane at a busy roundabout. Once you have worked out the cause of your driving anxiety, you can brainstorm ways to get over it.
For example, lets say your anxiety is caused by navigating roundabouts. One step you can take toward getting over this problem is to try driving around a roundabout that you are very familiar with at a time when it is not busy.
Or, if you are not quite ready for that yet, you might find that watching videos online about how to drive around roundabouts is a good place to start. Research has shown that working out the cause of your fears³ and problem-solving them helps reduce anxiety.
Plan your route
If you are driving to a new place and that causes anxiety, plan your trip in advance. Do some research on the place you are going. Find out what kind of area it is. Is it a busy city, or is it more rural? Are you going to be there during the rush hour?
Allow extra time
Take a support person
Stay local when you can
Take the time to congratulate yourself
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What If I Cant Get Over My Fear Of Driving
Its important to remember that if your apprehensions and anxieties about driving prove too much dont force it.
Youll just end up causing unnecessary stress for yourself, and danger for other road users.
If youre genuinely struggling with the idea, theres nothing wrong with calling time on it, looking into other options that will better suit you, and making life less of a complication.
An Emotion From Earlier In Life
One day when youre driving, something happens that reminds you of an earlier time in your life.
This can be caused by something that reminds you of that event or even a song playing on your car stereo that was playing years ago when the event happened.
This triggers your mind into replaying the emotion that you experienced at that time and because youre driving, that feeling then becomes attached to driving.
Driving will now trigger that old emotion in just the same way that hearing a song makes you remember people and events from years ago.
This is why driving anxiety seems so out of place it is! Youre getting scared because of something your mind thinks is happening right now but it actually happened years ago.
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When Should I Call The Doctor
You should call your healthcare provider if you experience:
- Persistent anxiety that interferes with daily life or sleeping.
What questions should I ask my doctor?
You may want to ask your healthcare provider:
- What is causing this phobia?
- What is the best treatment for me?
- Should I try exposure therapy?
- How long will I need therapy?
- Should I watch for signs of complications?
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Phobias like amaxophobia can get worse when untreated. You may find yourself unable to work, spending less time with loved ones and missing out on life. An inability to drive or ride in a vehicle can greatly diminish your independence and quality of life. Speak to your healthcare provider about your concerns. Your provider can connect you with a mental health professional who has experience with exposure therapy. Many people can overcome amaxophobia with help.
Free Hypnotherapy For Driving Anxiety
Not everyone can afford therapy for driving anxiety so Ive written a whole page full of hypnotherapy videos that are completely free.
These videos have helped thousands of people all over the world and you can see them on my page free hypnotherapy for driving anxiety.
If you want to see over 600 videos covering everything to do with driving anxiety, me teaching someone to drive from start to finish or even how to be a driving instructor then visit my YouTube channel.
Read Also: How To Help Someone With Anxiety Over Text
Does Driving Anxiety Ever Go Away
For some people, driving-related anxiety is a condition they can resolve on their own. Others, though, will need the guidance and knowledge of a mental health professional. Mental health therapists can fully assess your symptoms and prescribe a course of treatment specifically tailored to your needs.
Use Your Mind To Overcome Itself
Your mind is more powerful than you may have imagined. Motorphobia is developed in the mind, but you can use the same mind to overcome this fear. While it may sound complex at first, getting inside your mind is not that challenging.
As mentioned above, a significant amount of the fear you feel results from assumptions created in your mind.
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Tips For Coping With Panic Attacks
Panic attacks can cause fear and physical symptoms. Its not uncommon to feel like you could die, along with other unpleasant sensations.
You might have a hard time staying calm when you feel dizzy, lightheaded, or cant catch your breath. You may need to pull over and get out of your car right away.
If youre in a safe place, getting out of the car may help you feel less panicked in the moment, but it wont help you address whats causing your panic.
But what do you do if its not safe or possible to pull over and get out of your car? Here are several tips to help you cope with panic attacks while driving:
Whats The Treatment For Panic Attacks While Driving
Many people who have a panic attack never have a second one. If you do have more than one panic attack, you may want to consider reaching out to a mental health professional. Therapy can help you learn how to deal with panic attacks and address any underlying causes.
If you have repeated panic attacks, spend a lot of time worrying about having another panic attack, and begin to avoid work, school, or other places youd usually go, you might have panic disorder.
About a third of people with panic disorder also develop agoraphobia. This condition involves an intense fear of having another panic attack and not being able to get away safely. These conditions can eventually affect your quality of life and make it difficult for you to even leave your house.
Therapy can help treat both panic disorder and agoraphobia. Here are the most common types of therapy:
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Take Back Control Of Your Life
Does the thought of driving to the shopping center to meet your friends give you anxiety?
Having anxiety while driving is normal when youre just learning to drive and it usually goes away with time. However, its not healthy if you know how to drive well but, still get knots in your stomach and sweaty hands while youre in the driver seat.
You may have tried going to a therapist, and even getting on medicationall to no avail.