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Effective treatments provide more freedom on the road.
A situation that is difficult to deal with is a fertile ground for developing anxiety and panic. Surprisingly, driving is the most common situation that causes panic. Pools and tunnels can be challenging, especially since they show the potential for easy access or easy access.
Many people who are more concerned about driving can avoid certain driving situations or stop driving altogether. One of the most effective ways to avoid driving-related panic and withdrawal is cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), which involves coping with situations in which the person is scared to panic.
I have treated many people for driving-related panic, which usually involves travelling with them as a passenger, even when facing their fears. The following six principles came from that work.
1. Pay attention to the road ahead.
Driving concerns often lead to thinking ahead of the entire trip. You may already be looking for a route, checking for bridges along the way. While you're driving, you may be imagining the most intimidating parts. It's a lot to manage - not just the road in front of you, but the entire drive.
None of us can manage the entire trip out of our head. It's true in life, and it's true when we drive. But we can actually manage a piece of the road that we actually have to do. You don't even have to go through the entire bridge - at that point you have to cover a small part of the bridge you're on and then again until the bridge becomes a regular road.
This is definitely a practice because the mind wants to move on and make sure things go well. Watching the road ahead of you and focusing on perceptual experiences such as hands on the steering wheel can help prepare your focus right now.
2. Question of Offensive Inference.
Panic can lead to the belief that you are waiting for a disaster on the road, even if it has never happened on all your previous drives. Our fears are good for threatening us that "it'll be really bad next time" - which will cause you to panic and "go crazy" or "lose control". And yet, in every event so far, our worst fears have not emerged.
That is not to say that you are afraid that nothing will happen. If you drive a lift enough, someone will be stuck in the floor. If you are driving over bridges, one day traffic will be blocked on the bridge. When you're in the middle of a long tunnel, traffic can stop.
But none of these events are real fears behind fear - that's what happens after that. Our fears tell us that if we are in this kind of situation, panic will certainly create fear of something terrible. In fact, if the possibility of panic is really intense, then most likely you will experience fear and panic.
3. Dismiss emotional arguments.
Sometimes our fear gives us valuable information that helps us to avoid danger. However, your fears can be overcome. A common thinking error when your anxiety is high is that I feel in danger that I am in danger. The problem with this belief is that our minds and bodies are equipped to give us the wrong feeling of danger.
For example, I once did. I was sitting on a plane listening to a piece of Bach's violin when I asked my wife to play at my funeral. What are the odds that I will be playing this piece when I sit down? I thought carefully. That's a bad omen - I shouldn't be on this plane. I boarded the plane anyway, and we got down without incident (as you might have guessed). My fear was just that - unfounded fears.
For most people, "emotion is trust," says Capt. Tom Bunn, a psychiatrist and former airline pilot as a recent guest on the Think Act Be podcast. "If I think so, that must be true." He mentions that people with a tendency to panic describe the physical symptoms of anxiety as a threat, while "some people enjoy the physical stimulation of going on a roller coaster."
If you recognize the emotional logic in yourself, start questioning your assumptions about what fear is. This may mean that you are scared.
4. Beware of mental equilibrium
Most of the time we can tell the difference between what is real and what we imagine. But when we become acutely anxious, this distinction can be dissolved - a process known as "mental balance."
"Under stress, you can believe that your mental experience is reflective," Bunn said. “When people are worried about panic attacks, it can be stressful that they are convinced they will have a panic attack. They forget that what they have in mind is imagination. "
Intense fear can be a powerful form of emotional argumentation, in which driving-related disasters are feared to feel more like reality rather than fear. When you are relaxed, you know well that you do not panic because of panic, for example, but you may feel that you are on your way to fainting when you panic.
5. Eliminate avoidance
Each time we avoid fear, our brains learn that what we are avoiding is dangerous - otherwise, why should we avoid it? You can try to talk to yourself and reason with your fears, but nothing happens like a direct experience to the brain. Coping with anxiety-provoking situations is one of the most powerful ways to teach your nerves precisely which does not require panic alarms. In CBT we call this approach "exposure".
Sometimes the avoidance is always the same as taking a "safe" pool. But for many, taking a safer route reinforces their fears, because they know they don't face a threat. As described in the next section, it is useful to address the subtle types of avoidance.
6. Drop security behaviour when you're ready
The last step for many in dealing with terrorism is to avoid calamities so as to avoid panic or avoid panic. Common examples of driving include:
Asking assurances about the potential impact of panic on the bridge, although they have been reassured numerous times that what they fear will not happen
Search the recurring internet to find the potential consequences of panic while driving
Checking traffic before it crosses the bridge that it was not backed up
Avoid driving in rush hour so it is less likely to get stuck in traffic
Previewing a new route to see if it includes a pool or tunnel
They have to research the bridges and run them on a new path
Avoid some lanes on the bridge
Driving at the bridge "to go faster" (irony is an unsafe behaviour).
Driving slower unnecessarily because it feels safer
The problem with security behaviours is that they give your brain the misconception that you would be insecure without them. "The brain tells you that" you have checked traffic or it may have been damaged. "As a result, you feel that driving is extremely dangerous and should be managed closely so that terrible events do not occur.
Beware of subtle security practices, such as travelling long distances to avoid unhealthy roads, but tell yourself that you prefer that alternative route. Our fears are often hidden away when it dictates our behaviour.
I usually recommend the latter, giving the option of completely avoiding the drive and driving with safety behaviour. Exposure therapy moves slowly through more difficult situations, and dealing with challenging roads with safety behaviours can be an essential step toward greater driving freedom.