Attacking a Fear of Driving

Here are a few ideas on attacking a fear of driving. I should mention that this article incorporates my own ideas along with some research on the topic. It is a subject that has fascinated me for some time, due to my own initial frustration at learning how to drive, and also from observing a frustration in individuals similar to me both in choice of vocation as well as psychological makeup.

There are certain individuals who seem to be more likely to adopt the belief that they can't learn how to drive. For example, anyone who is hyper-focused in either their personal or professional life is going to be at his or her detriment behind the wheel. Driving is a skill that requires processing of multiple sources of data from multiple locations. It requires scanning one's environment quickly and accurately, processing that information and then acting on it immediately. And individuals who suffer from anxiety-related issues, such as agoraphobia, are at risk since it's impossible to control any and all situations they may encounter on the road.

Before I jump into this topic of attacking a fear of driving, I should address the issue of the fear itself. It's important to isolate the cause of your fear of driving before jumping behind the wheel. Are you overwhelmed by the sensory input involved in driving? Or were you in a serious auto accident as a child and the memories still haunt you as an adult? Dr. Fredric Neuman, director of the Anxiety and Phobia Treatment Center at White Plains Hospital in New York, believes that fear of driving is a form of agoraphobia, which is a fear of open spaces. I believe that this could definitely be a source of the fear of driving, but I think there are other possible factors as well. For example, if you suffer from social anxiety disorder, the fear of public criticism of your driving could send you into a tailspin. At any rate, this phase of attacking your fear of driving is similar to fixing a watch - first you have to figure out which cog is busted, and then switch it out for a part that actually works.

If the very thought of driving brings on an anxiety attack for you, you might want to explore the issue first with a therapist skilled in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This is a type of counseling that is very useful in dealing with phobias. CBT uses several techniques to defuse a phobia, as follows:

1. Teaching you how your thoughts are the primary influence on your moods and behaviors. In the case of a fear of driving, a typical thought stream might include, "I can't learn how to drive; I might as well just give up," or "I better not get behind the wheel - I might kill someone."

2. Teaching you the importance of talking back to these negative thoughts. A typical response to the examples in #1 might include, "Of course I can learn how to drive. I'll be a great driver." Or "I am a careful, responsible and conscientious person, and this will extend to my driving. I will be one of the most careful drivers on the road."

3. Helping you to pinpoint where your thoughts are not grounded in reality; in other words, helping you to realize that some of your fears may be irrational.

4. Providing you with short, safe exposures to the source of your fear. This could include - when you're ready, of course - initially sitting behind the wheel of a car for a few seconds, then getting out; for the next exposure, starting the car, then turning it off and getting out, and so on. Eventually you work your way up to driving the car, but certainly not at the very beginning - don't worry about that!

If you would like more information on CBT, or would like to locate a CBT professional, I have listed the website for the National Society of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists at the end of this article. CBT can be a great ally for you in attacking a fear of driving.

If the source of your fear of driving is sensory overload, I have a few ideas on this for you. You might start by training your mind to incorporate many different sources of input simultaneously. I can't think of a better way to do this than - video games! Video games have incredible potential in terms of training. I learned this myself from Daniel Pink in his excellent book A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future.

There are many driving video games out there - too numerous to list here, but I can tell you that I live with two ardent gamers who have shared many of their favorite driving games with me. My personal favorite, culled from their selections, is the Need For Speed series, but there are many other good ones as well. If you don't own a video game console, don't despair - you can go to any video arcade featuring driving games for your "therapy." Bring your son, nephew or young cousin along with you for a race or two! You'll be on their list of "favorite people" forever after that. Professional race car drivers use racing simulators to train for races. These games helped me quite a bit with my driving because with race cars, the back wheels slide out at the drop of a hat. From racing games I learned to focus my attention further on down the road and to steer my car more carefully.

By the way, by the time you are ready to take on driving lessons, don't frustrate yourself by choosing just any driving instructor. (This might rule out your spouse or well-meaning relative.) Be sure to choose an instructor who is skilled in teaching people who are driving-phobic. You can find instructors like this anywhere. If you can't easily locate one, be sure to let your instructor know from the beginning that you suffer from a fear of driving and will need a little extra help and patience from him or her.

If you can teach yourself to have fun with learning how to drive, you will have more of an incentive to learn. Further on the issue of incentives, why exactly do you want to learn how to drive? Make up a compelling list of reasons for yourself. I learned the importance of hammering out the "why" of a situation from Tony Robbins, and any one of his books will help you with this. Once you figure out the "why," you'll be behind the wheel and zipping along the highway in no time!

Thanks for reading this, and I predict great driving success for you.

http://www.phobia-anxiety.org/Articles.html (This is the site for the Anxiety and Phobia Treatment Center at White Plains Hospital, New York)

http://www.nacbt.org/ (National Society of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists)

http://counsellingresource.com/types/cognitive-therapy/ (This is another CBT resource for you)

http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/features/12/29/nascar.simulators/story_single.html