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SUNDAY, Sept. 3, 2023 (HealthDay Information) — It’s common to expertise driving anxiousness. Residing in cities with heavy visitors, five-lane highways and little public transportation could make it even tougher.
A psychologist affords some solutions for alleviating these fears.
“One of many largest challenges facilities round anxiousness associated to the set off, and that may be exacerbated by a wide range of issues like climate, visitors or issues about highway rage,” mentioned Dr. Eric Storch, vice chair of psychology within the division of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Baylor Faculty of Drugs in Houston.
Somebody experiencing driving anxiousness may really feel misery. One other frequent symptom is avoidance.
When anxiousness is excessive, that may imply not driving in any respect, getting rides from others or utilizing ride-share apps like Uber.
Somebody might solely drive when others are current or underneath sure situations, reminiscent of in the course of the day or not on highways.
Nevertheless, these choices are simply not sensible for a lot of and may trigger higher anxiousness and avoidance over time, Storch mentioned.
It’s essential that somebody learns methods to confront driving fears step by step and progressively.
Begin driving on backroads, then transfer to non-highway roads. Then drive those self same roads throughout high-traffic occasions.
Over time, step it as much as extra visitors conditions.
In the event you worry driving on massive bridges, begin by driving on small bridges after which drive on bigger bridges.
“The entire time, you’re reflecting on being in that second and emphasizing what you discovered after confronting the scary set off of driving, which is you could deal with it, the scary consequence sometimes doesn’t happen and that anxiousness decreases the extra you confront it,” Storch mentioned in a Baylor information launch.
In case your concern is highway rage, attempt to be courteous when others are appearing up. If somebody targets you with rage, it may be useful to keep away from engagement.
“Have an excellent cognitive sense — shopping for into another person’s rage doesn’t get you any additional,” Storch mentioned.
Storch affords some solutions for calming nerves in anxious drivers who encounter folks with highway rage.
Give folks the advantage of the doubt. You have no idea what’s going on of their life. Forgive others for the errors they make, giving your self the chance to let it go, he mentioned.
Do not forget that your purpose is to get from level A to level B, and getting in a highway rage incident will work towards that. Take deep breaths to calm your self.
“The truth is it’s troublesome to drive… on busy roads, particularly throughout visitors. However avoiding these issues doesn’t make it easier to accomplish what you could in life,” Storch mentioned. “In the event you’re anxious about one thing, it’s all about taking small steps towards confronting it and studying what occurs as you confront it.”
Extra info
The Anxiousness & Despair Affiliation of America has extra on driving anxiousness.
SOURCE: Baylor Faculty of Drugs, information launch, Aug. 30, 2023
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