People who find it a scary experience to drive require assistance to deal with their panic attacks in order to get back to driving. Being nervous is not unusual, though there are those of us who experience extreme difficulty to drive as they are afraid of experiencing panic attacks. There are numerous factors that cause driving panic. Being involved in, or witnessing an accident can embed the frightening images in the individual’s subconscious.

Panic and anxiety attacks are bodily reactions to fear and other threats. Defense and flight responses can be triggered by mental images of the object of threat, thoughts and feelings. Response to stress mechanism has since the early days of man, enabled him to right to a threat and fight with speed, force and preparedness. However, in present times, the automatic response to threat instinct has become increasingly dull in human senses. In contemporary times, the major threat is caused by stress, which is capable of unnecessarily triggering the defense or flight response.

This is common in the general population, but occurs more frequently in persons who suffer from anxiety disorders and phobias. People who suffer from anxiety disorders, or have a history of depression are more likely to become nervous and anxious due to their elevated sensitivity to stress. Fear of driving may not be caused by a traumatic or terrifying experience. It can develop progressively with time caused by the occurrence of small episodes of panic, which build up over time and cause a major panic attack.

Being stuck in traffic, driving within an area that one is not familiar with, being hooted at, high speed driving especially on highways and loosing ones way are factors that instill fear or trigger panic attacks. Panic attacks can occur very quickly. The heartbeat rate increases drastically and body muscles tighten up causing tension.

Treatment for panic attacks is usually medication or therapy. As much as medication is effective in reducing symptoms and panic attack risks, it is advisable to obtain a doctor’s advice. Some medications for panic attack symptoms cause sleepiness, which affects ones ability to drive. Effective methods for the treatment of anxiety are behavioral therapy and exposure therapy, which helps individuals overcome their anxieties over driving.

Other forms of alleviating panic attacks are hypnotherapy and EFT therapy, meditation as well as visualization. It is also advisable to get into a driving fear program which helps in dealing with driving fear Nervous drivers should be prepared adequately before starting to drive.. They should also not drive whey they are experiencing increased levels of anxiety. One should perform breathing exercises to achieve calmness before embarking on a drive. One should also ensure that they carry a mobile phone with them, a CD, paper bag, and snack.

In case you begin experiencing anxiety, continue taking in deep breaths and counter the anxiety with self-reassurance that the feelings are only caused by adrenaline. When you are unable to prevent the anxiety attack, pull over as soon as you can to a safe place. Using the paper bag will alleviate prevent hyperventilation and ease your breathing. Ensure that you reacquire you composure before starting to drive again. Where possible, have somebody to come to your rescue and drive take you to your destination.