Read This and Learn to Overcome Nervousness while Driving
Being nervous is a normal reaction when you are doing something for the first time or when there is uncertainty ahead of you. Typical manifestations of nervousness include sweating, trembling and irregular breathing.
People can also get nervous when they are driving. If you’ve been driving for a long time, try to remember the first time you were on the wheel. With so many things to consider such as stepping on the gas pedal or the brake, looking at the side and rearview mirrors, and making sure you don’t hit something in front of you, it’s easy to feel stressed and nervous, right?
First of all, even seasoned race car drivers still get nervous every time they compete on the track. Even the famous Michael Schumacher admitted being nervous on his return to racing after retiring in 2006.
From these examples, you can see that being nervous is a very normal reaction that drivers of all levels experience.
But you might be wondering: what if you can’t get over that nervous feeling even after years of driving?
Hodophobia, the Fear of Driving
You could be suffering from hodophobia, or the fear of driving. There are as many reasons for hodophobia as there are people who suffer from it. Some of these reasons include meeting an accident while driving, the fear of getting lost while on the road and the fear of losing control while on the wheel.
The good news is that there are solutions that you can try to overcome your fear of driving. The effectiveness of these solutions depend on how ingrained the fear is in your system. The more serious your condition is, the more help that you need.
For mild cases of hodophobia, you can try self-help solutions to help you calm down whenever you’re on the wheel. If you try to observe you or somebody who’s nervous, breathing becomes irregular. Most likely, the person breathes from the chest and not the diaphragm.
So when you are feeling nervous, try to regulate your breathing by breathing correctly, and counting as you inhale and exhale. But how do you know if you’re breathing correctly? A simple test would be to place your hand on your stomach as you breathe. If you’re breathing correctly, your stomach will naturally rise as you inhale and fall as you exhale.
In more serious cases of hodophobia, the person is completely paralyzed by the fear of driving which may lead to serious panic attacks and vomiting. Cases like these already require professional assistance. If you are suffering from an extreme case of hodophobia, you might want to talk to a psychologist who can help you overcome this fear.
Keep in mind that hodophobia and the nervousness while driving that comes with it are treatable conditions. This fear may be rooted in a traumatic experience in the past, and there are solutions available to you depending on how deeply rooted the fear is. These solutions range from simple self-help treatments to seeing a therapist who can help you reverse the process until you finally let go of it.