George was driving on a motorway and feeling a tension creep into his body, as he noticed a fear starting to rise. As he gripped the steering wheel even more tightly, he felt as if a fog had descended into his mind, and the fear gradually took over. He stayed in his lane, tailing a slow-moving lorry to the next exit, thinking that this would be the last time he would ever drive on a motorway.
Anxiety While Driving
George is not a real person, but his experience is not as rare as you might think. There are many people out there who find their lives restricted because of anxiety and fear at the thought of driving on motorways and main roads.
A survey by Aviva in 2023 found that a surprising one-in-seven motorists report having anxiety that affects their driving. These motorists report physical symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, sweating, nausea, chest pains and difficulty breathing. The technical term for this problem is Vehophobia.
Note: If you have anxiety about driving that might affect the safety of yourself, passengers or other road users, the law requires you to inform the DVLA.
How Hypnotherapy Can Help With Vehophobia
When someone is so anxious that they avoid driving on motorways or main roads, or maybe only drive on roads they are familiar with, this restricts what they can do in life. Among my hypnotherapy clients have been people who are too anxious to drive to visit their elderly relatives, who only travel on minor roads, and even those who can no longer drive to work without what seems like a major trauma.
Hypnotherapy engages their subconscious mind to enable it to gradually accept driving as something normal. In my experience, this does not happen overnight; it takes a few weeks of regular hypnotherapy sessions for the subconscious to become calmer about driving. Of course, there are people for whom hypnotherapy is inappropriate, and so there are other options, such as CBT.
Hypnotherapy works by engaging the subconscious, along with taking on tasks that each client chooses with the help of the hypnotherapist.
The Outcome
Imagine the difference it would make to someone’s life, once they are able to drive freely on any motorway and road in a state of relaxed alertness. For many, this can open up the possibilities of their once-restricted lives. It provides a sort of freedom from the restrictions imposed on them by their vehophobia. It opens up their world.
What Next …
If you feel you need help in overcoming anxiety over driving, you can Contact Me and I will be glad to talk. I operate my hypnotherapy clinic in Fleet Hampshire as well as working online.
References
Aviva Anxiety Survey
Hypnotherapy to help tackle driving anxiety
https://www.hypnotherapy-directory.org.uk/memberarticles/driving-anxiety-can-hypnotherapy-help
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash