Driving Anxienty

[Arcane]

Ever since I was rear ended on the highway coming home from work in winter of 2009 i've been extremely anxious while driving...especially long distances..What's not to be paranoid about? Car accidents are like the most common way to die..Anyway..I am going to be driving a little over an hour away from home tonight..to the Meat Puppets show in Chicago..I should be thrilled..well I am but I can't stop worrying about the drive there..I hate the traffic and I know I'm going to feel like dying the entire way there..

Does anyone have any advice that would help ease this?

 

[Badjedidude]

Buy a huge SUV. Get it armor-plated. Put racing seats in it. With a 4-point harness.

Or take the bus.

 

[Ak5]

Since I've started driving these recent months, I've had my fair share of nervousness a well lol. I usually tell myself "You're in control, the vehicle ain't going to do anything until you order it to".

The best thing to do is take it a little step at a time as well, try going on the slower lanes and roads so you can get re-accustomed, but don't go slow as well, you'll crash into other vehicles lol. Then start speeding up and going on faster lanes as you're feeling better. On the highway, I prefer to stay on the right lane.

 

[shells]

The same thing happened to me. I haven't been able to really drive on the freeway here since I was in an accident. Wasn't even driving.
This is going to sound silly and stupid, but turning up the music and singing helps me.

Like this:

 

[Corwin]

Hi Arcane,
Some tips for you to beat anxiety effectively.
Take deep breath in fresh air,
Do yoga or light exercise,
Eat a well balanced diet,
Tell your problems with your pals or family,
Avoid or limit alcohol consumption.

 

[Thomas]]

Well.. do you avoid being driven by someone else ? If not, then the argument "car accidents are the most common way to die" doesn't really make sense.

Bad experiences knock everyone's confidence a bit. I got reversed into by a lorry in a heavy traffic jam once (no comment ............) so every time I get stuck behind a lorry in a traffic jam, I get a bit suspicious! But you can't apply one situation to everything else afterwards :<

Being nervous on the drive is only going to affect your ability to make decisions, and therefore make you more likely to be involved in an accident. I know it's easy to say, but you've just gotta look past some guy who rear ended you one time, and believe in yourself!

The most dangerous thing on the road is indecisiveness; a complete idiot on the road driving way over the speed limit at least visibly makes decisions (stupid or not) for other drivers to see ;p Someone who's really cautious and can't decide what to do can really confuse other drivers.

Remember you passed your test the same as everyone else =) And there are risks in life with anything... going out on a really hot day could make you more likely to get cancer ( which is a very common disease unfortunately :< ) but does that stop you from getting out in the sun ? =x I don't think driving to a show should be considered as risk! For your "most common way to die" statistic, I think you should compare daily percentages of those who drive and survive to those who don't ... then you'd probably get a more accurate representation of the risks =x