Often the anxiety stems from a fear of being trapped in the vehicle in gridlock traffic or losing control of the vehicle and causing a collision.

Needless to say, even though they may have been battling a driving phobia for many years, almost all of the people I’ve consulted with have not actually had any of these mishaps occur. Let’s look at the primary fear: having an accident due to the distractions of an anxiety attack while driving.

Most people work themselves into a state of high anxiety even before they’ve pulled out of their driveways. They imagine scenes of causing ten-car collisions on the highway because they “freaked out” and hit another vehicle. If you have such concerns, the first thing to do is review your driving history. Have you been a reckless driver in the past? Do you have a history of bad driving? Most phobic drivers actually have clean driving records and have never even been in a minor road incident. Anxious drivers are not a deadly hazard on the road; in fact, they can be a lot more vigilant than many ordinary drivers who, after a long day in the office, are virtually asleep at the wheel.

As we discussed previously when looking at the biology of anxiety, by virtue of their conditions anxious drivers have a high level of sensory alertness. This level of alertness keeps them aware of potential hazards and focused on the task of driving—not daydreaming, chatting, or rooting around in the glove compartment. This, of course, does not suggest that anxious driving is the ideal way to commute. But I believe it’s important to make this point because so many chastise themselves for being anxious in their cars. If you’re generally a good driver, before you set out in your car take confidence in that fact, and reaffirm it to yourself. Acknowledging and reaffirming that you’re a capable driver will go some way toward alleviating this concern.

The second major concern of most phobic drivers is the fear of being trapped in the car in some manner. By this, I mean being caught in traffic, on busy three-lane highways, on long bridges, or even stopped at red lights. When allowed to, your mind will run away with this fear and imagine all kinds of deadly scenarios where you feel cornered or trapped in your vehicle with no assistance available should you experience a major panic attack.

The important thing here is to curb these fears before they take root, by offering yourself viable solutions to any of these scenarios and not letting your mind trick you into believing there’s a trap ahead.
Give it some thought. Are there really any situations, such as the ones described above, where you’re truly trapped with no means of escape?

No, of course there aren’t.

Eventually, traffic always moves; it doesn’t remain gridlocked forever. There’s flow, and there’s always an exit. This may mean figuring out the exit for yourself, but never let these thoughts corner you into thinking that there’s no escape. When you counteract these fears with logical solutions, you undermine the control that fear holds over you. You begin to see the bluff it’s playing to keep you petrified of what could potentially happen out there in the traffic.

Your mind may rebel and come up with the worst possible scenario that you may get “stuck in”—but again, is this really the terrifying trap you imagined? Be careful not to let these thoughts trap your thinking.
Every minute of the day, people’s cars break down in traffic. These drivers have no option but to put on the hazard lights and leave the vehicle. It’s not going anywhere. There you are, and there’s an exit, albeit an extreme one; however, by using my technique, it never needs to come to that. In fact, you’re going to learn how driving can actually be an enjoyable experience once again.

Learn more about Panic Away here.

You have probably come across this list of generalized anxiety disorder symptoms many times before.

• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Exhaustion
• Vision problems
• Cramps
• Intrusive thoughts
• Feelings of unreality and depression
• Sleep disturbance
• Difficulty concentrating or mind going blank

But what do these symptoms really mean?

When talking generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, we are really talking about fear manifesting in different forms. Fear cuts us off from life. It takes us out of our natural God given flow and into a stagnant state where we feel removed from the world around us.

Imagine life as a fast flowing river heading towards the sea. Fear is an obstruction in that river causing stagnant pools of water, where life no longer flourishes. The manifestation of that fear can be generalized anxiety disorder symptoms.

In order to end these symptoms, you need to remove those obstructions from your life and restore your natural flow.

Things that hold those obstructions in place are things like overreacting to the symptoms of anxiety. Panic Away will teach you exactly that. The more you can learn to not react to the symptoms the more you find yourself in that flow. It involves making very small changes in key areas of your life that will nudge you from fear, back into life.

I talk more about what causes panic attacks and anxiety in my book, Panic Away. In most cases, the trigger for panic attacks and other forms of general anxiety are related to physical, mental and emotional exhaustion.

Basically, you are more vulnerable to having a panic attack or experiencing an uncomfortable level of anxiety when you are stressed out, burned out, or aren’t getting enough rest. Physical exhaustion can be the result of overwork or not getting enough stress. It may also be the result of bad eating habits, or a lack of quality nutrition.

Mental exhaustion can be the result of excessive worrying and mental stress. If you constantly feel mentally drained and are finding it difficult to cope with your emotions, you may be at risk for having a panic or anxiety attack. Emotional exhaustion is similar in this respect. Conflict with loved ones and relationship problems can be triggers for panic attacks.

Ultimately, all of these triggers make it difficult for the mind and body to find rest and be peaceful. In many cases, these situations can make you feel very edgy, and you may even be more fearful than normal. In a sensitized state, small things can cause excessive anxiety and make you vulnerable to a full-blown panic or anxiety attack.

Physical symptoms of an oncoming panic attack include sweating, feelings of choking, numbness, nausea and even chest pain. Sensitized people can’t help but become worried about these sensations, and this can lead to panicky feelings which trigger either a situational or spontaneous panic attack.

The good news is, anxiety and panic attacks can be stopped when you trace the root cause of the problem. Address your daily lifestyle, and situations or circumstances that are causing you to feel extremely worried, stressed or physically exhausted. Then you can start making positive changes to your life, and take steps that will help to reduce your risk of having a panic attacks.

Unwanted anxious thoughts, sometimes know as intrusive thoughts, can become intrusive to the point that they lead to obsessive compulsive disorder or other disturbances that take away from the person’s quality of life. However, there are several things a person who is dealing with unwanted anxious thoughts can do to curtail the problem. talk more about dealing with this side effect of anxiety in my book Panic Away.

In order to take control over the cycle of anxious thoughts, it’s important to take a two-pronged approach. This involves making a big shift in your attitude, and using certain visualization tools that will help you ‘see’ a positive outcome.

A shift in attitude means you need to accept that the anxiety is there, and then ‘release’ it from your mind. If you focus closely on a certain thought or idea, you’ll see that it connects to a similar thought and you probably jump from one thought to another over the course of the day. If you continually find yourself coming back to a certain negative thought, you need to accept that it’s there until you become desensitized to it.

Your emotional reaction to the thought is literally what is making the thought appear in your mind time and time again. When you can maintain a ‘neutral’ attitude towards it, it will simply disappear from view.

There are several visualization tools you can use to end unwanted anxious thoughts, and one of them involves positive imagery coupled with deep breathing. You can ground yourself and stop the cycle of anxious thoughts completely simply by breathing deeply and enjoying the feeling of safety and security for a few moments.

Passiflora (Passiflora incarnata) has traditionally been used as a folk remedy for anxiety and insomnia. It contains many active ingredients. The most widely studied of these constituents, maltol and ethymaltol, seem to be responsible for much of the anti-anxiety effects. It works on the physical body, relaxing muscles to reduce tension, which can be particularly effective for people who feel physically tense (e.g. tight shoulders or the sensation of a knotted stomach). People also report good results using this herb to aid sleep. It should not be taken with sedatives unless under medical supervision.

Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) is believed to have been used for its calming and soothing effects since at least the time of Hippocrates (460-377 BC). Right up until the introduction of prescription sleep medications is was used as a folk remedy for a variety of conditions such as insomnia, nervousness, and headaches. The primary use for valerian today is to treat insomnia, but it is reported to reduce feelings of general anxiety. The active constituents in Valerian appear to be valerenic acid and valerenal. These compounds have a calming effect because they interact with the neurotransmitter GABA. As with most herbs for panic attacks, it generally takes a few weeks of use to feel the full benefit. Valerian may cause sleepiness or daytime drowsiness and should not be used with other medications for insomnia or anxiety.

It is important to be aware that herbal supplements are not a magic pill to stop panic attacks. In most instances people report only mild improvement and it is not uncommon for folks to feel no benefits at all. Again, you should discuss these or any other herbs with your doctor, especially if you are pregnant or taking any kind of medication.