Generality
The fear of driving (or amaxophobia ) is a feeling of uneasiness, anxiety and nervousness that a person experiences when he gets behind the wheel or thinks he is in such a situation.
Amaxophobia manifests itself in reality or in anticipatory fantasies : in some cases, the subject enters an anticipatory state of discomfort at the simple thought of driving; other times, he can be pervaded by anxiety when he gets into the car or after having traveled a stretch of road.
Often, amaxophobia is triggered by particular conditions and involves physical and psychological symptoms of varying degrees, such as, for example, wheezing, increased heart rate, sweating of the hands, tremors, agitation and nausea.
The fear of driving can have negative repercussions in the person's everyday life, in terms of limitations in social and working life. Fortunately, this disorder can be tackled with a course of psychotherapy aimed at overcoming the phobia.
What's this
The fear of driving is a phobic disorder characterized by the discomfort or anxiety of getting behind the wheel or by stimuli (real or imagined) connected to this activity.
Amaxophobia manifests itself in different ways and can be triggered by specific situations, such as:
- Fear of driving alone:
- in general;
- in the absence of a specific person by your side;
- Fear of driving:
- at night or when it is dark;
- on the motorway and on fast roads;
- Fear of crossing tunnels and crossing bridges or viaducts, especially if high or long (places from which it would be difficult or impossible to leave in case of need);
- Fear of being in the midst of excessive traffic, where you may find yourself stuck or slowed down while driving;
- Fear of moving away from a certain distance from home.
Causes
The fear of driving can be induced by various causes, which are not always easily identifiable.
Amaxophobia can be a simple phobic disorder, of which an individual is affected, or it can be part of a broader psychological picture.
The fear of driving can manifest itself, for example, in people who suffer from other phobias and / or anxiety disorders, such as:
- Separation anxiety (driving alone or in the absence of a certain person, getting too far away from home, etc.);
- Agoraphobia, understood as fear of having a panic attack and not being able to suddenly abandon the vehicle or receive relief, not find a shelter and an escape route on tunnels, bridges or roads that cross open spaces on the plain;
- Claustrophobia (driving through tunnels or getting stuck in traffic);
- Lack of control over the surrounding environment (fast motorway traffic, driving at night, etc.).
In these people, insecurity or lack of confidence in their control skills leads to an intense anticipatory anxiety . Therefore, in the mind of the amaxophobic, vivid and catastrophic images follow one another, representing what could happen if a vehicle were driven. This negative process discourages attempts to address this phobia and, at the same time, inhibits the desire to overcome this problem. Considering the fear of driving unsolvable, the subject implements strategies of avoidance, that is, identifies alternatives that allow him to circumvent the need or desire to get behind the wheel.
In some cases, however, the fear of driving arises from the more or less conscious desire to maintain a relationship of dependency towards one's family. Not being able to move independently, despite having a driving license, translates into the inability to move to make the obliged or desired journeys, without being accompanied by others. This is observed, for example, in the young people who are entering their adult life, but are unable to take their responsibilities symbolically.
Other times, the discomfort is represented by the possibility of facing the road, and the other users who go through it, due to their predisposition to show anger attacks or aggressive unconscious impulses, which could emerge while driving.
The fear of driving can also be related to traumatic experiences experienced, suffered by loved ones or assisted persons (eg accidents caused personally as a driver of the vehicle or suffered in the passenger position).
Then there are a series of cultural prejudices that can affect girls who have grown up in environments where it is believed that the female sex is not capable of driving like the male one.
Sometimes, amaxophobia may simply depend on poor practice in this activity, or from having interrupted it for a long time (in which case, safe driving courses may be useful).
Finally, some factors can intervene in the disorder, strengthening the symptoms of amaxophobia, such as atmospheric phenomena (rain, strong wind, snow and ice on the road).
Symptoms and complications
The person suffering from amaxophobia can experience feelings of discomfort, anxiety and nervousness, which can lead to real panic attacks. Some individuals totally avoid driving; others can do it only for short and known journeys.
Fear of driving produces psychological and / or physiological-somatic symptoms before or during driving, such as:
- Agitation at the mere thought of driving;
- Persistent feeling of driving anxiety;
- Increased heart rate;
- Breathless breathing;
- Sense of fainting or dizziness;
- Nausea;
- Feeling "empty head" or living in an unreal situation;
- Dry mouth;
- Excessive sweating (especially on the hands);
- Anguish, paranoia and fear of dying.
In those who experience strong anticipatory anxiety, these symptoms can appear before entering the vehicle, while in other cases they occur when the subject is already at the wheel.
In some cases, the presence of a person on your side is considered indispensable for driving; other times, those suffering from amaxophobia must "simply" avoid certain external conditions to feel safe driving. On certain occasions, however, this activity is completely inhibited and there is no change in the context that positively influences fear, mitigating it and allowing it to get behind the wheel.
What is an amaxophobic person afraid of?
The imaginary scenarios that can inhibit those afraid of driving concern:
- Loss of control of one's vehicle, due to a panic attack or fainting;
- Inability to avoid other vehicles (particularly large vehicles such as trucks);
- Risk of being invested and / or causing a serious accident;
- Inability to leave the car due to a crisis of claustrophobia or an anxiety attack;
- Loss of orientation and possibility of getting lost or finding yourself in unknown areas;
- Technical inability to properly conduct the vehicle, thus exposing itself to the negative judgment of others.
Possible consequences
Fear of driving can be disabling, as it affects multiple activities and contexts.
The person who experiences this phobia finds, first of all, a strong limitation of autonomy and freedom of movement. This leads to organizing one's daily life in an attempt to avoid the inconvenience that the guide can provide.
In addition to compromising social relations, this attitude can influence work, as amaxofobo is prepared to forgo jobs that involve the possibility of moving with a car.
Finally, the negative effect has repercussions on the self-esteem of the subject, who, by not driving, renounces many things and, at the same time, feels limited, incapable and different from the others.
Diagnosis
The fear of driving can be addressed with the help of psychologists and psychotherapists.
Preliminary evaluation is essential to understand the reasons behind one's own discomfort and to frame the problem within the subject's life history, identifying its meaning and quantifying its scope. This also makes it possible to establish the most appropriate treatment for the individual patient.
Therapy
Depending on the severity of the clinical picture, the fear of driving can be tackled effectively with relaxation techniques and cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy. These approaches aim to induce the patient to rationalize his phobia and recognize that he possesses the skills necessary to resume driving, putting them into practice.
In milder cases of amaxophobia, the subject may try to implement relaxation techniques before driving, trying to focus on the possibility of reacting to anxiety-provoking thoughts. In this case, it is good to proceed by gradual steps in order to overcome the fears associated with driving.
A relaxation technique that can be applied to amaxophobia is systematic desensitization, in which one tackles all the negative beliefs associated with the idea of driving one at a time. Another useful approach is hypnosis, which provides a state of relaxation such as to induce the person concerned to recognize the causes of his fears and overcome them.
In the most serious cases of amaxophobia, however, it is recommended to undertake a course of cognitive-behavioral therapy . This approach teaches the subject to manage the negative and limiting thoughts, associated with the act of driving, through the presentation of fearful stimuli, in controlled conditions. In this way, the patient is exposed to the feared situations with the possibility of learning emotional self-control techniques capable of reducing anxiety and fear of driving.
