Amaxophobia, the irrational fear of driving
The number of customs and habits has become much more varied with the technological progress, and exactly the same has happened with the repertoire of phobias.
Fear of driving or amaxophobia
As we saw in the article on the strange phobiasNowadays it is not uncommon to have a pathological fear of an infinity of elements, some of which occur only in fiction. The phobia that we will talk about today, however, is more related to everyday life, but it does not stop being serious. It's about the amaxophobia or fear of driving.
What is amaxophobia?
To put it simply, it is about the fear of driving taken to a pathological extremeIn other words, it creates problems and difficulties for us and worsens the quality of life of those who experience it.
The origin of the phobia can be found in past experiences related to the experimentation of the driving but it is also possible that it occurs in people who have never been able to drive for the first time time. This means that first-person experiences may intervene in the birth of amaxophobia, but also preconceptions or information given by third parties.
Why is it produced?
There are several psychological facets that explain the fear of driving.
In the cognitive aspect, there are often fatalistic thoughts in which a fatal accident is anticipated. These thoughts can consist of narratives embodied in images that are repeated over and over again without much being done to try to suppress them. Memories related to previously known traffic accidents, road death statistics, etc. may also be present.
On the emotional level, anxiety and stress experienced at specific moments is normal. These emotional states are just the tip of an iceberg that includes hormonal and physiological processes such as sweating, rapid pulse and muscle tension. Blurred vision or nausea may also appear.
Regarding the material aspects that surround amaxophobia, there are some rituals started before starting to drive, the indefinite postponement of driving (although certain responsibilities push you to take your own vehicle), driving at low speed, etc.
These three aspects feed off each other and perpetuate or even aggravate the degree of driving phobia, as they have a circular effect in which fear and stress only grow.
Of course, it is not uncommon to experience fear at the wheel of a vehicle, especially if you have little experience with it and A failure can put your own life and that of others at risk (a situation that occurs in practically all kinds of routes). However, amaxophobia is an irrational fear that cannot be justified and, precisely for this reason, it's hard to fight. Despite this, the fact that it is not easy to treat does not mean that it is impossible to drastically mitigate its effects.
How is fear of driving treated?
There are several fronts from which you can attack the phobia of driving from the cognitive-behavioral intervention.
In the first place it is good to inform about the nature of amaxophobia, since this way the person who experiences will be able to understand what is happening to him and will know what it implies and what it does not imply to be afraid of lead. However, this measure does not serve to produce an improvement by itself, since the phobia is not based on the rational. In any case, it serves to limit the problem and know how to deal with it from that point on.
It is good to train in self-instruction techniques the person with amaxophobia. Following self-instructions involves following a kind of imaginary script to know what to do and in what order. This makes it easier to be clear at all times what is the immediate objective in driving and shifts the attention from anticipatory catastrophic thoughts.
It is also essential to attack the emotional side of the phobia, and this can be done by following techniques to fight anxiety before and while driving. Those that directly involve the control of respiration are especially important, since This helps maintain a proper heart rate and prevents the brain from being overwhelmed by circumstances.
Besides all this, it is common to combat it through progressive exposure to the source of fear. This implies making small approaches to driving, setting increasingly ambitious goals. It usually starts with someone's company, but in the later stages the person must be able to cope with driving without any company. It is usually in the exposure to the phobic source that the results are seen, and this can work in favor of the motivation of the person.
Not everything is black or white
As in all phobias, in amaxophobia there are different degrees of severity. That means that for some people it can be a lot of nerves during heavy driving. speed on the highway or motorway, while in other cases the simple act of starting the car can be scary. motor.
The key point is to know how to identify the magnitude of this phobia in each specific case and adapt the strategies to combat it depending on it.