An article on how to overcome the fear of driving a car, psychological techniques for overcoming a phobia, recommendations from psychologists and specialists. At the end of the article - an interesting video!

The content of the article:

This unpleasant problem can become a stumbling block not only for novice drivers, but also for those who have been driving for more than one year, which means they have an impressive experience behind them. After all, the reason for the fear of driving is not only the lack of practical experience, but also participation in an accident. In both cases, it becomes difficult to force yourself to get into the car and calmly drive along the busy city streets.

The widespread opinion that this problem mainly arises among the fairer sex has no basis. Men can also be susceptible to this fear, which sometimes has to be dealt with for several years. In such cases, even the most insignificant trip can become a "hard labor". And then a situation arises that it seems inconvenient to admit it, but nothing can be done with oneself.

Why there is a problem of fear of driving

There can be many reasons for the appearance of fear, and therefore we will consider only those that are most often encountered.

Most surprising is that, according to experts, often the cause of fear can be relatives, employees or acquaintances. After all, it is from them that terrible stories often come about the consequences of sudden breakdowns, accidents, skids on the road covered with ice. In some people, under the influence of these stories, repeated many times, a conditioned reflex is developed - the machine becomes a potential danger.

And if there was a penetration of this thought into the subcortex of the brain, then in order to get rid of it, you will have to make a lot of mental effort and roll a large number of kilometers.

Another reason may be learning from an inexperienced instructor. This reason has two aspects. The first is a poor-quality explanation of the points of the Rules road traffic, the second is the wrong organization of training in driving skills. Both the first and the second options can be called "time mines", which carry a potential danger.

If the driver does not fully understand the meaning of this or that rule, he can drive under a prohibitory sign and get into an emergency. Riding with an inexperienced or unscrupulous instructor, who are often relatives or acquaintances who themselves do not have the appropriate skills, are also fraught with negative consequences, since such an instructor is not able to give proper explanations for the sequence of actions when certain situations arise.

Family members can have a great influence on a novice driver while driving. Constantly sounding commands such as: "do not drive, brake, turn, do not overtake" and the like can cause a state of stupor in twenty minutes. Trembling appears in the hands, self-esteem is greatly reduced and difficulties arise in controlling the environment.

What to do to get rid of a phobia

There are several excellent methods for getting rid of your fear of driving. However, the presence of a positive result depends entirely on the driver suffering from the phobia. No one can do a visual toggle switch in a person's head to force him to act in a certain way in each specific situation. Therefore, you should calmly sit down and try to understand what the cause of fear is and only then get behind the wheel.

Before driving, check technical condition car, and this must be done before each exit:

• make sure that there is sufficient fuel in the vehicle tank, cooling and brake fluids in appropriate tanks and engine oil;
• check the pressure in the tires and inflate them if necessary;
• make sure the brakes are working;
• check the battery charge level.

Next, you need to create comfortable driving conditions for yourself, bringing the sitting position, as well as the side and rear-view mirrors to the most comfortable position. You should also pay attention to shoes - they should be comfortable and soft.

• It is advisable to get behind the wheel as often as possible. To do this, you must use any reason, even if the desired object is very close, such as a child's school or supermarket;
• Unable to achieve full concentration while driving during peak hours? You shouldn't make a tragedy out of this. You can choose the optimal time, when the traffic is not very intense, and drive along the required route several times. In this case, you should pay attention to the presence of road signs, road markings, recommendations for choosing a speed limit, the placement of traffic lights. The purpose of such trips is to make all movements automatic when overcoming a specific route;
• On these trips, you should outline a plan of action when making such maneuvers as turns, turns in back side, parking near shops, bank or business center. And bind all this to a specific route;
• Practice in performing the reverse motion, while it will be very good if you manage to perform this maneuver, focusing on the side mirrors;
• Listening to your favorite music helps to overcome fear very well. The only contraindication in this case is too high the volume of the sound, which will interfere with hearing possible signals from fellow traffic;
• You should not fuss on the road and adjust to the driving mode of other drivers. The most the best option is finding for yourself the optimal speed mode of movement. It must be such that it is possible to track road signs and promptly fulfill their instructions;
• It is imperative to install a “Y” sign on the glass to inform other drivers about your lack of proper experience.

If your car breaks down, don't panic - you need to do the following:

• turn on emergency lights;
• at the distance set by the traffic rules, put up a sign "Emergency stop";
• call friends or the evacuation service to tow the car.

There are several psychological tricks that can help you overcome your fear of driving, bypass stress, and reduce feelings of discomfort while driving:

1. Got a feeling that there is a break in breathing from the rhythm? It's okay - there is a useful breathing exercise to correct the situation. It is necessary to take ten very deep breaths, and then return to normal breathing. If it does not help the first time, then the exercise must be repeated;
2. Do not avoid driving. You need to drive away from yourself the thought that you can get to the place faster by using a minibus or metro. Even if this is really the case, you should force yourself to get into the car and get to the required place behind the wheel;
3. It is necessary to find effective motivators, such as: “I don’t want to be dependent on city transport, limiting myself to moving along the laid routes”, “I can prove to everyone and to myself, including that I can do it”, “Having mastered the movement by car, I will be able to spend more time in nature ”, and something else like that.
4. And one more important advice, maybe even the most important one - you need to be able to laugh at yourself. If you learn to tell others about your travel adventures in a humorous way, they (in the sense of travel adventures) will gradually stop scaring you.

Videos on how to overcome your fear of driving:

Auto makes life easier, "compresses" long distances, helps to keep time around in time. Many people want to enjoy car benefits. They take courses, get a license. But these people are relentlessly pursued by the fear of getting into an accident, meeting with impolite traffic police officers, and running into the rudeness of other drivers. Therefore, many are afraid to drive. Fear of driving is not a problem for beginners alone. After severe accidents, an irrational fear of a car appears even among venerable drivers. How to overcome the fear of driving a car, stop being afraid to "saddle the iron horse"?

Causes of fear self driving car, a lot:

• in women, the fear of driving is often caused by the stereotype that driving is a man's business;
• also, the representatives of the fair sex are afraid of constant prompts from benevolent "fellow travelers" - relatives, friends. With such "well-wishers" we will try to travel less. If the instructor abuses the remarks, we will find another. Who will not only teach professional techniques, but also tell you how to stop being afraid to drive a car;
• newcomers are especially afraid of sharp remarks, disapproving cries from other drivers. Let's take a philosophical approach to verbal aggression. Let's remember: these clever people also started, and more experienced motorists drove along them;
• the neurotic information space also causes fear - news about incidents, scary stories of relatives about accidents. We protect ourselves from such information, because serious accidents happen, but relatively rarely;
• fear of "getting into a puddle" is another reason why a person avoids cars. He is afraid to park incorrectly, stall, exceed the speed limit, and run into traffic police officers.

We constantly remind ourselves: other drivers are people too. Mistakes with unpleasant embarrassment happen to them. Many of them at first also experienced uncertainty while driving, fear of driving a car, and studied how to overcome it.

How to quickly overcome the fear of driving a newbie woman

Fear of driving haunts 90% of novice motorists. In women, the problem appears more often. The stereotypes that driving is the lot of men are to blame.

To overcome anxiety, sit in a driver's seat and drive a car, a woman should do the following:

1. We hang on windshield beginner sign (teapot). Colleagues-drivers will understand: the car is driven by a "salaga", he cannot be judged harshly for mistakes, he cannot be given a strong word.
2. We conquer the fear of driving gradually. First, we drive a couple of kilometers in quiet places in the early morning, when there are few cars. Private sector roads, country roads are well suited. Gradually we complicate the task. We begin to move confidently along the main city highways at rush hour, to overcome many kilometers of distance between settlements. We act slowly, but regularly. Practice will come, the anxiety will begin to disappear, the fear of driving will go away.
3. We learn to interact with the car, to feel the weight, dimensions. We study the braking distance - we start abruptly, we slow down, we turn around. We practice on uninhabited streets, empty country roads.

When we study our own car, we find out all the features, we begin to understand what to expect from the car. So we will become more confident, we will lose the fear of driving.

How to overcome your fear of driving

Here are some tips on how to overcome your fear of driving:

Exploring the route

We lay the route in advance. Using modern systems GPS, "drawing" the road is easy. We look at where the difficult sections are - turns, busy intersections - we internally prepare for possible stress. We will also ask a friend to take a ride along the future route in order to personally see the stressful areas. The fear of driving will be greatly reduced.

Emergency driving

Accidental driving lessons are a useful thing for people who avoid cars for fear of getting into an accident. The courses will also help people who become afraid to drive a car after an accident. Lessons will instill confidence and help improve driving technique.

Companion

We proceed as follows:

1. We take a passenger to feel moral support. It is impossible to take a "strict judge" as a companion. If your husband likes to teach, it is better not to ride with him. Otherwise, self-confidence will become even less. We'd better take patient, indulgent people who will turn a blind eye to road jambs as fellow travelers. It is also reasonable to take a passenger who is a complete layman in driving. Such one will not get tired of unnecessary valuable advice.
2. The moment will come when you have to give up your companion, start driving on your own. To avoid a lot of stress, we ask a friend to accompany us in his car. Let him ride alongside (in front or behind) so that we can see a friend in the windshield or rear-view mirror.
3. We put in the salon a reference book for motorists with all the necessary telephones (workshops, repair crews, evacuation services, police departments). We also carry the latest version of the traffic rules. Better in paper version, to feel more confident, to look more respectable in the eyes of a traffic police inspector. It is easy to get such literature - in bulk online stores.

Remember! If stopped by a policeman, keep cool. We pretend that we have been driving for a long time. Then the traffic police officer will be more tolerant.

Realism

Do not set yourself super tasks. If you are overwhelmed by the fear of driving, panic overcame, just stop. Even by the side of the road. Just be sure to turn on the emergency gang! Get out of the car, get some fresh air, listen to your favorite song, relax. When the panic is over, keep going.

The importance of positive thinking

Before the trip, we are in a positive mood:

• see your favorite sitcom, remember the pleasant;
• visualizations are also helpful. Imagine the driving process. Nothing bad happens - traffic policemen "have mercy", we avoid emergencies. We just calmly drive, rebuild, stop in front of pedestrians. We park at the supermarket without incident. We return home without any problems. With this attitude, driving will feel much more confident, we will stop being afraid;
• useful and. We constantly repeat internally: we are professionals, we are akin to a car.

Phobia to drive - you can't do without treatment

Fear and phobia are not synonymous. Fear is simply an inner self-doubt, a wrong attitude. But a phobia is a much more unpleasant thing. It is a neurosis caused by a strong stressful situation from the past. Phobia often appears even in experienced drivers who survived an accident.

She sits deep in the subconscious, without the help of a specialist you cannot get rid of her. He will tell you how not to be afraid to drive.

Working out and hypnosis eliminates the problem especially effectively. The patient describes the phobia in words or writes about it. This helps to deeply feel the irrational fear, to overcome it. At the end, the patient tears the sheet apart. This symbolizes the release from the phobia. Working out can be combined with hypnotic suggestion containing instructions on how to stop being afraid to drive.

Freeing yourself from irrational fears will help

Modern life dictates the rules that require you to be mobile. Take your child to kindergarten or school. To get to work. Visit your old grandmother. Pick up the child and take him to the club, swimming pool, clinic, dentist, etc. And do not forget about yourself: update your hairstyle at the hairdresser and make the necessary purchases in the store. You have to choose: be dependent on others or become autonomous.

I studied at a driving school as a student. Every driving lesson was a real challenge for me. I was so worried that my knees were trembling and my heart was pounding. Then I was sure that I would drive a car in the future. But, having received the rights, I happily forgot about them.

Due to the wild feeling of fear of driving, I used by public transport... There were ridiculous excuses for all my husband's attempts to put me behind the wheel. I realized that I was losing skills, but I could not resist the excitement before the trip.

However, the surrounding world dictates its own rules. One day my husband had a long business trip. At that moment, I realized that I needed to become independent. In addition, it was inconvenient to use public transport with a small child in her arms. The thought that I would have to rely only on myself scared me madly.

A lot of time has passed since then, but I still remember that great day for me when one got behind the wheel.

The first time I got behind the wheel as a child. Probably, dad or grandfather allowed many to steer, sitting on his lap. I imagined myself as an adult and dreamed of how I would grow up and drive a car myself. My first driving experience was unforgettable.

Then she trained to drive a car at an older age, also under the control of her father. At that moment, I did not realize the full responsibility of what was happening, so the feeling of fear did not arise.

I was not even scared when the instructor put me behind the wheel in the first lesson. The fear came later. Every driving lesson made me feel anxious and anxious, and misses were insanely upsetting. It was then that I understood all the responsibility. After all a car is a means of transportation, in the process of using which there is a risk to life. I was only getting worse from the realization of the full measure of responsibility that I bear for my life, the lives of my passengers and pedestrians.

Nevertheless, only my husband helped to feel confident behind the wheel. He managed to calmly and easily convey to me necessary information... He treated all my mistakes calmly and patiently, which certainly gave me strength. Of course, his many years of experience helped him in this.

When it became necessary to drive on my own, my fears grew more and more. I was afraid of everything - mixing up the pedals, knocking down a pedestrian, stalling at an intersection, changing from one lane to another, and I was also afraid of oncoming cars. It was a tragedy to be the first to leave the intersection. I was afraid that I would not be able to slow down in time, that someone would drive into me or I would drive into someone. And also from excitement I could confuse where the left turn and where the right.

At the end of each trip, I felt my back ache from tension, my legs ache and my hands tremble. But, having calmed down, I began to reflect, and what caused these unpleasant sensations.

The reasons women and men are afraid to drive are almost the same. Only men tend to experience less stress while driving than women. This is because the former are more closely related to all kinds of technology, and they understand the physical processes that take place in the car during its movement.

Women, on the other hand, have only a vague idea about this, and some do not even bother with such information at all. Therefore, many of them do not understand why they need to squeeze the clutch and why they need to change gears.

Ignorance technical characteristics car is one of the main causes of fear. That is why it is necessary to study the structure of a machine and understand what technical processes set it in motion. If you understand and understand at least the most basic principles of car movement, it will not be so scary to drive it.

All newcomers have a sense of anxiety and excitement about lack of experience. It is common for a person to experience this uncertainty in the process of learning something new. This isn't just about driving.

Fear of more experienced road users. Currently, the culture of behavior of drivers on the road leaves much to be desired. It is especially difficult in such situations for women, sensitive and emotional beings. An inexperienced driver may lose self-esteem due to the grievance and disapproving words from the outside.

Negative experience during practical training with an instructor can also cause fear of driving. And if the teacher made harsh remarks in practice, rudely pointed out mistakes or tactlessly discussed your mistakes on the road with others, you can generally get psychological trauma. And some, after such "teachers", no longer sit behind the wheel.

Communication with traffic police officers can also cause feelings of fear and anxiety. Even a routine document check can create emotional stress.

Fear is a common cause of unpleasant emotions. to get into an accidentespecially if the person has already had a negative experience with participation in an accident. In some serious cases, drivers have to seek psychological help from specialists.

Sooner or later, each person has to learn something new. After all, experienced drivers with experience were once also beginners. I understood that I needed to practice and bring my skills to automatism.

And how I got rid of my fear of driving: mine personal experience fight.

First advice

You need to learn to feel and understand by what forces it moves. I went out to train early in the morning, and first moved around my familiar area. There were few cars and there was practically no danger in the form of pedestrians. I started and stopped, slowed down and accelerated, trying to track the braking distance, turned around and made turns, drove into narrow yards. Thus, I tried to feel the dimensions of my car.

Second tip

Take a friend, colleague or sister with you. It's good if the person you are traveling with does not have a driver's license. I took my sister with me. Driving license at that time she did not have, and she did not give me "smart" advice. Gradually, we began to enter the track. Rebuilding to the right lane, we drove quietly. I realized that by sticking to my lane, I did not interfere with anyone and oncoming cars began to scare me less.

Third tip

If you have not driven for a long time, then a private instructor, husband or father will help you refresh your knowledge. You can hire a female instructor. The latter have a softer and more relaxed approach to learning than men.

I had my husband as such an instructor. To consolidate all the necessary skills, we traveled often and regularly.

Fourth tip

It is necessary to work out the entire route in advance. After a case when I could not find the turn I needed for a long time, I realized that it was necessary not only to carry a map with me, but also to draw up a route in advance. It was much easier for me to orient myself on the spot if, before starting the trip, I plotted my route on the map.

Fifth advice

Feel more secure in different situations on the road, a motorist's guide helps me, it always lies in my glove compartment. It contains all the necessary addresses and phone numbers of auto repair shops, evacuation services, police and traffic police stations, as well as emergency call services.

Sixth tip

Knowledge of traffic rules is very reliable in overcoming autotrusion. Thorough knowledge of the rules gives confidence when communicating with the traffic police inspector. It is necessary not only to learn the rules of the road, but also regularly monitor their changes. I always carry the latest version of traffic rules with me in my car.

Seventh tip

Acquiring skills at a reflex level is probably the foundation of how to overcome your fear of driving. It is not an easy task to be able to simultaneously control road signs, devices, the situation on the road and still have time to change gears. However, these skills come with experience, because to drive a car at an automatic level, you need to practice a lot.

Council eighth

Stick to a low speed mode on the road. This rule will help you to react in time in a difficult situation. At first, I drove slowly, slowed down, allowing others to overtake myself. With this kind of driving, I had time to make a calm decision when changing lanes or making a maneuver.

Ninth tip

A positive mental attitude plays an important role in combating the fear of driving. When I sit in the driver's seat, I try to relax and get comfortable, drive away all bad thoughts from myself, because thoughts are material. I tune in for good and turn on my favorite radio wave. Don't drive in a bad mood.

Tenth tip

Watch video lessons of emergency driving. They will help to adjust the technique of driving in difficult situations, teach the correct technique for handling a car in various situations.

In our century high tech and speeds it is already very difficult to imagine a comfortable life without having at least one car in the family. Giant traffic jams in metropolitan areas confirm that today it is the most demanded and popular means of transportation. Numerous social polls show the unswerving desire of citizens to own a personal vehicle. But in such a flow, how to overcome the fear of driving?

Safety comes first

The desire to buy a car is not enough. For a safe and productive ride in modern road conditions good driving experience is essential. This very often affects not only the life of the motorist himself, but also of pedestrians - the same road users as drivers with their cars.

Quite often, people who want to buy a car are faced with an unexpected obstacle ... This is the fear of driving a car. This unpleasant sensation arises for a number of reasons, which I would like to focus on in this article. Also, taking into account the opinions of experts in this field, we will try to figure out how to defeat the fear of driving.

Typical Boyaguz

Popular psychology has long studied and described typical situations associated with the fear of driving. It turns out that you can find the answer to the main question, how to overcome the fear of driving and the fear of the road by digging into yourself.

Let's conditionally divide the "fearful" and their main fears and concerns while driving into two types. The first includes beginners who are just planning to get behind the wheel, or have very little driving experience, limited by courses. The second type includes just experienced drivers who have been involved in an accident or other stressful situations on the roads.

To be afraid of wolves - do not go to the forest

So, both groups of these people are united by the fear of driving. It should be noted that any kind of fear does not affect their desire to drive. All the same, most of them get behind the wheel. However, prolonged stress of fear of driving can be very unfortunate in the overall psychological well-being of these drivers.

What are beginners' fears of? For the most part, they cannot know the real dangers that the road is fraught with. Therefore, their fear is not motivated by anything. Rather, it is lack of confidence in one's abilities when managing a complex unit weighing at least a ton. It comes from ignorance of some of the basics of driving, which are very often overlooked in preparatory schools.

Novice drivers

According to experts, the first thing newbies need to pay attention to is the ability to fully concentrate on the traffic situation. That is, all actions that you perform in the cabin, making the car move, should be performed automatically. The movements of the arms and legs must be worked out clearly so as not to involve additional visual attention. The easiest way to achieve this is in vehicles equipped with automatic boxes gear. Learning to drive in such a car allows the driver to learn to control the road space without being distracted by the intricate combinations that need to be performed to switch speeds (as is the case in cars with mechanical box gear).

Another problem for all beginners that causes fear of driving is trying to control all the instruments on the control panel. At the initial stages of training, this is absolutely unnecessary, and at a more serious level, such control is only partially necessary.

Today's car manufacturers are in fierce competition with each other and are fighting for potential buyer, put a lot of effort to distinguish themselves in a more favorable direction. One of these active competitive niches is the arrangement and design of the dashboard. What designers do not come up with to make the internal ergonomics of the car more friendly. The modern dashboard shimmers with colored lights, graphic images, columns of information necessary and unnecessary for the driver, which is displayed on-board computer... All this, of course, distracts the beginner from the main thing - the current traffic situation.

In this case, you need to remember that, while in the training car, by default you cannot set off with an empty tank or a faulty generator. And the instructor sitting next to you will never let you exceed the speed. Therefore, no matter how distracted you are dashboard, take advice from experienced - concentrate on the road.

Size matters

An important factor that causes a feeling of uncertainty in driving a car is a misperception of the true dimensions of your steel friend. In other words, the driver does not know for sure whether you will turn the car into a narrow turn, whether it will pass between two trees, etc. With experience, this feeling quickly passes. It's all about basic driving practice. The more time you spend behind the wheel, the sooner you will learn to judge the distances and sizes of obstacles. And then the question of how to overcome the fear of driving will be a thing of the past.

And, of course, the feeling of fear inspires a possible accident. Here, no matter how trite it sounds, you just need to remember the rules of the road and know the permitting and prohibiting signs, as well as strictly observe the prescribed speed limit. If you accept and understand all the situations described, you will not experience any fear of driving.

What to do after an accident

How to overcome your fear of driving after an accident, you ask?

There are probably no unambiguous and clear advice here. And the opinions of people who deal with psychological problems of this type are quite different. After all, such a fear is much more serious than inexperience. The person felt a real threat to his security, and the consequences of the experience may remain in the memory forever.

The first thing to consider if the fear of driving is acquired as a result of an accident is the possibility of completely or at least partially refusing to use the car for a while. You need to come to your senses, understand and realize the reasons for what happened. It is best to seek help from an experienced psychologist.

If you feel the strength to get out of this situation on your own, then just become a pedestrian for a while. Analyze your actions, being, as they say, on the other side of the barricades. Over time, the realization of his own mistake comes and again pulls behind the wheel.

There are also alternative expert advice: to carry out "work on mistakes" and continue to drive in an increased volume, overcoming the complexes that have appeared. This is a kind of shock therapy that has helped quite a few.

Costly, but effective

A fundamentally different, but very effective technique called "How to overcome the fear of driving a car" is to change the car, which is associated with unpleasant memories. Very often they sell a "loser" in order to get behind the wheel of a new one. This method requires financial investment, but, nevertheless, it allows you to get rid of the resulting stress.

There is absolutely no safe cars... But there are cautious and experienced drivers who drove most of their lives without any unpleasant impressions - which is what we wish for you.

Yes, you can ride in a passenger seat or in a stuffy bus cabin your whole life. However, in the 21st century, the car remains the main means of transportation for a successful person. And if you want to control it, you need to overcome your fear

Watch out for the car?

Become a "perpetual passenger" orovercome the fear of driving? You now have a choice.

She begged her 19-year-old grandson not to get behind the wheel of a new motorcycle - that one has junk rear wheel... Her imagination drew all sorts of horrors to her, and her memory, as luck would have it, threw pictures from various accidents that had once been seen on TV. Her heart ached, and she asked her grandson to check new motorcycle in the service before running in. However, the guy's hot blood boiled over and demanded adrenaline. Hastily calming down the caring granny, he saddled his "new clothes" and drove off into the night. This night cost him his feet.

Grandmother - the famous actress Galina Polskikh - will never forget the morning when she was informed that her grandson was in intensive care. And, probably, she will never forgive herself for not holding him back, despite her bad feelings. Her grandson Philip was driving a new motorcycle all night, and in the morning, already returning home, lost control and crashed into a bump stop at high speed. Now, two years later, he is almost used to the prosthesis and is re-mastering the motorcycle. This guy does not take courage, which cannot be said about people in whom one type of car or motorcycle causes an uncontrollable attack of horror - fear of driving.

Fear and terror on wheels

Once in his youth, a gypsy woman predicted death from a car for the father of my friend. Fear of driving won out despite growing up in the family of a professional chauffeur. He never got behind the wheel, having ridden a bicycle for the rest of his life. Until the end of his life, literally: he was hit by a truck while riding his bicycle to the store for bread. Mystically, the prediction came true, but this tragic death was the result of a fatal coincidence that had nothing to do with driving.

Gypsies in our time have redesigned and predict only profit and luck, for such predictions it is better to "gilded" the pen. And death from a car no longer scares anyone away from the steering wheel. However, despite the annually growing number of motorists, the number of those who are afraid of driving and do not dare to sit in the driver's seat is not decreasing.

Actress Marina Aleksandrova faced the fear of driving when she got behind the wheel of her first car. “I still freak out when I drive. Every day is like an exam, ”she said in an interview after buying a car. Now she drives pretty confidently, but has she stopped being afraid? Have you got rid of your fear of driving?

The star of the series "Univer" Maria Kozhevnikova quite confidently drove the car until she had a serious accident. Now the actress drives with a driver, she still hasn't been able to overcome her fear of driving ...

Hundreds of similar stories about the fear of driving can be found on the websites of motorists from the series "behind the wheel", "autolady", "online driving school", etc. "The husband calls women at the wheel monkeys, and then wonders why I am afraid to drive ..." , “When I get behind the wheel, my legs become cottony, and my mouth dries up; scary, even when the instructor is nearby ”,“ I start the engine, but my heart is beating as if it’s going to jump out of my chest now ”,“ I have rights for several years, but I might have a real driving experience for about a month. It is inconvenient to admit, but ... just stupidly scary "," Every driving lesson ends in hysteria, I will probably give up this case. " Sad stories of those defeated by fear of driving.

Why are there stories from the Internet, I myself am from this army of "fearful" invisible to the world! Driving has always been scary, and after the accident, the fear of driving just became uncontrollable. How can you overcome your fear of driving? As a result, the car was left to rust in the garage, and I began to extol the advantages of public transport in front of my familiar motorists.

Attempts to overcome myself were unsuccessful until I learned the psychology of driving, that is, where the legs of this fear “grow from”.

The smell of visual fear

After all, what is a car? As they say at all driving courses without exception, "a vehicle is a source of increased danger." Heavy traffic, crazy motorcyclists slippy road after the rain, impudent reckless drivers with purchased rights, pedestrians running across the road, "guest workers" who do not know their rights on old GAZelk cars, their own inexperience and fear of falling into a stupor in an emergency situation - there is something to panic about. And then there is the media with enviable regularity circulating information about road accidents, often terrible and bloody. At the same time, journalists and bloggers, in pursuit of readability and ratings, do not hesitate to do anything, publishing shocking photos from the accident sites. How can you overcome your fear of driving?

It is enough for impressionable and emotional people to read one such note, and the imagination begins to helpfully draw scary pictures, often urging them to try on the situation for themselves and their loved ones ... What is said at the training "System Vector Psychology" about the fear of driving a car, who is more susceptible to it? Such impressionability is the lot of people with whom the most intense emotional amplitude is characteristic. He is only able to almost instantly "fall" from happiness to despair, or, for example, jump from melancholy to euphoria. As one of my colleagues used to say: “You are crying, then you are laughing - go check your thyroid gland”.

In the case of the visual vector, the thyroid gland has nothing to do with it. In itself, an emotionally saturated vector in the event of stress, frustration or underdevelopment is able to make its owner truly hysterical without any disruption of the endocrine system.

To overcome the fear of driving a car, like the manifestations of any other fear, you need to understand the features of the visual vector. Fear is one of the most powerful visual emotions. In any problematic state of the vector, it can turn into an obsessive state. The "smell of fear" was inspired by the spectators. When they are afraid, their condition is felt by others almost on a physical level.

By the way, a whole scientific study was conducted on this topic by German scientists in 2009 at the Heinrich Heine University (Dusseldorf). The study was based on a simple experiment: participants were given special pads with samples of students' sweat to sniff. One set - with the sweat of the students collected before the difficult exam, the second set - with the sweat of the students from the gym. The volunteers, who dared to sniff, did not feel the difference between the smells. However, the tomograph, which at that time examined their brains, recorded that the "pre-examination" pads caused increased activity of the brain regions responsible for emotions, and in particular for sympathy and empathy. This is a real fact, documented.

In a state of fear, including fear of driving a car, the human body produces special pheromones that transmit its state to the outside world. In the case of the eye, these pheromones are the most "flashy". This is the nature of the visual vector, due to its archetypal role - in ancient times, people with a visual vector guarded a human flock, first of all noticing danger and, with their strong fear, transmitting an instant signal of danger to others.

And it is the spectators who have the strongest fear of death, because even having managed to warn the flock of the impending danger, most of the ancient guards did not have time to escape and died in the mouth of predators or were the first to fall under the mortal blows of enemies.

The fear of death, deeply rooted in the owners of the visual vector, most often manifests itself through various phobias and obsessive fears, including through the fear of driving. After all, while driving, there is always a risk of knocking down someone, getting into an accident, dying yourself or unintentionally killing your passengers. And even if the probability of this risk is less than a thousandth of a percent, for many spectators the fear of driving a car is quite real, practically palpable.

Such is the special psychology of driving: if, getting behind the wheel, you feel panic, you have one or more symptoms of fear that you cannot overcome (wet palms, weak legs, frequent heartbeats, increased sweating, cold chest, etc. ), then you can be congratulated - most likely, you are the owner of the visual vector! There is something to rejoice here, because it is the spectators who give the world the most delicate, emotionally sensitive people who are inexorably drawn to beauty: artists, art connoisseurs, people with warm hearts, capable of empathy, love and mercy.

However, the tendency to fear, fearfulness, the tendency to panic - this, alas, is also an integral part of the visual vector, so to speak, a fly in the ointment. The emotional palette of the viewer begins (but does not end there) with the brightest paint, which, of course, is fear. And the less developed the vector, the more stress and tension in the life of the viewer, the more difficult and bitter his childhood was, the more chances he has to get himself some obsessive fear, or even several ...

The phobia that has fallen to our lot, forcing us to constantly think about how to overcome the fear of driving a car, can greatly complicate our life. Especially in cases where the car is an important part of this life. Is there a way out of this situation? How to apply knowledge of psychology to driving a car?

How to stop worrying and start driving

On the websites of car enthusiasts, "seasoned drivers" often give advice to fearful newbies who have a "natural" fear of driving. All these tips can be roughly reduced to just a few standard recommendations on how to overcome the fear of driving:

More lessons with an instructor - next to an experienced driver (and even with an additional set of pedals under his feet) fear becomes less.

Buy a bigger and more powerful car with a full set of airbags and other bells and whistles that maximally guarantee survival, "if, God forbid, what."

Drive more yourself, winding kilometers and gaining experience. Like, all fears of inexperience.

And finally, the most ingenious advice: stop being afraid! Calm down, relax, sort out your fears, instill confidence in yourself, stop being afraid of mistakes, and if anything - stop and turn on the emergency gang until calm comes, and so on and so forth.

Well, the advice is all reasonable and sensible: a safe car will not hurt, and you have to work with an instructor, and your own mileage will roll. Only tips from the "stop being afraid" series are of no use. It's like saying to a hiccuping person "Stop hiccuping!" or shivering from the cold "Don't shiver!" You can get behind the wheel a million times and still shake with fear every time and experience this disgusting pulling feeling of emptiness somewhere in the stomach area ... Alas, the visual fear of death defies logic.

In addition, the fear of driving can be associated not only with disturbances in the visual vector, other vectors contribute to this phobia, sometimes making it so unbearable that a person does not even try to overcome himself. "Beware of the car" for him is no longer the name of a good old comedy, but a lifelong credo.

So how do you overcome your fear of driving? Maybe it's easier to give up on him and become an eternal pedestrian? And all my life to look with envy at those who confidently turn the steering wheel and laugh at "ridiculous fears"? Probably it would be good advice for those whose soul sinks into the heels when the foot presses the gas pedal, if it were not for the opportunity to defeat this fear. But there is such an opportunity, and there are people who managed to get rid of the fear of driving thanks to the knowledge that is given at the training of Yuri Burlan "System-vector psychology".

A life in which there are open manifestations of fear does not give a person the opportunity to experience full happiness. Yes, you can ride in a passenger seat or in a stuffy bus cabin your whole life. However, in the 21st century, the car remains the main means of transportation for a successful person. And if you want to control it, you need to overcome your fear.

How to overcome the fear of driving a car will be prompted by the training "System-Vector Psychology", which allows you to understand the deep causes and mechanisms of fear. After completing a course of lectures by Yuri Burlan, you can not only stay calm while driving, but, finally, start enjoying driving.

The power of this knowledge really works. Checked on myself.

Proofreader: Galina Rzhannikova

The article was written based on the training materials “ System-vector psychology»