Nervous, Phobic Driving or Road Anxiety
Overcoming Driving Anxiety
Driving anxiety—or a driving phobia—can have a huge impact on daily life, preventing you from doing essential tasks like the school run, commuting to work, or fulfilling job roles that require driving.
If anxiety behind the wheel is holding you back—whether it makes driving stressful or stops you from driving altogether—you don’t have to struggle alone. The key to regaining control is facing the issue with the right support and guidance.
The Problem
Avoiding certain roads—or even entire journeys—doesn’t just affect the person struggling with anxiety; it impacts family, friends, and colleagues too. Life becomes restricted, and sufferers often find themselves relying on others' schedules, unpredictable public transport, costly taxis, or worse—staying home and missing out altogether.
This can put strain on relationships, as patience from loved ones begins to wear thin. It can also limit job opportunities simply because getting to work feels impossible.
At best, road anxiety is restricting. At its worst, it’s debilitating.
Your driving may not have reached the level of being phobic yet, but you might find this link helpful in understanding more about phobias.
Physical Reactions you may Experience:
Beyond just feeling tense, driving anxiety can cause physical symptoms such as:
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Headaches
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Tingling lips
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Chest pains and heart palpitations
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Nausea or even vomiting
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Dry throat
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Feeling faint or having ‘jelly legs’
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Dizziness
You might find yourself planning routes to avoid major roads, bridges, or motorways, even if it means adding miles to your journey. Or perhaps you avoid driving altogether, cancelling trips because the thought of getting behind the wheel feels overwhelming.
If any of this resonates with you, know that you're not alone—and you don’t have to stay stuck in this cycle. Help is available to regain confidence and take back control.
You’re not going mad!
Don’t worry, You're not alone! It's is far more common than you think.
But You do Need to Seek Help!
You may want to choose a therapy according to what feels best for you. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) may help, Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) or Hypnotherapy. Sometimes a combination of more than one can help.
Talk about it! We have a facebook page with advice www.facebook.com/thedrivinganxietycoach. Also The Driving Anxiety Coach Forum Group in facebook, where you can post your own experiences, share and support one another. Our specialist website is available for you to turn to. Click on www.thedrivinganxietycoach.co.uk for more information. See you there.
Start now! Call Diane on 07889 186100.
I am a nervous driver, following a series of small traffic incidents. Although I have been driving for a number of years I had a number of driving issues: Driving considerably slower than 50 miles an hour, nervous and unsure on roundabouts and driving on major roads. I was also concerned about driving my husband’s car which is considerably bigger than mine. Prior to working with Diane I had Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Hypnotism but neither worked. I have been driving with Diane over a period of over a year. She has proved herself to be an excellent instructor. I am now driving confidently at 50 miles an hour, managing roundabouts effectively and driving my husband’s car regularly. My next set of lessons will be to tackle the major roads. Diane has been able to appreciate the level of support required through careful observation and questioning. She encouraged and advised me, and I built up confidence in her lessons. Her technical advice, given in understandable stages, has enabled me to build up my driving skills and to maintain them. In my own role as a trainer I have been impressed with Diane’s interpersonal skills in her driver training. I can fully recommend her as a driving instructor for building up lost confidence and in teaching achievable goals.