Driving Anxiety Therapy: Reclaim Your Confidence and Freedom with a CBT Therapist
Updated: May 10, 2024
Picture this: a bustling cityscape, the hum of engines, and the open road beckoning. For those with driving anxiety or phobia, this ordinary scene transforms into anxiety and fear. Amaxophobia is the fear of driving. It affects countless people globally, casting a shadow over the prospect of living a normal life.
Phobias are a treatable mental health condition with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Our online clinic receives many referrals for driving phobia in a month. By the end of treatment, many people are driving again and feeling more hopeful about life. Let's dive into CBT and how it can help you tackle the common phobia of driving.
What is CBT Therapy?
CBT is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on changing the way we think and behave. CBT aims to help you identify negative thoughts and beliefs that contribute to your anxiety. Once we recognize the negative thoughts, we replace them with more helpful or balanced ones.
For example, if you think “I will get into an accident every time I drive,” a better thought would be “Accidents are possible. But, if I follow the rules of the road, the chance of an accident is low.” CBT also teaches you practical skills and techniques to manage anxiety symptoms.
Source: S. H. Beck, J. S. Beck, & K. B. Beck (2011). Cognitive behaviour therapy: Basics and beyond.
How will CBT help with my driving anxiety?
The first step in overcoming a driving phobia with CBT is to understand the root cause of the fear. Often, people link the fear of driving to a traumatic event or an emotionally charged experience (but not always). Through CBT, you can learn to identify and challenge negative thoughts and beliefs that fuel the fear.
One of the main techniques used in CBT for driving phobia is exposure therapy. This involves gradually exposing you to driving situations that trigger anxiety. The therapist may start with small steps, such as sitting in a car or watching videos of driving. Once you are comfortable with easier exposures, we will progress to more challenging situations. For example, you could drive on a quiet road and then a busy highway. Over time, exposure therapy helps you overcome your fear of driving and build confidence. CBT will help you reach your driving goals. This could be driving to work or picking your kids up from their favourite sport.
With the help of a CBT therapist, you can learn to manage your anxiety symptoms and develop effective coping strategies. You will be able to use the tools you learn even after therapy ends. CBT works well for phobias. It can help you move on and regain independence by driving again.
Meet Our Clinical Directors
Celissa and Melissa are registered social workers (RSW) in Ontario. They will meet with you when you book your free consultation (click button below). They will match you with an online therapist in Ontario. We have a variety of experienced therapists to choose from, including anxiety and phobia experts.
Therapy Components for Driving Anxiety
Thought records will help you change your thinking. Then, you can feel more confident when driving. If you have driving anxiety, you might think "I will crash." You might even have mental images of a serious car accident. We know that accidents are possible but the probability of it happening is less than when you imagine it to be.
Exposure or behavioural experiments will help you to become more confident in driving. We offer a variety of exposures including situational, imaginal and sometimes interoceptive. You can read more about the types of exposure therapy on our anxiety page. If you have virtual reality (VR) equipment, we could also use that for exposure therapy. Source: Barlow, D. H. (2002). Anxiety and Its Disorders: The Nature and Treatment of Anxiety and Panic.
Exposure therapy will help you to reach your diving goals. For example, if you aim to drive to work or on the highway, we can include that in your treatment plan. If you have driving anxiety, you likely avoid things. Avoiding helps in the short term but keeps anxiety alive long term.
Examples of avoidant behaviour related to driving anxiety:
Making a left-hand turn
Certain roads or highways
Certain road conditions (e.g. rain or snow)
Avoiding driving alone
Bridges
4. Eliminating safety behaviours is important in CBT. However, many CBT therapists overlook this. A safety behaviour is something that you do to reduce anxiety or prevent something. For instance, you try to distract yourself by listening to music while you are driving with the intent of not feeling your anxiety. Learn more about the role of safety behaviours. They maintain your driving anxiety symptoms or phobia.
Examples of safety behaviours for driving anxiety:
Having a support person with you
Opening the window to distract yourself with fresh air
Distracting yourself with music
Carrying medication with you “in case” you have panic symptoms
5. Mindfulness can help you develop better emotional regulation. If exposure therapy worries you, we can help you prepare. We can teach you to better control your emotions or to have a healthier relationship with them. We will do this by teaching you how to be mindful of your emotions and thoughts.
Connect with a CBT Expert in Ontario
If you fear driving, a CBT therapist can help you. They can be your first step to overcoming your fear and living the life you want. The therapists at Virtual CBT Psychotherapy are trained in CBT. They are experts who can help you beat your fear of driving.
If you would like to learn more, you can book a free consultation with one of our CBT therapists. Just click the tab below. Our Clinical Directors will meet with you. They will match you with a therapist who knows how to help.
Learn more about CBT for Anxiety and our therapy fees.
* Must be an Ontario resident. We work with teenagers and adults. Most benefit providers cover us. If you have tried CBT before and didn’t see progress, we recommend trying it again with a CBT expert. Many therapists can accidentally teach you skills that can keep your anxiety alive. You can read more about our anxiety therapy here.
