Anxiety about driving in unfamiliar places is a common problem and one that you can overcome.
On this page I’m going to share some hints and tips showing you how to beat this problem and get driving in new areas that you’ve never been to before.
Book a free consultation with me to get over your problem.
If you’re looking for help with other forms of driving anxiety then I have many other pages such as overcoming the fear of driving over bridges.
Anxiety about driving in unfamiliar places
Your fear of driving in unfamiliar areas is perfectly natural.
The human mind is programmed to run away from anything new or different, that’s how we evolved as a race and survived countless decades.
If something looks wrong or odd then we avoid it because it could be dangerous to us. Think about walking through a forest when you see a strange looking mushroom growing. Would you pick it up and eat it? Probably not.
The same is true when you’re driving in unfamiliar places. Your mind is in overdrive thinking “Danger! Danger! Go back to somewhere you know where it’s safe!”.
This is understandable but also very annoying. Let’s have a look at the two main ways you can get rid of it.
The video below will go over some of the points on this page.
How to overcome your fear of driving in unfamiliar places
You have two options when it comes to fixing this fear:
- Go it alone and just get over it
- Get professional help
I can help you with both of these because I’m both a professional driving instructor and therapist.
Let’s have a look at how you might go about fixing this yourself but be warned: it’s much easier to get professional help!
Fixing it yourself
One way you can get over any issue that involves fear is to face up to it. You’ve no doubt heard of facing your fear or, to give it its proper name, exposure therapy.
This is not something I usually recommend when it comes to driving. For some things like a fear of post boxes (yeah, it’s thing!) it’s quite safe to just go and stand by a postbox until the fear goes and you realise it’s not going to hurt you.
It is not very safe to be in a state of panic as you drive. That’s why I don’t recommend doing it this way.
It can be done with expert supervision from a driving instructor but this is a rather blunt way of doing it using brute force. It’s not very nice nor very effective but it can work for some people.
I helped people in my role as a driving instructor by using this method but looking back, it isn’t something I’d do without the knowledge I have now from my therapy training.
How else we fix the problem
The problem doesn’t always come from a memory.
It could be that something in your current life is stopping you from driving such as the fear of success. That can sound strange but it’s often the case.
A client of mine had an offer from his boss for a pay rise of £10,000 a year and a company car. He’d turned this promotion down for a while so was losing out on a lot of money. It turned out that was the problem: his mind was scared of having more money and success and wanted to stay as it was.
The fear of the unknown and making changes are often behind driving anxiety.
Other ways of fixing it yourself
You can use hypnosis tracks like the one I have made below.
This isn’t designed to totally get rid of any issue but it has been known to do just that! It’s most likely to be of use in very minor cases where the problem doesn’t run very deep and can quite easily be fixed.
This track is nothing like professional therapy which is interactive and uses much more powerful methods. There is only so much you can do with a YouTube video but for those of you that want it, here it is!
Please let me know if it helped you in the comments of this video.
Fix it with professional therapy
We can fix anxiety from driving in unfamiliar places online. Yes, you don’t even have to get in a car so the next time you drive you can be free of fear!
The way we do this is by finding the cause of the issue and re-educating your mind so that it understands it is unnecessary to cause you stress when you’re driving somewhere new.
You get anxious when you drive somewhere new because your mind is trying to protect you. At some time in the past, you might have become upset or hurt when you were travelling in a car. In many cases, the memory has nothing to do with driving at all. Once we find this memory and you realise how unnecessary it is then the problem will go.
It sounds simple but all of this happens in your subconscious mind so we need to use tools like hypnosis to get to it. You won’t find these things just by thinking about them.
Am I stuck with anxiety about driving in unfamiliar places forever?
No, you’re not stuck with it. I have a whole toolbag of…tools that we can use to get rid of this problem.
I know how annoying it can be to have your whole life held back. The great news is that there is a solution for everyone, it’s just a matter of finding it.
The good news is that you weren’t born with driving anxiety, nobody is. It’s a problem that you have picked up on your journey through life. If you picked it up you can put it down again.
Contact me for help
For help getting over the anxiety of driving in unfamiliar places book a free call with me now.
You could be free from this problem once and for all.
