Anxiety while driving is a form of situational fear. People who suffer from driving anxiety will often display apprehension when forced to drive on certain road environment or under certain traffic condition.

For example, some drivers may panic while driving on the bridge. Irrational thoughts floods into their mind and they fear that the bridge might collapse while they are driving across it. For other, the idea of merging on the highways can be so daunting that they suffer from severe panic/anxiety attacks.

There is nothing wrong with feeling a bit of anxiety as it is part of normal life. However, anxiety to the point that it limits your daily activity and interferes with your personal life is neither normal nor desirable.

Luckily, driving anxiety is not a permanent condition and it is possible to overcome it completely. Here are some simple tips to beat your driving anxiety:

Positive Affirmation - An effective way to tackling driving anxiety is to examine your thought process, especially when you are showing signs of anxiety while driving. For example, for drivers with phobia of highways, their automatic reaction when approaching the highway connector would be:

"Highways are dangerous. Look at how fast the cars are travelling. What if an accident happens while I am trying to merge with them?"

"I can't merge with the traffic. There is not enough space for me to filter in. What if someone hits my bumper?"

These are called "self-defeating thoughts" and they are at the opposite end of realistic, truthful thoughts. To combat this, focus on positive, calming thoughts such as:

"I have done this before. If I observe the traffic rule, no one can fault me."

"I will give signals in advance to show my intention. Once there is enough space, I will merge in."

Do Not Hesitate - It is important not to hesitate when you are driving. Hesitating will make you nervous because you are unsure of how to proceed. Trust me, you do not want to be caught stopping in the middle of a junction, unsure of which way to turn. Don't hesitate, move on.

For example, if you can't merge into highways (it happens sometimes), do not stop at the acceleration/exit lane worrying about what to do. Move on! Loop around the service or local road and try again. Don't hesitate, move on.

More importantly, do not obsess and give yourself unneccesary pressure. If you know you are following the correct procedure, just do it, don't think about accident - no one can fault you for doing the right thing. Reaffirm to yourself that you are a good driver and nothing bad is about to happen.

Overcome your driving anxiety today and enjoy a peaceful, stress-free drive on the road now!