Nervous Driver to Confident Driver

50 years ago many people considered a car to be a luxury but nowadays it's a necessity for a lot of people.  We travel further for work, children have to be driven to school, friends live all over the place, there may be no local shops and public transport might not be an option.

Even if you don't need to drive on a regular basis it can make life easier if you can drive when the need arises.

If you're a nervous driver then some of these insights may help you to reduce your anxiety by getting rid of some of the things that cause it.

Unfamiliarity and lack of experience are probably the biggest causes of anxiety.  You may be being a new driver who was fairly confident when you had someone else in the car who you could rely on to tell you what to do if you were uncertain but now you have to drive on your own you worry about making the wrong decision.  You might have passed your test a while ago but just not driven for a long time.

Flick through a couple of pages of the Highway Code every day.  That will give you added confidence about your knowledge of road signs and the rules of the road.  You could do another theory test to remind yourself of what you know.  Ask a friend to go out in the car with you for some moral support and after a couple of trips ask them to keep their eyes shut so that you are making the decisions, but they are there if you really need them.  That will definitely increase your confidence if someone is happy to be driven around by you with their eyes closed!

Visualise in your mind the whole process of driving, imagine everything you do when you go out in the car and that will reinforce the knowledge you have.  The advantage of visualising it is that you can do everything as slowly as you want and then gradually speed up.

You might find you get easily distracted in which case practise concentrating.  You can talk through what you're doing so that you don't start thinking about other things.  So, describe what you are doing, when you change gear, the manoeuvres you do, the other traffic and pedestrians.  This is a technique used by advanced drivers.  Make sure you don't get distracted by the things you're describing though!

If you were involved in an accident and and keep remembering what happened or you worry about what could have happened then I'd recommend seeing someone who can help you to put those thoughts in the past so you can put the driving risks back into perspective.  A hypnotherapist, NLP practitioner, EFT practitioner or professional who uses one of the other mind based therapies should be able to help.

If it is simply a skill or type of road condition that concerns you then contact a driving instructor and take a lesson specifically covering that skill. Lots of driving instructors offer lessons in motorway or night driving. If you haven't had a lot of experience at something then it's natural to be uncertain or cautious - in fact when you're driving a vehicle it's sensible!

Anxiety can sometimes be caused by poor eyesight because you aren't able to take in everything that's happening around you so you're more likely to be surprised by other road users who you haven't seen properly.  Get your eyes tested.

Is the vehicle that you are driving suitable for you? If you share it with someone else then the seat might be set too far back or too low so that your vision is restricted and you don't feel in control of the vehicle. Move the seat and mirrors so you have the best vision and wear your glasses if you need to.

If you need something to get you motivated to start driving confidently then hypnotherapy can help you to feel relaxed about the thought of driving and feel calm whilst you are driving.

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