Fear of driving: a third of the population of our country suffers from this phobia, of which 6 percent suffers acutely and unable to get behind the wheel of a vehicle. Its clinical name is amaxofobia. But what is the most common of amaxofóbico profile? What grades are there? What feelings a person who fears getting behind the wheel? We answer these questions through the eyes of people who suffer from fear of driving.

Removed the card. Some people do it by vocation, for the simple pleasure of driving, and some people do it because it requires your daily life. The reality is that, today, have driving licenses, even own vehicle, has become for many a need translates into freedom. It was this very thing that led C.F.G, conducting 51 years old and married with two children, driving license removed. In your case, everything went well until his second practice session when nothing else join the highway, a vehicle circling bell invaded his lane just over a hundred meters from his car practices. Listening to his experience arises us the first question, Why you are beginning to suffer the driving phobia?

Amaxofobia: the causes

The psychologist Javier Diaz Calero It tries for years to patients suffering from amaxofobia through practical therapy. On their website ‘Driving without fear’ a lot of information on the amaxofobia detailed and, first amaxofóbicos divides into three main groups: noveles who have long without driving and when they resume not have the necessary experience, which translates into insecurity and fear therefore; People who have developed over the years in driving anxiety, which it is generated by the stress of their daily lives, and drivers who have suffered a traumatic experience, teniendomiedo to repeat.

C.F.G belongs to the third group: the experience pursued for a long time. First, it took several months to retake the practical classes, although once on the card will be pulled first. As he explains, he could actually drive smoothly, but always city. By contrast, highways were forbidden territory: Only imagine joining a high-speed track completely paralyzed. It is also the case Maria, a 23 year old: His fear of driving there from the beginning, caused by an accident in which she was not driving.

What feels amaxofóbico?

‘complete and crippling panic. Anxiety and terror basically. I felt that for my fear, I could reach cause an accident at high speeds noncircular like the rest‘, Says C.F.G. According to Dr. Díaz Calero, this is one of the common symptoms in a amaxafóbico: have a negative self-perception oneself, considered a danger to other drivers. So does Mary, who describes his feeling behind the wheel as ‘real panic’ and specifies that, when it tried to drive suffers anxiety attacks: ‘I get so nervous I do not control and locking me. When I’m driving I feel that I have I do not control the situation. I’m afraid of having an accident or do something wrong and something happens my fault ‘. In fact, it was the prompting panic had hit one of the few times he got behind the wheel: that supposed its complete rejection of driving.

Sometimes the suffering crippling fear of driving the guy has negative thoughts and all kinds of catastrophic situations on the road imagines. If a person who has suffered an accident or seen, what it does is remember that traumatic experience when trying to drive. ‘After the accident I’m afraid not only driving, but only the fact to drive and crash we meet again ‘, Maria explains us.

What is the typical profile of amaxofobia suffering?

As explained on the website of ‘Driving without Fear’ women aged between 30 and 40 years are the most common profile. However, broadly speaking are conductive which are more likely to suffer from this phobia: according to a study by the Mapfre Foundation, 17 percent of drivers with fear of driving are women circumstantial, just like him 2 percent in the case of crippling type. In both cases, the percentage of women is double that of men.

Similarly, it is often the fear of driving is given in people were removed but the card have been a long time without taking the car, as in the case of Mary she led rarely removed after the card three years ago and fear, coupled with the lack of experience, make driving impossible task now.

Ending amaxofobia, possible?

A sunny Sunday, as proof, C.F.G He decided deal with their ghosts and get to the office by car, so I had to take the highway. Did. That feat made him overcome his phobia: highways no longer a forbidden territory in his mind. But, have you completely finished with the fear of driving?

The answer is no. Although you can get behind the wheel without problems, there are still certain circumstances in which panic emerges. The first is lost: one can never make a journey that has not previously done with someone and you memorize. ‘I have real terror to miss, I miss my guess by reading a poster and take a wrong exit and no turning back‘. For this reason, you can not do alone very long trips.

The jams will also create anxiety, ‘A horrible sense of claustrophobia, of being unable to move forward’. Also they long-term tunnels‘I live in Madrid and I’ve never gotten into one of the tunnels of the M30, not allow someone to finish if I’m in the car’. Think there suffer an accident and get caught is his greatest fear.

It is customary those who overcome a crippling amaxofobia pass develop a circumstantial. That is, only certain situations cause them fear. As detailed in the report by Mapfre, the most recurrent conditions are bad weather, driving at night or do so with heavy traffic. Normally, drivers try to avoid as far as possible these circumstances, although there is a minority who choose to do so frequently to overcome fear.

Meanwhile, Maria has not yet fought his fear, “Right now I am unable to drive and is limiting me a long life. I lose the fear and start from scratch again, but now could not take the car without preparation and making it gradually. “

I have amaxofobia, how I can overcome it?

C.F.G overcame the fear of driving for herself and tells us that It uses different techniques to hold off panic and anxiety: Steadying breath and draw on positive thoughts such as’ I see myself getting to my destination without problems. “

However, in the most extreme cases there is no choice but to go to the hands of an expert. In addition to this ‘Driving without Fear’, there are several options: self DGT It gives courses to overcome this phobia,and various driving schools throughout Spain. On the Internet, there is a large tangle of blogs and specialized websites on the subject and even online courses. Many of them have cost, so it is advisable to seek help in places that have certain collateral and are supported by opinions.