Coaching practices for How to Get Over Driving Anxiety on the Highway

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Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

  • I only ever try a new way to handle this once I’m already deep in a full-blown wave, and by then I’m too far gone to think
  • Even once the worst of it passes, I can’t get back into the room
  • I’ve got all these little rules that keep me okay
  • I keep asking the people around me "are you sure it’s fine?" over and over
  • I’ve got all these little things I do to get through anxious moments

Practices that may help

  1. Rehearse the response before you need it
    Learn and practice the four steps in low-stakes moments so they are available under pressure.
    The DARE Response to Anxiety, Made Practical
  2. Engage with the present moment
    Once the edge comes off, redirect attention fully into an activity or your surroundings.
    The DARE Response to Anxiety, Made Practical
  3. Drop the safety behaviors
    Let go of the small avoidances and crutches you use to feel "safe" from anxiety.
    The DARE Response to Anxiety, Made Practical
  4. Fade reassurance-seeking
    Gradually reduce how often you seek reassurance from others that the feared thing won't happen.
    Safety Behavior Fading, Made Practical
  5. Map your safety-behavior inventory
    List every action you take to prevent feared outcomes in anxiety-provoking situations.
    Safety Behavior Fading, Made Practical
  6. Run toward the feeling
    Actively invite more of the anxiety rather than waiting nervously for it to pass.
    The DARE Response to Anxiety, Made Practical
  7. Build an avoidance hierarchy and work through it systematically
    List all the situations you avoid because of anxiety, from least to most frightening, then work up the list.
    Safety Behavior Fading, Made Practical
  8. Reframe from "preventing catastrophe" to "coping with discomfort"
    Shift the goal of entering feared situations from preventing disaster to practicing tolerance.
    Safety Behavior Fading, Made Practical
  9. Stay in the situation until anxiety drops
    Remain in the feared situation long enough for distress to fall — leaving early teaches the wrong lesson.
    The Fear Ladder: Graded Exposure Made Practical
  10. Combine worry exposure with relaxation skill
    After the exposure period, apply a relaxation practice to close each session with a deactivation phase.
    Worry Exposure, Made Practical

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