If you're one of the ones who bottle up your stress, it's important that you know how it's really affecting you when you drive. You're not doing yourself any favors tucking it neatly away to be dealt with at a more convenient time.
Men and women with this type of problem handling stress ignore the signs of what stress is doing to them. They pretend like everything's okay and don't connect the fact that their backache, headaches, and driving phobia are a result of putting their stress issues on the backburner.
Women usually do this more than men. In a society where women provide most of the nurturing to the family, they're busy meeting everyone else's needs and don't have time (or energy) to focus on their own personal situation.
In fact, you may not even know that you're stressed at all – you simply assume this is how life is supposed to be and you accept it as a fact. You can't and don't relax because you don't even know that another state of mind exists.
The problem arises when that stress gets to a point where the person can't handle it anymore. Suddenly, they're burned out – suffering anxiety in the car and succumbing to depression without realizing why it's all unfolding that way.
When the symptoms begin appearing, it means you're bordering on more severe problems, like high blood pressure and possibly even a heart attack if you don't address the stress in your life and find ways to alleviate it.
Unfortunately, for someone who doesn't know that stress is the root of their problems with driving, it's more difficult for them to know how to tame the stress in their lives. They first have to get back in touch with their emotions.
Instead of getting mad but keeping it to yourself, you need to release it in small amounts so that you don't allow the damage of stress to infiltrate your body and mind. If you feel overwhelmed, shed some tears.
It's okay to cry and get angry or express your anxiety to someone you love. You're not a robot – you're a human who needs an outlet for your stress. If you have no one to turn to, turn to yourself! Journal your emotions at the end of each day and leave your stress in the pages of your diary so it doesn't come back to haunt you with your health or on the road.
