One of the most recurring fears today. We explain its causes and characteristics.
It protects us from threats that pose potential harm or can even cause death, thereby increasing the chances of surviving and contributing to the continuity of the species.
Although our natural environment lacks the risks of yesteryear, it continues to unfold before us a host of stimuli in which the most atavistic emotions manifest themselves in very different ways.
In this article we will review an evolutionarily modern fear: amaxophobia. It is a problem that is included in the nosological category of specific phobias, and that has a relatively high prevalence.
- Related article: “Types of phobias: causes, symptoms and characteristics”
What is amaxophobia?
In general terms, amaxophobia can be described as the fear of driving . When the person is inside their vehicle and proceeds to drive it, there is an increase in their physiological activity and a succession of negative thoughts that include the risk of suffering a serious accident.
These symptoms can be present even during the days that precede the act of driving, due to the anxious anticipation of the situation.
Often the outbreak of such sensations occurs after a period in which the person could use his private vehicle without problems, having developed the ability to drive without assuming an objective risk. For this reason, it is key to differentiate it from the fear that those who still do not have enough practice to feel totally comfortable deal with, since this security is achieved with experience and the formation of a series of automatisms.
- It may interest you: “The 7 types of anxiety (causes and symptoms)”
Symptoms
The symptoms are very similar to those of a panic attack , but with the exceptions that they occur only in a context and that they can be anticipated in advance (in panic disorder they arise unexpectedly).
The intensity of the episodes is variable, so that in mild cases the person maintains their ability to drive (despite doing so while enduring their discomfort), and in severe cases the total impossibility of using any means of transport is observed.
There are also qualitative differences, that is, linked to the clinical expression of each case. For example, there are people capable of using their vehicle if they are accompanied by someone they trust or if they travel through familiar places (where paradoxically there is a greater risk of having an accident), while others experience great anxiety at the simple fact of imagining themselves in the pilot’s seat.
In addition to the fear of this activity, which is daily for a high percentage of the population, people who suffer from this phobia fear that their symptoms may precipitate fainting or loss of control with catastrophic consequences , developing what is known as “fear of fear” . And while it is true that many feel safe when traveling accompanied, others report an even more intense fear of the possibility that their actions may harm third parties.
Attempting to curb anxiety symptoms by firmly opposing them when they occur can exacerbate the problem. In the case of being unsuccessful, there is a decline in self-efficacy and the conviction that at no time will it be possible to drive again, opting to abandon any possibility of resuming the activity.
Thus, over time, fear ends up spreading through an incubation process, making it difficult to find a therapeutic solution and limiting life options (such as finding a job that requires a vehicle or simply traveling).
Why it happens? Causes
Amaxophobia, like many other disorders in the same family, is usually the result of a negative experience lived in the first person .
Thus, for example, it is common for a review of the life history to reveal an ominous event that occurred while driving, such as a traffic accident or some incident that was close to causing it. In any case, it was perceived as a very aversive experience, associated with an intense emotion that emerges fiercely when remembered.
It is also possible that the fear did not arise from a personal experience, but that it was established from what happened to a third party. It may be a consequence of having witnessed an incident in which the travelers suffered very severe injuries or lost their lives, for example, accentuating it in the event that those involved were known. It is, therefore, the product of observational or vicarious learning, in which traumatic components can be distinguished.
On other occasions it happens that the person has experienced a panic attack, completely by chance, while driving. This is common in subjects who were going through prolonged periods of stress, which ended up facilitating the scenario in which an episode of acute anxiety took place. In this case, despite the fact that a traumatic event was not really experienced, the person traced a cause and effect relationship between what he was doing and the experience of hyperarousal (despite the fact that there was no real connection between them).
Once the fear of driving has been established, through the aforementioned mechanisms, it is maintained as a result of avoidance. In this way, every time it is decided to avoid the use of the vehicle, a false sense of relief emerges , at the expense of increasing fear for the successive occasions in which the habit is attempted to be recovered. If the dynamic is maintained, the idea of driving again becomes an apparently impossible odyssey.
It is important to point out that the fear of driving is accentuated under specific situations, such as when overtaking must occur or when accessing densely traveled places, such as the center of large cities. Also in those sections of the road where the vehicle must be used with special caution, such as pedestrian areas or close to sensitive places (schools or animal transit areas, for example). Certain weather conditions, such as heavy rain or fog, also contribute to emphasizing fear.
Treatments
Psychological treatment has been shown to be effective for amaxophobia . In the first place, it is important to provide adequate information about the problem that the person presents, in order to tackle preconceived ideas that could limit its effectiveness. This preliminary step is essential, since the disorder often coexists with the deep belief that anxiety symptoms represent an objective danger to life.
From this moment, very diverse treatments can be articulated. The most basic of them all is exposure, the most validated procedure for treating specific phobias. It is possible, however, that the person does not feel capable of developing it at the beginning, so it is useful to resort to a series of previous steps that will facilitate the transition process until in vivo exposure.
Exposure techniques can be used in imagination, and even the new option of virtual reality, which has been widely contrasted in the case of amaxophobia. It consists of the use of immersive technologies that realistically simulate a driving situation, which can provide the first successful experiences and increase the feeling of control.
Another useful resource may be systematic desensitization . In this case, a hierarchy of feared situations associated with driving is generated (by consensus with the therapist), giving each of them a numerical value (from zero to one hundred) according to the degree of anxiety that the patient attributes to them. Such items can then be recreated in imagination, following a progressive order starting from the most bearable and progressively ascending to the highest level of the list.
It is also possible to carry out purely cognitive treatments, aimed at locating irrational beliefs about driving. In general terms, these are thoughts that are not very objective, that are of little use, that provoke overwhelming emotions and that are formulated in very rigid terms. The elaboration of self-records can help to find useful alternatives, which translate into more easily manageable affects.
The use of drugs for amaxophobia is not especially indicated. Although it is true that they can reduce physiological arousal through their ability to stimulate GABA-A receptors, many psychologists argue that their effect can interfere with the habituation process required for exposure to have the desired efficacy.
Last considerations
If you have or think you have amaxophobia, do not hesitate to contact a mental health professional .
Psychological treatment has proven to be a very effective tool to reduce the intensity of the problem, regardless of its evolution time.
Bibliographic references
- Hernandez, A. (2017). A Purpose of a Case: Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy applied for the Treatment of Amaxophobia. Journal of Clinical Cases in Mental Health, 1, 77-97.
- Ruiz, J. (2018). Relationship between Sensitivity to Anxiety and Fear of Driving. Psychology Notes, 36(3), 145-154.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.