How to Relieve Anxiety While Driving

Driving is stressful, especially when you're dealing with rush hour traffic before and after work. Anxiety about other drivers on the road can decrease the overall enjoyment in your life. Rather than putting up with these feelings, you can reduce and relieve your anxious feelings while you're driving. In doing so, you can have a happier life and have an easier time getting from one place to another.

Things You'll Need

• Calming music
• New driving route

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Instructions

• 1

  Listen to calming music during your drive. Avoid music that gets you excited or riled up. Choose classical music or slow songs that make you smile. If you feel your anxiety coming on, focus on the music to feel it melt away.

• 2

  Stay off your phone while on the road. As driving already makes you anxious, don't complicate matters by handling a phone call. This is especially important if the topic of conversation is stressful as well. Instead, keep your thoughts on the road. In some places, talking on a hand-held cell phone while driving is against the law.

• 3

  Take deep breaths when you feel your anxiety levels rising. Take air in through your nose and out through your mouth. Flex your hands to loosen your grip on the steering wheel if you feel yourself gripping hard.

• 4

  Limit your caffeine intake before hitting the road. Caffeine can make you feel nervous, which will increase your anxiety, according to the Mayo Clinic.

• 5

  Take a different route to your destination. If you feel most of your anxiety during rush hour traffic on the highway, look for a way to get to work using surface streets or back roads. Although it may take a little longer to get there, you'll have much less anxiety.