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Thought Stopping

It is sometimes advised that the individual who has a fear of driving diligently try to stop their negative thoughts. Although this is well intentioned and the goal certainly is to reduce the quantity of these bothersome thoughts, the technique is inherently flawed. Requiring the individual to remember what not to think of infers that they have already thought it. It is akin to telling them to not think of a blue banana. The first thing they will think of is a blue banana because the very act of remembering what not to think of requires the thought that is intended to be avoided. Methods of mentally visualizing a stop sign or snapping oneself with a rubber band to train the mind to no longer have the thoughts is unfortunately an often suggested technique that is not recommended.

Scheduled Worry Time

Worry time is setting aside specific periods of time through the day, typically morning and evening, to devote to letting these thoughts run their course. For instance, a common thought associated with the fear of driving is that of being trapped and not being able to escape and losing control. For this thought, the individual would force themselves to ruminate on the thought twice a day for a predefined period of time. The intention is twofold. First, the thought becomes less powerful as the person becomes disinterested in it after repeatedly playing out the scenario mentally. Secondly, the technique teaches the person to be able to postpone their worrying until the designated time, which eventually may allow them to postpone the concern indefinitely.