Say you’re already suffering a mild dose of driving anxiety as you’re cruising down the road. But then you get mad. Perhaps some road hog turns in front of you out of nowhere, or your partner calls to say he forgot to pick up dinner, or traffic is so clogged up it’s making you late for your appointment. Suddenly the slight driving fear or anxiety you felt erupts into a full-fledged panic.
Why does that happen?
Anger actually fuels anxiety, a study from Concordia University discovered, which means a miffed driver can become an enraged anxious driver if you’re already suffering from a bout of driving fear. While any anger in any setting seems to fuel anxiety, anger on the road has an even greater chance of occurring due to that fine concept called road rage.
The Research
Concordia graduate student Sonya Deschênes checked out the specific link between different types of anger and Generalized Anxiety Disorder in a study published in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. GAD typically makes people worry excessively about everything from a major disaster to a broken shoelace, always expecting the worst.
“[Researchers] examined hostility, physical and verbal aggression, anger expression and anger control,” the Concordia website explains. “The team assessed more than 380 participants for GAD symptoms and their tendency to respond to anger-inducing scenarios, by testing responses to such statements as, ‘I strike out at whatever infuriates me’ and ‘I boil inside, but I don’t show it.’
“…They found that in the 131 participants who exhibited GAD symptoms, higher levels of anger and its various dimensions were associated with worry and anxiety. Furthermore, hostility and internalized anger contributed to the severity of their GAD symptoms.
“This suggests not only that anger and anxiety go hand in hand, but also that heightened levels of anger are uniquely related to GAD status. What’s more, internalized anger expression – boiling inside without showing it – is a stronger predictor of GAD than other forms of anger.”
While the study did not focus exclusively on driving anxiety, it makes sense that the same type of anger link may hold fast to excessive worry, woe and disaster expectations on the road.
What can you do about it?
The Remedies
Take a break. Timeouts can quickly and effectively get your anger under control, even if it involves pulling off the road and counting to 10 – or 100 – as the case may merit.
Make a joke. Diffusing anger with humor is a great way to get rid of the built-up stress the anger is causing. Rather than erupting in rage, you can instead erupt in laughter. Lighten up and look at the comical aspects of the situation that’s making you mad.
Concoct a possible solution. Do you find yourself enraged at clogged up traffic? Try not to drive during rush hour or use less-traveled roads. If repeat scenarios are making you mad, see if you can find a way not to repeat them.
Take it easy. Anger can’t hang around very well if you combat it with relaxation techniques. Breathing exercises, chanting or repeating a calming phrase or soothing music may be able to do the trick. Relaxation techniques can quell anger as well as your underlying driving anxiety.
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