Well, we were on a season break. We sharing with you some bonus shores from an old episode. Normally we create one short for each episode. For this break, we focus in on one episode in particular, which is episode 72. Rewiring the brain understanding and overcoming driving anxiety with Joshua Fletcher. And we've clipped this into several small shorts, all around five minutes each. This episode is probably the episode that we share the most with those of you who gets in touch and are asking for help. So, if you have driving anxiety, there's probably something for you in one of these shores.

So think what jumped out for me there was what about the people? Cuz there's always people when who say yes, but. Yes, but

Yeah. The Yes. buts, yeah.

But um, so I completely agree. But, so, so the yes, but that I thought of there was, was somebody who says, but my anxiety is so bad. I think I'm going to pass out, or crumbled pieces, or have a heart attack so what do we say to them?

No one's ever died from a panic attack. Um, I hear a lot of people like my anxiety's worse. Um, and sometimes yeah, because they're probably surrounded by people who don't ever experience that disordered level of anxiety. The fear of fear itself, you know, and maybe they're around family members that get a bit frustrated and they're like, whoa, what have you got to worry about? One in five people have that form of inwards disordered anxiety. I've been there. Um, I was so anxious. One part, part part of my life. I didn't leave my house for a year, nevermind my room. This is how I know driving anxiety and agoraphobia linked. I mean, I would, I was so scared. I didn't eat. I didn't sleep for a year. I know what panics like I've been in the a and e four or five times with ECGs and stuff like that. What was happening was I had a phobia of anxiety itself. So not only was I getting the initial fear, So everyone gets anxiety, but you get secondary anxiety and pe most people driving anxiety will have this. So these are the people that are on their Apple watches looking at their heart rate. There's another safety behavior. If you've got an Apple watch and you're looking at your heart rate, get that crap off your wrist. Yeah. It's not helping. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Do Notre, why, you know, and, you know, uh, do not do that. Um, and stuff like that. It's, um, that's a safety behavior and, and stuff like. You can do it. Your anxiety is not worse than anyone else's. If you've got a chronic condition or some stuff, maybe you've, um, maybe you're steroid dependent or maybe you've got, um, type one or two or two diabetes or a thyroid condition. Of course, you know, factor the stress of anxiety into the management of your health. But in general, your anxiety is no more than anyone else's. It's supposed to be terrifying. It, the whole point of anxiety is to make you doubt. That's the. Whole point is the most powerful thing that's made humans the most powerful predator ever to walk the planet because of this doubt mechanism. We're rubbish at fighting predators, hand to harm, combat. We can't run away from predators, but because of a doubt mechanism and an analytical brain, we can spot predators from thousands of miles away, or threats. So, you know, imagine your ancestors on the Serengeti. I feel doubt. Why? What's up? I just feel doubt. Feel like I'm in danger. Okay. Well, Let's have a look around. Oh yeah, there's a pride of lions. They've not spotted us yet. Brilliant. Let's have a Lion King theme barbecue later, because we can sneak up on them or pass or pass them or whatever. That literal doubt mechanism is what makes us so incredibly powerful as as a species, and it's never evolved over thousands and thousands and thousands of years. So when you are having a panic, that's the very same doubt mechanism. But then, The amygdala is per, is perceiving anxiety itself as a lion, so it's adding more adrenaline. So yeah, you probably are experiencing more an anxiety than the conventional person, but you are also experiencing the same anxiety as one in five people who experience panic attacks and disorder anxiety. Your anxiety cannot get to a level where you lose control. You passed out unless you've got like vagal, vagal syncope. But again, that's rare. Um, no, you're not. That's not gonna happen. That doesn't happen. What a rubbish response that would be, uh, if you passed out in response to threat. Can you imagine that? There's a bear. It's chasing me. All right. I'm just gonna collapse. All right. Well, we wouldn't have evolved at all, would we? You know? Yeah. And if anything, you, you collapse when your blood pressure drops.

Yeah, people are constantly checking their watches, aren't they? Checking their, what's my heart rate?

Yeah. And you're teaching the amygdala threat response is dangerous in itself. So these are people that will usually scared to do exercise.

Yeah.

they don't like their heart rates going. And now you go into panic disorder territory, which is, I'm afraid to panic. Anything that reminds me of panic I will avoid including driving. Um, and, and, that's why panic disorder, agoraphobia driving anxiety, they all come under the same umbrella. And when you realize actually this is a form of, this is a fear of fear, and my behaviors are maintaining that phobia, okay, just get worse. You just get stagnant. But remember, you can always take steps forward where you have to get the credit. There's no point driving down the street petrified, and then your partner is sat next to you cuz, and then if you end up saying, oh, thank, no, thank God my partner was next to me. Didn't your brain hasn't learned that you tolerated anything? You know, oh, thank God I have my bottle of waters. I wouldn't have been able to cope. Well then the water gets the credit, you know, oh, thank God I had ice cubes to put on my wrist. Do not do that. The, the ice cube thing, it, sorry, I'm not gonna get angry on your podcast. Uh, but, but in general, no, because your brain will then attribute the credit to ice cubes as opposed to your bravery and courage. The ice cubes didn't note, oh, thank, thank God there was, I was, I was near the hard shoulder otherwise, you know, I could have, wouldn't have done that. Well, the hard shoulder got the credit, not you. Little bit of time. Very passionate about that.

Yeah, so really watch out for those crutches. And if you are using, you know, if there is something that that's a crutch that you are using and you feel you can't drive without it, then you are not overcoming your own anxieties. Yeah,

Yeah, and me, people may have many crutches, so I would say take one away at a time. Don't just go in blind. Just be like, oh, I've not got many crutches here. Actually, I. I'm gonna take one away and see what happens. That's really good. The brain will start to rewire. Oh, okay. Well, you can function with five crutches. Oh, you can function with three crutches. You've got one crutch left. See how you can do it? That's fine too.