So in today's episode, we're joined by Alison Blackler, who is a mind coach and author from Two Minds. And Alison's also got her own podcast called Mental Wealth. So, welcome Alison.

Oh, thank you. Thanks so much for having me on your podcast. It's absolute pleasure.

Brilliant, so, Alison, first thing I always like to ask people is, what does driving anxiety mean to you?

What does that mean to me? Good question. I think it's For me, it means that somebody has probably put a greater importance or a bigger, they made it into a much bigger thing than the, than the actual driving. Because quite often people talk, don't they, about the actual driving bit. It's actually, once you've got the mail signal over and you've got everything sorted, it's actually, it's sort of okay, isn't it? It's sort of fairly straightforward. But the anxiety bit is the bit I think people just load on the top. Probably likely so to start with, there might be a trigger, there might be a reason why. But I think they then make it, like a lot of people do about a lot of things, a million times worse than it actually needs to be. Because how often do you hear someone say, I was really nervous about something. I went and did it. I pushed myself or I got the right support and then it was okay. And I think we do that for so many things, don't we? And I think driving is up there.

Yeah, exactly. Definitely, and you know, hearing you talk there made me think very much about driving test anxiety and driving test nerves, because that's exactly what we hear all the time. Yeah, and probably the way that you say it as well was someone said, Do you know what? I just went and did it and it wasn't as bad as I thought. The examiner was quite human.

because the human brain, I mean, obviously, I specialize in the human brain, and the human brain joins up the gaps, makes up things, you know, if you're not careful, especially if your limbic system, which is your emotional, the anxiety bit of your brain, if that's running the show, it will be catastrophizing, it'll make something feel a million times worse, so you're not just managing then your physical feelings, you're actually then trying to manage your big piece of kit, Which is telling you all sorts of things that may or may not be true.

Yeah, I like that way that you describe your brain as being a bit of kit, because that's what it is, isn't it? It's the toolkit that's running the show.

Yeah. And it's, and it can be your greatest asset. Because the human brain is amazing. But it can also be your worst enemy. And I think for people to understand that, that's why, that's why I love coming on shows like this. Because I think if we can help ourselves understand a bit more about This piece of kit, so give ourselves a little manual, then you've got a greater chance of being able to have a better experience with whatever it is that you're trying to do. So if you're trying to pass your driving test or just trying to get into a lesson even before, never mind the driving test. But I think that sort of making it worse is definitely a thing that humans do.

Yeah. Well, we're always, I, I guess it's part of keeping us safe, isn't it? We're always on the lookout for that worst case scenario because if we can be prepared for that, then you know, we are okay. We are gonna survive. But it's not always helpful because these thoughts are not facts. It's, it's often far removed from the truth, isn't it?

Yeah, I think it is right to say that it is normal for us to have these responses and we wouldn't survive. I mean, our ancestors would not have survived if they hadn't had this, emotional response to this danger, to the cyber tooth tiger or whatever, to fight it, to run away, or to freeze and hope that it hit you and not me. You know, we had to have that, but we've moved on as humans since those days when we were all crawling around in the jungle, but this emotional response is the same. So that emotional response can be triggered from thinking that your friend's done better than you. Or, uh, worrying about whether the instructor, like you said, is, is nice. Or the, the, the examiner. Thank you. I lost The examiner. Making up that they are the scary monster. that's busting through your door. If you think that, then your brain will be putting you into that same response that is kind of keeps us alive and keeps us safe. And for me, it's that relationship we have with that, that is critical to make it a better experience.

Cause we all love making stories up, don't we?

Totally.

Thank you for listening. Find out about the different ways that you can work with us on our website, www.confidentdrivers.co.uk, and begin to transform the way you feel about driving.