Showing posts with label popular media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label popular media. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Friday, February 27, 2009
Why am I so afraid of driving?
AUTHORS: Fox, S.
PUBLICATION: The Times (London), 1999.
SUMMARY: A journalist account of suffering from spontaneous driving anxiety and seeking help for it.
"...I was horrified at how out of proportion my fears had become."
"It was a relief to sit with Professor Ehlers who, without be judgmental, was able to explain what happened to me."
"Professor Ehler divides driving phobics into three categories. Post-traumic stress disorder follows an accident ... another group .. suffer from panic disorder ... someone with a driving phobia."
"Professor Ehlers ... "I would hope that your anxiety could be dealt with in 12 to 15 sessions...."
MY THOUGHTS: So this article neither explains what causes the anxiety, nor goes even as far as beginning to treat it.
TAKE HOME MESSAGE: Why call an article "why am I so scared of driving?" and then not provide any kind of answer? A phobia diagnosis describes that you are afraid--it does not explain why.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Phobic drivers go to class to learn mastery of fear
AUTHOR: Glenn Ruffenach
PUBLICATION: The Wall Street Journal, 1990
ABSTRACT: N/A.
SUMMARY: A journalist account of Charles Melville's group treatment course for driving anxiety. Interesting quotes:
"Fears links to driving may be the most common."
"Heredity seems to be part of the problem, but no one is immune...."
"Most of the nine seated around Mr. Melville had their first attach while driving. It occurred for no apparent reason."
"Mr. Melville ... says such attacks are often an "accumulation of life stresses"."
The treatment seems to be primarily systematic desensitization.
MY THOUGHTS: If driving anxiety has genetic (biological) input, occurred spontaneously (no initiating assocation with an unconditioned stressor), and in response to generalised stress (operant conditioning?)--why is the treatment based on the idea of Pavlovian conditioning?
TAKE HOME MESSAGE: The article concentrates on one participant who recovered fully... but what happened to the other nine? This is why I generally focus on peer-reviewed scientific reports.
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