Causes of Stress: Driving to work in my car

I don't know about you but I find driving to work to be one of the most stressful experiences I have to suffer. Oh.... the monotony of the journey and the predictability of lengthy delays... With each junction, road, car, pedestrian, cyclist, truck driver, road sign, speed camera and set of roadworks comes another opportunity to stress myself out and boil over with anger and frustration.

Slow drivers crawling aimlessly to work - oblivious to the misery they are administering. Speeding drivers hurtling their way to an appointment that they are already late for (if indeed they are fortunate enough to reach it after taking such risks). Thoughtless truck drivers allowing no one into their lane but forces their way past others. The road is a harsh place: full of idiots, psychopaths and incompetents. Or at least that is how I perceive the situation as I drive across the moral high ground. Maybe I am not the blameless martyr that I paint myself to be.

I know that I get stressed behind the wheel just as many of us do. Ever increasing traffic levels make driving slower, more hazardous and, therefore, more stressful. Longer work hours may also be contributing to driving stress. We have less leisure time and the long drive home can stress us as we rush home to our families. The regular trek home can be unhappy enough but traffic jams and other delays can push our stress levels even further.

My aim is to reduce the stress that I suffer when driving and to learn to calm down when I do get stressed. I have the following goals:

• reduce the stress of rushing by setting off earlier in my car.
• read traffic reports before I make a journey and avoid or prepare for delays.
• learn to accept other people's failures as an inevitability. (at least don't get so mad about them)
• use simple relaxation techniques to calm myself should I feel angry or frustrated. For example, repeat a relaxing word to myself or think of a happy, peaceful memory.
• be realistic with my planned journey time. Don't tell someone 45 minutes when I am at least an hour away. Reduce the pressure.

I will be reporting back on my driving progress over the next two weeks.

I really need to relax and reduce stress

I have started this blog as a journal. A journal to accompany my quest for a stress-free lifestyle. Okay, I guess I may have to settle for a reduced stress lifestyle. Anyhow, I owe it to myself and my family to make our life more relaxed. The other reason for this project is due to my career. I am a composer and owner of record label Sounds That Soothe. We produce music to calm and relax and I think is about time that I take a dose of my own medicine.

In this journal, I will record my research and experience of various relaxation techniques and stress relieving products. I will pass comment on relavent news items and will review products designed to relax body & mind. I invite interaction from all my readers and welcome comments to the blog. The journal is intended to be a helpful guide to anyone considering a similar change in their lifestyle. You can subscribe to the site feed to stay up to date with the journal.

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