The Driving Confidence Podcast Fear, Anxiety, and Panic: Unpacking the Emotions of Driving with guest Karla McLaren
In this episode, Kev and Tracey talk to guest Karla McLaren about the importance of identifying and understanding one's emotions and how this can improve driving skills.
We chat about:
- How having a larger emotional vocabulary can help regulate emotions while driving
- The differences between fear, anxiety, and panic while driving
- Emotions can come in pairs, threes, or groups and it's important to listen to what they're trying to tell you
- Articulating your emotions helps your whole body understand that it's just an emotion and not a physical emergency
While listening to this episode, ask yourself:
- How do you feel about the idea that emotions have a role?
- What emotional vocabulary do you use when navigating difficult driving situations? Are they weasel words?
- What are some common emotions experienced while driving? How can we learn to recognize them and regulate them effectively?
Karla McLaren
Karla McLaren, M.Ed. is an award-winning author, social science researcher, and empathy expert. Her work focuses on her grand unified theory of emotions, which revalues even the most “negative” emotions and opens startling new pathways into self-awareness, effective communication, and healthy empathy. She is the founder and CEO of Emotion Dynamics Inc., and the creator of the Empathy Academy online learning site. Karla is the author of many books, including The Language of Emotions: What Your Feelings are Trying to Tell You (2023), Embracing Anxiety: How to Access the Genius of this Vital Emotion (2020), and The Art of Empathy: A Complete Guide to Life’s Most Essential Skill (2013), along with many audio learning programs. She is online at KarlaMcLaren.com and EmpathyAcademy.org.
@karlamclaren.m.ed on Instagram
Mentioned in this episode:
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