For many people the anticipation of taking their driving test can be just as bad as the test itself. Worrying about events before they actually happen is called anticipatory anxiety and playing mental video clips about what might go wrong over and over in your head can lead to unhealthy levels of stress which can impair your performance.

Of course, even the most experienced motorist, can experience anxiety whilst driving in certain circumstances and usually these feelings all boil down to a lack of confidence or a fear of losing control. Before you know it you are beginning to feel nervous and the more nervous you are, the more likely you are to actually make mistakes which is the last thing you want to happen whilst you are driving! So what can you do to improve the situation and give yourself confidence?

Apart from regular practice of all that you have been taught, I'd like to recommend two easy and effective ways to prepare yourself before taking your driving test .

First, let me tell you a little about the benefits of mental rehearsal techniques, well know within the sporting world, as a tool to help sportsmen improve their performance. This is a simple technique that can be applied to any area of your life where you would like to experience some improvements. Whenever you imagine an event in great detail, and you associate these images with a strong and clear emotion, in this case confidence and success, then over time, the subconscious mind comes to accept this situation as real. There are many books available on guided imagery and visualization techniques that will help you learn more about this and once you have leant a few simple rules, you will find this a fun and practical technique that over time will bring you real results.

Next, I'd like to recommend EFT, or emotional freedom technique to use it's full name. This is perhaps my favorite technique of all and it is rapidly becoming known as one of easiest, most effective and inexpensive ways of managing fears, phobias or limiting self-beliefs in the therapy world today. If you find yourself in any fearful or anxious state regardless of the cause then help is literally at hand by using your fingertips to tap gently on some of the meridian points of the upper body, to stimulate the body's energy flow and in turn release the fear.

It's a technique that can be easily self applied but as I say to my clients, please don't leave it to the last minute, or wait until you are in a crisis. If you can, take some time to learn this simple technique before facing a challenging event, or better still book yourself a couple of appointments with an experienced practitioner who can teach you the best way to apply the technique and who can help you release any particularly strong emotions that you may have a tendency to block out or avoid if you are working alone.

Both these techniques are fast, inexpensive and highly effective, and with just a little practice you will probably surprise yourself at the quality of the results! So don't suffer in silence, help is literally at your finger tips.