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Mallory Pappas

Professor Fitzgerald

ENGL 391, Section 1701

25 September 2017

Drive

I believe that there are two consistencies in this world: time and empathy. Time is forever

and can never be altered or changed. Empathy is something that is consistent within humans, but

exercised differently depending on who are you and how your daily interactions with others are

rendered. It is hard to filter the thoughts that may balance or disrupt your mind. We were not put

on this Earth alone to figure life out by ourselves; we are here with billions of other human

beings to interact and reproduce. Thus, it is inevitable to experience human connection. Some

people have a tough time finding the words to speak their mind. Hence why mental illness and

therapy exists. Sometimes it is necessary to talk out loud to someone to keep your sanity or just

to vent about your emotions or situations. When is it the right time to talk to someone? Do you

talk to a friend? A loved one? A family member? A therapist? Sometimes it is unsettling to a

person to talk to a therapist they do not know. For someone who may be at odds with life and

stuck in their own mind without access to a therapist or psychiatrist, grab someone you can trust

and go for a drive into the night.

The Mental Health Foundation reveals, “talking therapies can help you work out how to

deal with negative thoughts and feelings and make positive changes…They can help people who

are feeling distressed by difficult events in their lives as well as people with a mental health

problem.” Not only does talking allow to relieve pressure and weight from your head, but it can
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impact positive change and advice from another perspective of those you can trust of your

choosing. Ignoring a worry can be outstanding battle “over and over in your mind” and the

“worry can grow,” (Mental Health Foundation). Talking, especially through a therapeutic lens,

enhances that empathetic natural human element. “It can strengthen your ties with other people

and help you stay in good mental health. And being listened to helps you feel that other people

care about you and what you have to say,” as the foundation emphasizes. These benefits severely

outweigh the choosing to ignore your feelings, thoughts, and emotions and allowing them to

build up and rob your mental sanity. This is why talking is vital, now why does the night setting

matter?

According to Belle Cooper, who analyzed ten facts about the human brain regarding

scientific research, two of the ten facts support the reasoning behind night driving for brain

productivity. The very first fact was, “The brain does creative work better when you’re tired,”

(Cooper). This applies to all avenues of exercising your thoughts, which includes talking therapy.

This is where the nighttime comes into play. You enhance your sense more thoroughly while

you’re tired from the day. The aesthetic of the nighttime and stimulation of headlights

contrasting with the dark background of the night ignite your memory and cognitive thought.

This allows for your mind to open up more and be more willing to talk with someone. Another

fact is, “Your vision trumps all other senses,” (Cooper). It is important that you who needs to

talk, needs to be the driver. Your vision is focused on the road and your mind can do all the

talking while your vision is fixated, your mind can speak. The night aesthetic provides the best

setting to focus your mind solely on talking.

Logistically, there is one main important piece of information when doing night driving

therapy: safe driving. The Department of Motor Vehicles constantly advocates for safe driving,
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especially night driving and sum it up as, “when the sun goes down, extra dangers arise on the

road. From compromised visibility to impaired drivers, there are plenty of hazards to watch out

for.” If you find that night driving therapy becomes a regular source of mental health medicine, it

becomes extremely important to follow the importance of safe driving at night. Be sure to get

you vision checked regularly, and if you wear glasses, try anti-glare lenses (DMV.org). Always

remember to keep your headlights clean and bright and to keep your windshield clean to enhance

visibility of the road. To prevent temporary blindness from oncoming traffic, avert your eyes

from oncoming traffic. Try dimming the lights on your dashboard; “The interior lights can hinder

your visibility of things outside your vehicle,” (DMV.org). Although mental health is a crucial

element of life, safety always comes first.

There are three necessary variables in addition to the willingness to talk and the

nighttime: choice of passenger, background music, and preferable route. These factors make or

break the talking therapy. If you have the wrong person, you will feel uncomfortable and

guarded leading you to become unwilling to try talk therapy again. If you have unfitting music, it

can provide distraction and interruption of emotional aesthetic. If you have a poor route choice,

you mind becomes unfocused on the talk therapy and you become distracted, hindering the full

experience. As I mentioned before, the importance of empathy dictates your passenger.

Although talking is the central idea of night driving talk therapy, it is crucial to have

someone who responds with advice or understanding words. We have those friends that we enjoy

hanging out with in groups or social settings, and then we all have those friends that we could

call at 3AM with a concern. You want that 3AM friend. You want the person that will be honest

and trustworthy. Sometimes they need to probe you with questions, and they need to know when

to poke at a sensitive bruise in order heal it. They must understand you to a degree without
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judgement. If they are judgmental, it will keep your mind biased to the information and emotions

you wish to express. Be challenged or be bored, and in these situations, you need to have your

emotions and mentality challenged to relieve it and strengthen it. In other words and the bottom

line, choose the friend that can listen to a slow, acoustic song with thoughtful lyrics and take

something away from it or have them think; do not choose the friend that listens to that song and

responds with only something like, “that was a good song.” You want someone who responds

with, “I wonder what they meant by ‘regret’ in the chorus, and it makes me think of the time

where I struggled in high school.” Speaking of music, the background music should be

something similar.

The background music should not be loud, but something that is like white noise. It

should be slow to medium pace, preferably acoustic. Something that can touch your emotions

and ignite them. Maybe when there is a break in the talk therapy, the music should be something

that you can relate to or understand or question; something that keeps your brain and thoughts

provoked and intrigued. It does not have to be something that both you and the passenger know,

but that is preferable. Maybe put in a CD or play a playlist with this genre of music. If you do not

have a playlist or a CD of such, make one. If this talk therapy during a night drive seems

plausible and attractive to you, take a half hour or hour to create a playlist. It is important to not

fiddle with the music during the talk therapy; it will distract you and you will lose focus. Lastly,

the passenger and the music should accompany the route in which you are driving.

You do not have to know where you are going or if you want to make a circle, but just

drive. Do not stop driving. If you are in a city, get out of the city or avoid the city. You want

driving that demands less concentration, whereas a city enhances direct concentration and will

hinder your talking. Do not go far from home or wherever you are sleeping that night. Keep your
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driving within a 20-minute radius of where you are sleeping that night. Back roads and non-busy

roads are advised. Maybe driving along roads you are not very familiar with to keep your mind

fresh and alert. While having these variables present and adequate, there is one thing left: topic

of discussion.

There are infinite reasons to try talk therapy. Some of you may have mental illness or a

period of high stress in your life. Whatever it may, no matter how big or small that issue may

seem, it is all just as important. It doesn’t matter if it is a miniscule factor in the grand scheme of

life, it does not change the way it makes you feel. If school or work is stressing you out, vent

about it. Why do you dislike it? What makes you enjoy it? How can you better your stress? Etc.

If you have mental illness of anxiety or depression, talk about it. What are you fearful of? Are

you happy with yourself? Why or why not? What do you wish was different in your life? How

do you feel when you wake up till when you go to bed? Do you want to be here? This part is

easy. Pretend you are writing in a journal that no one will ever see. If you have a trustworthy and

empathetic person beside you, your thoughts are safe.

Driving into the night utilizing talk therapy is an efficient form of medicine for mental

illness or a high stressed life. Maybe it is only an anxious situation or a serious form of coping

for mental illness. Have a reliable car and a reliable person of trust and empathy. This not only

eases your mind but it enhances your relationships and exercises your empathy. Life is only as

good as a the company you keep, because being stuck with only your demon thoughts means

your life is only as good as those thoughts; now imagine your life with company by your side to

talk your demons out of your head or at least suppress them.

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Bibliography

Mental Health Foundation. “Talking Therapies.” Mental Health Foundation,

Fundraising Regulator, 2017, https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/t/talking-therapies

Cooper, Belle Beth. “How Our Brain Works: 10 Surprising Facts | Buffer Blog.” Social, Buffer

Social Blog, 1 Apr. 2016, https://blog.bufferapp.com/10-surprising-facts-about-how-our-

brain-works

Department of Motor Vehicles. “Night Driving.” DMV.org, DMV.org, 2017,

www.dmv.org/how-to-guides/night.php.