Driving Anxiety
The last few months, I've had horrible anxiety behind the wheel, and I am having a hard time pinpointing why.
So a little background, I didn't have reliable transportation growing up or into my 20s, so I was close to 30 when I finally got my first license and car. Learning to drive was a bit of a nightmare because everything I needed was either on a highway or on a dangerous back road, so no flat suburbs for me! Just trial by fire.
For a few years, I had gotten my anxiety under control, and I started doing longer car trips without thinking about it, but the last six or seven months, I've had to put on a fake smile while breathing through anxiety.
It got worse this past March. I was driving my husband to a meeting in South Bend, and a semi-truck jackknifed in front of us, giving me only seconds to move. There was another bad accident right behind me, and we wound up stranded in Michigan. Took me over an hour to get home in whiteout conditions with ice and snow.
A few days later, I started having nightmares about it.
Lately, people in my area have been driving extra recklessly, especially Gen X and Boomer drivers. It's to the point our local police unit have been posting daily warnings on social media, speed traps in town and they've even been doing public appearances to plead with our elders to cool it on speeding and being reckless, but they just get laughed at.
Every day, I almost get hit by older drivers who blast through stop signs and then curse at everyone else.
Also making it worse, I just lost a friend to a car crash in January, and my husband's family also suffered a loss this month to a traffic accident. It weighs on me.
Also not helping, my husband got himself scheduled on a ton of long trips and we just lost our dog. I feel resentful every time I get behind the wheel now, and then after about 30 minutes, I feel like I have to pull over.
My therapist is booked solid until the 24th, so I'm just trying to find some help before my next appointment.
I should also add that growing up, I was forced into a lot of travel against my will by my dad, who always either moved me around, took me on business trips in bad areas or took me to see his extremely judgmental family. So I really resent travel.
@CodenameSailorEarth
All those things combined would certainly cause many anxiety ........ any near miss or even accident can cause any driver to be uneasy of getting back out there or wanting to do as little as possible.
while that may work short term sooner or later it may require longer drives...... is there any items you do to help relax if you pull over ...... deep breathing or maybe getting out and moving around ?
For a while, listening to music helped, but some days, even that doesn't work.
I think I might try pulling over next time I have a long car ride to see if that resets my brain. Sometimes, I feel I can't stop once the anxiety really hits me, so I'm going to actively look for a rest stop or a gas station.