Driving anxiety/phobia
Hello everyone ! I got my driving liscense couple years ago, but I am too scared to drive. I have no courage to drive. When I start to think I want to drive I got anxious and fast heartbeat, even sweating, so everytime want to hangout with others, it will need them to fetch me, which I feel I always trouble them. I wonder what should I do to overcome this.......
@shyuser0000 Still working through my anxiety with driving. Some weeks it is harder then others. Having been in several accidents I have had to learn to let go of the trauma I was feeling inside. It did not go away on its own; I had to use specific techniques to guide it. When I participated in EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) along with future template I was consistently more successful. Had an amazing counselor who taught me these skills. Also practicing deep breathing, and mindfulness exercises that help you stay aware of what you see, hear, and feel in your environment can help the mind feel alert, calm and grounded.
@shyuser0000 Hi, I've never had a phobia of driving but I have a way of making myself do things I'm afraid of and it helps me to conquer fear. I was able to get back to horseback riding after being bucked off and getting a bad concussion and breaking my pelvis in five places - which is a major accomplishment for me and I'm so glad I did it. My life is so much better when I don't let my fears control me.
I try to find other things that really aren't dangerous (or maybe are only slightly dangerous) but which scare me and do them over and over again until they don't scare me anymore . Doing this helps me to learn how to deal with fear. It becomes sort of an adrenaline rush after a while. If there's anything scary, I do it. Haunted houses in the inner city on Halloween. Roller coasters and all sorts of rides (well, not now that I'm old - but when I was young), diving into water, holding snakes, riding a bicycle very fast down hills, going outside and sitting on a porch in very bad thunder storms with lightning striking all around. I have social anxiety and force myself to go in crowds or groups where I won't be recognized so if I make a fool of myself it won't have a permanent affect.
I'd recommend finding other things that scare the heck out of you and doing them as long as they're not dangerous. Also things that are uncomfortable - like diving into cold water etc. Maybe ride a bicycle on the road if that's less scary to you than a car - get used to traffic. If that's too scary or you live in a place where you really can't safely do it, maybe ride a 4-wheeler or bumper cars or go-carts. Then take the car around the block and go further every day until you're over your fear.
