Anxiety Self Help

So what do you find are some of the most difficult things about driving?

For me it's judging distances, changing lanes, and trying to be aware of things around me and also multitasking.

I think I'm afraid of your boyfriend. Seriously I think I am just afraid of everyone else on the road.

When I drive it's tears and panic attacks galore. The worse for me is merging/changing lanes. I'm terrible at judging whether or not I have enough room to change lanes...then people get pissed...I freak out...etc. I hate driving...I never do...never go on the freeways, and it's ruining my life!

I know it's been ruining my life or at least starting to. What do you say to people when they ask you about driving or if they ask you what car you drive???

I wouldn't know what to say in that situation. In a way I do feel kind of guilty because I do have a car to drive, but it just sits there. I think in a way it might be easier if I didn't have one because then I could make some excuse as to why I don't drive, as bad as that sounds.

I don't know what it is about driving that I don't like. Just...the whole experience, I guess. I drive only when I absolutely have to & after I've taken a few doses of Rescue Remedy.

I think what is worse than driving, is that "no one" understands this anxiety/phobia/discomfort/etc.

I run into things (walls, flower pots, expensive cars, etc), I'm terrible at judging how much space is around me.

That's part of the reason I suck at PARKING.

Then there's the strange phenomenon I have of not seeing stop signs. It's not that I don't want to stop. It's just that I don't see them until they've passed by me.

Also when I am pulling out into a road, but I'm waiting to make sure it's clear enough, I'll look the busiest way mostly and when it's clear I'll check the other, less-busy direction one more time. Well lately cars have been sneaking up on me and I have no idea how I didn't see them, and I almost run right into them pulling out. Man am I retarded.

Also the other day I was lost (as usual) and I was so focused on trying to figure out where I was going that I forgot to yield to someone coming straight and I was like a millimeter from a wreck. ARGH!

Im learning to drive at the moment, i hate it everything about driving scares me. I dont really want to learn to but it seems to be essential for the voluntary work im involved in. I cant get on the roads for a year or two yet though because of my seizures. I have no sense of direction at all, ahhhh.

I don't drive at all. I never got my license. I tell myself that driving isn't really that important. Though it takes me 2 - 3 hours (2 times a day) getting back and forth to work. I wonder if it is my anxiety that keeps me from driving. If I don't have a car, I don't have to go anywhere like parties or any other places I get invited to. Could this be it?? I dunno!

I'm an okay driver but I feel just as bad while driving as I do with being around lots of people. I don't really get it since no one can really see me or not for more than a split second or something. Even if no one is around I still feel the same as if I were around tons and tons of people. I wonder if it maybe has to do with not having any confidence at all and doing something like driving takes some confidence in a way and it just makes me feel really, really uncomfortable or something. I'm not sure.

And I hate driving. I can't wait until I live in a bigger city and can just walk/bike/or use a bus or something. It will be so much nicer.

I got my license everything was fine. I was driving with no problem. Then something happened. Me and my sister and our friend drove to dowtown detroit without telling our parents. We had no directions, we sadly followed license plates. Then we were about a mile away from running out of gas, on a highway with no lights, and miles and miles away from a stop. We got there and met this kid and his friend. My friend being as stupid as she is starting smoking pot. We had to drive home, and she said it would be fine. Well it wasnt it was the scariest thing in my life, it just put me into shock. I had all these images that we were going to die or someone else would.

Ever since then i just get these flashes of me killing someone, or hitting someone while driving. This is alreayd a huge fear i have, hurting someone, so I dont want to take chances. I I refuse to drive anywhere, I sit in the drivers seat and shake so much I cant even put my keys in the car, I then start to have a panic attack, its not pretty.

So I just stopped trying, Im working on it now with my therapist though, its going to take a while for me to be ok with it again.

<3 Jess

Th reason i never learnt is the fear of me causing as ccident and hitting someone. I have seen 2 of my friends hit by cars when i was young and it has stayed with me.

The thing is i need to learn if i am going to get the job i want but i'm so afraid of what i may do as it seems like chaos on the roads when i'm in a car. 

Driving just makes me anxious, but it beats having to take public transportation which I hate. I have my premit and have 2 and a have months till my premit expires. I'm afraid to take my test for my license . I don't feel well prepared. I can't PARALLEL PARK for nothing. I really only get a chance to drive to work thats ok same route everyday. I hate rush hour traffic but driving at night is ok. I have witnessed horrible accidents. I don't like cars to be all close to me so I'll speed to get distance lol im weird. I don't think I will every get comfortable with driving on highways/beltways. Just thinking about all this is making me nervous.

    Ok so Im going to vent a little here, I use to love driveing and road trips and then I had PA's and along with changeing many other things in my life it also changed my love for driveing. I can drive in town but I don't like to drive to many miles away from home (my safty zone) but I will drive with others anywhere in town. I can't stand to drive on the interstate or hiways. When I first started dateing my boyfriend we where going for a drive and he didn't know about my dislike for driving fast or my phoba for interstates and he turned on to the ramp and before we where even on the interstate I was freeking out and on the floor in frount of the seat. lol I don;t think that my boyfriend will ever understand, he keeps buging me about going on a trip, lets go on a trip, why don't we ever go anywhere, we need to get out of town bla bla bla HELLO a trip will NOT be FUN for me and I don't look at it as a vacation for me it will be stress filled and well we will have to go on the INTERSTATE.......     My family also has trouble understanding this because they just booked a trip to CO paid in full and yes we are DRIVEING on the INTERSTATE for 8hr's... I dont think that I can do this and why is it so hard for people to understand. Some says they don't like snakes and people get it but I say I don't like to drive and I get Oh come on you'll be fine... ok Im done now lol thanks for listening

For me it is driving alone without another adult in the car.  I have the fear of having panic attacks while driving. And it is hard to drive far away from home.

Before the panic disorder I never liked driving but I did it with lots of stress.

I never drive on the expressway period. Just too fast and too much going on.

I used to be really concerned about driving too slow and having others honk at me. My therapist cured me of that by making me sit in the turn lane on a green light and not turn. LoL Only one person honked and gave me the finger. It was actually quite funny and she was able to demonstrate that I don't have to be concerned about anyone but me getting where I need to go.

Thanks for this thread and this group!

 i never got my license and ive only spent about an hour behind the wheel my whole life. but the short time that i was, i always found my neck to be stiff from being so tense which made it hard to look around. other than that it was hard to judge my surroundings and umm think straight.

 Knowing how angry and annoyed most drivers seem to get on the road brings me anxiety. I get scared of not just hitting people or getting hit, but even little things like inadvertently cutting someone off, or driving too close to the next lane, or not driving fast enough for the person behind me. I am someone who worries so much about what other people think.

And I just feel so dangerous driving a car. I don't trust myself, or other people.

 I never got my license either. I don't trust myself to have other people's lives in my hands. I have tried so many times to get my license and everytime I break down and have an anxiety attack. I don't think I'll ever really drive. I used to let the way people judged me about it affect me, but now I don't care. I straight up tell them that it's the best thing for me and for everyone else. I mean do you really want someone who gets so anxious to be behind the wheel of a car? The thing that sucks about it though is that I'm dependent on others. It makes me feel like such a burden and makes my anxiety worse. :(