- Date posted
- 6y ago
- Date posted
- 6y ago
It's an ERP technique that might be best done under the guidance of a specialist but essentially you write a detailed story as if your fear were happening in the present moment. You would write it pretty detailed describing what you would normally do right before getting in the car while driving and then write out everything you're afraid of happening if you were to hit something. Then you read it over and over until the anxiety comes down and often times writing it all out helps the sufferer realize how ridiculous it is. There's a more in depth description if you go to ocdla.com and search imaginable exposure for OCD and anxiety. This can cause a lot of anxiety and might be confusing so I would say ask for guidance from a specialist.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Oh right I don’t realise there are specialist driving instructors I’ll look into that thank you And amazing that you are driving .
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Wow @injapan that's so cool! It's great that resource was available!
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Amazing it’s so brave of you
- Date posted
- 6y ago
The advice that worked for me at the beginning of this is that you would know if you hit something so if you are not 100 percent certain you did you cannot go back and check.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
This is a fear I have to get over myself so that I can finally start driving myself places
- Date posted
- 6y ago
For people that aren't driving yet I read doing an exposure script is helpful.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Exposure script?
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Oh right thank you
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Anytime!
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Do you drive your self ?
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Me? I do. Driving OCD came out of no where for me one day and I stopped driving for two days which was way too difficult to find alternative transportation so it was one of the first exposures I worked on in ERP.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Oh right .anyone with driving OCD is extremely brave ! I hope to break from it one day and drive
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Thanks but I don't feel brave I feel terrified almost all the time. You can do it! This is one fear that was actually easier to manage and my counselor said lots of people have it and get over it fast after exposures. It's all consuming when the obsessions come on but once you start driving it gets easier. Have you driven before?
- Date posted
- 6y ago
I mean you are brave for doing it even though you feel terrified that is amazing No I haven’t driven before but I’m scared to
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Thank you : ) ok so learning how to drive will be a great exposure for you. Where you live do they have driving instructors or driving school?
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Probably why?
- Date posted
- 6y ago
That way you could start out learning in an empty parking lot with an instructor. Everyone's nervous when they first learn to drive but of course OCD will make it even more scary. When I took driving school it was with an instructor that had a break on their side of the car so they were able to stop the car at any time. Your fear might even go away after learning to drive.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Thank you very much for all the advice
- Date posted
- 6y ago
You're welcome!
- Date posted
- 6y ago
I had problems with motorway driving all my adult life. Say until 35. Then I decided to tackle it. I was able to find a special driving instructor who teaches people with anxiety; people who had been in an accident; people with autism. I rang and explained I have OCD and fear of motorways. I did 2 lessons with the lady and now I can do it. I hired a car overseas and drove me and my kids everywhere this year. I dont love it but I can do it. ?
- Date posted
- 6y ago
I think the best thing was that I could tell her I had a problem and she was cool with that. I trusted her.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
I’m amazed at all the response so thank you everyone for helping me out
Related posts
- Date posted
- 15w ago
whats up guys what are some tips dealing with ocd and what to do when a thought makes u anxious ??
- Date posted
- 14w ago
Hi, I’m new here!! I’m praying I don’t get judged for this. But, back in late May of 2022 ( literally right before I graduated high school), I added this one random girl from my school on Snapchat. She posted something about a graduation party , so I swiped up on her story basically saying how I can’t believe we’re almost graduated. She replied and we had a really short and simple conversation. The next day ( i believe) , we started talking a lot , and I just so happened to see her at the highschool when we were grabbing our graduation outfits and doing the rehearsal. When I saw her irl, I kinda got turned off ( I heard she was kinda crazy) , and on top of that , she was a little ugly irl. I remember seeing her Snapchat bio , and she was close friends with my female cousin ( a year younger than me) , who I happened to experiment sexually with when I was 10-11 years old. I remember going to work later that day and having sort of a lightbulb flick thought ( it wasn’t a good thought though) , what if my cousin told her about what happened when we were younger? So I started to kind of panic and immediately distanced myself from that girl. I also experimented sexually with one of my female friends when I was 10-11 , and from that day onwards, I’ve been pretty much living in paranoia and a little bit of guilt about someone finding out and my life being ruined . On top of that, It’s gotten worse to now sometimes I wonder if a girl I added off of quick add ( Snapchat) is underage even if they told me they were 18+ or had 18 and above in their bio, and I get so much guilt and anxiety about that. I even had a quick thought last February on what if I did something inappropriate with my younger cousin when I was 15-16 but I just can’t exactly remember when it happened , and it still eats me alive when I think about it, because I don’t know if it happened or not. I’m sorry for the long vent, I just wish I felt normal again. No matter how much I try to do things that old me used to do, life always feels “ off”. I always kept the top part about when I was younger a secret up until early (ish ) 2024, then I vented to one of my best friends and he told me that that’s a normal thing to do at a young age. Since then, I have told multiple friends and they all say they did similar stuff, but my brain just can’t accept that. Please help me, I quite literally overthink everything nowadays. 2021 was the last full year that I felt normal ( coincidentally, the best year of my life so far) . It’s not just about sexual related things either, sometimes I’ll wonder if I messed up something at work or hit a car while driving/hit someone and drove off. I just wanna live my life how I was supposed to live it after highschool ( carefree and happy) before whatever it is ( I think it’s ocd) hit me unexpectedly. Thanks to anyone who read this , I just needed to pour it out regardless of how negative I felt typing this, I hope someone can relate , because I feel so alone in my head at times.
- Date posted
- 11w ago
I have pure ocd i think , i always gotta make sure i do certain things like tap things , light switches on n off , shut things few times and re open them till it feels right . Walk in a room go back out and back in out in in till my mind is right Its exhausting
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