Driving with ocd -advice please

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.

Oh right I don’t realise there are specialist driving instructors I’ll look into that thank you And amazing that you are driving .

Wow @injapan that's so cool! It's great that resource was available!

Amazing it’s so brave of you

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.

This is a fear I have to get over myself so that I can finally start driving myself places

For people that aren't driving yet I read doing an exposure script is helpful.

Exposure script?

Oh right thank you

Anytime!

Do you drive your self ?

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.

Oh right .anyone with driving OCD is extremely brave ! I hope to break from it one day and drive

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?

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

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?

Probably why?

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.

Thank you very much for all the advice

You're welcome!

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. ?

I think the best thing was that I could tell her I had a problem and she was cool with that. I trusted her.

I’m amazed at all the response so thank you everyone for helping me out