I’ve had anxiety surrounding driving for 4 years now. I don’t feel like I’ll ever move past it. I am so scared that I’ll get into an accident and hurt someone or myself, even though I know I am a safe driver. I’m not sure what to do.
My advice is to always keep your eyes on the road, watch for other people, always go the speed limit and no more than 5 over the limit, and keep your mind focused on the road. Maybe even listen to some tunes if it helps you focus! If you do these things, you will be just fine! Also, your not alone! I keep anxious when driving sometimes to. It’s normal to feel this way 😉
@User456@outlook.com That is good advice, thank you⭐️
I never had driving anxiety until OCD really kicked in so I've gone a couple years driving fine but once OCD really kicked in I had the same fear as you. My tip is to just drive WHICH SOUNDS STUPID I KNOW. I promise it will get better it took me many times but I eased into it. I had the fears while driving but pushed through, now I am way better to drive. MY TIPS: start by just starting your car and sitting in there. Next day drive just down your street and back. Next day drive around your block. Next day repeat last step or let yourself drive where you feel without specific directions (but close to your home and knowing the area ofc). Next day drive across or on a busier roadway. Next day try at night. BABY STEPS. Those are my best suggestions because that is similar to what I did and it really helped. Each time was painful but it worked and was less painful and could see progress and now I can drive and be like YEAHHHHH. The first 2-3 ish were like "bruh its not working" and "the fears are not going away ETC" BUT YOU NEED TO STAY CONSISENT. IF you do not want to do the next step just stay were you are comfortable BUT ALWAYS DO IT EACH DAY that is the most imporant tip TRUSTTTT. You got it. Hopefully this helps because it helped me and no one really has a plan when overcoming this stuff. I had the exact same fears and felt like it was never going away.
@KaitlynnvE Wait you’re awesome, good job!!!! Thank you for the advice, I’ll try my best to put some of those into motion. I’m glad you’ve been doing better with your driving 💗
ALSO resist checking or looking back if you have a fear that you hit something or someone or mistaken a bump for a human. Many people have those and I too had those fears. I had many other driving fears so let me know if you would like me to elaborate I promise I have had the same thoughts.
I remember 6 months ago I had to drive my friend to the nearest Postal office.. which was 5 minutes away from our house. (Little context I had my drivers license for 5 years but I never drive because of fear). My heart was racing sooo Fast, I couldn’t breath. We were almost at the post office but I just couldn’t do it because I Saw a small intersection in front of me and I panicked a lot and just parked on the street, literally. Then She had to walk with a big and heavy package and I Felt bad. I started crying and yelling at myself. But then I got a job and my family couldn’t give me a ride everytime. So I had to get the car out of the driveway, because guess What.. it was my only option. I was terrified. I couldn’t sleep so many nights after every drive thinking maybe I hit something or somebody even though I am the safest driver ever. I drive really slow. Now, after 6 months, I can drive a little bit faster, I am not afraid of intersections because I drove past them a lot of times that it made me confortable with them. So if it’s not tomorrow, it s gonna be next week. Don’t panick, you re gonna make it. PS I still have a little bit of fear for Highways haha
Does anyone else suffer from panic sessions or severe anxiety where you feel you can’t breathe whilst driving alone? It’s been a year since I was hit with depression/anxiety and OCD and now I can’t go out or drive alone. My depression is more or less gone but my anxiety and OCD are quite high. How do I confront this fear of something bad happening to me whilst driving alone because I feel like I can’t breathe and that I’ll die.
Does anyone else get anxiety from driving? I would think that driving often will help it go away but does the fear of driving ever go away?
I have exposed myself hundreds of times since I got this problem with driving. I get anxious for NO REASON and it's even harder when you're with someone in the car. I love driving. I've had a license for five years. I am confident in my driving and have not had this problem before. Yet, random anxiousness shows up when I'm on the road and I have gone to the point where I'm driving for no reason other than exposing myself, but it does not go down. I keep getting it, I accept it, yet it keeps showing up. I'm not anxious on my way to the car or when I leave it, it's only when I drive it. I can't find any possible reason why it's like this and it's annoying at this point.
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond
