Anxiety when driving?

[TheScript]

When i'm driving (especially at night) i will start to feel very uncomfortable.
i will feel very unreal, nervous/sick to stomach, dizzy, sweating, lightheaded. I still drive safe but i try to avoid driving now because it makes me feel like i'm on the verge of a panic attack. Does anyone else have this?

[Catherine84]

Hi TheScript,

I am so glad I found your post, as I was beginning to think I was the only person who suffered from this! I have always been a cautious driver (some would say too cautious!), but I became much worse after a car accident last year. Thankfully, nobody was seriously hurt, but I am still uneasy about travelling as a passenger and driver.

I am still a long way off beating this, but one thing that I have been working on with my therapist is 'exposure therapy', where I gradually reintroduce myself to the feared situation. My 'hierarchy' might go something like this: drive a short journey with someone in the passenger seat, drive a slightly longer journey with someone in the passenger seat etc., and gradually increase the journey time until I am no longer uncomfortable doing this, then maybe do a short journey in convoy, then increase that, then go it alone (though this might be initially going to the bottom of your drive, or going to the shops in your village/town). It doesn't matter if your goals seem easy at the start - the best way is to take small steps and build things up very gradually. Another thing that helps is considering 'what's the worst that could happen?' and 'how likely is this to happen?' and then evaluating at the end of your drive if your predictions came true.

If you ever want to talk, feel free to message me :).

[Speranza]

I did have that a while ago and I am out the other side. I think it probably isn't a good idea to avoid driving altogether, perhaps even drive around a supermarket car park at night occasionally or something.

The bottom line is, the panic bit of your brain is NOT the part that gets to decide who you are and how you live. It just thinks it is. ;)

[Squiggle]

Hi The Script,
I've a pretty severe case of this and I wish I'd realised sooner that it was only anxiety. It started about ten years ago when I was a happy confident driver but it's reached the point now where I can scarcely drive at all. Part of the problem for me was starting to worry about it in the first place and now I can't drive without anxiety as it's nearly always on my mind. I've found Claire Weekes's book "Essential Help For Your Nerves" helps a lot to cope with the anxiety. There is also very good information on a website www.ridedrive.co.uk (http://www.ridedrive.co.uk). They have a forum for driver anxiety and it helps a bit to know you're not alone. All the best with this!