driving phobia runing my life

[gorjus]

Hi everybody:)

I am new here,but thought should just post 1 time as I am desperate for help asap!I have my license and a car and I drove a few times but I am extremly nevervous.i have my license for a year now,but through the whole year i have been a nervous wreck and it aint cool!before I used to feel dizzy and jelly like but now its not so bad.now i just feel nervous and my heart beats so fast.I feel like I am always starting over with my driving.I know they say practise and get exposure and u will get better but I find it difficult to even go to the car and get on the road.I always plan and say later I will go drive and then I get nervous and say no maybe tomorrow.someone told me to go for therapy and someone else told me it doent actually work because they tell u to get practise.I feel like I don't go out or meet people because of this phobia and everytime I push people away and I am very unhappy and negative because of this.my family don't want to help me and I don't want them to lol because they always insult me like 'u can't drive like me' 'you need to be flexible to drive' it makes me feel worse and puts more pressure on me.please help its not easy to just go out there and do it.I'm like this for a year now and don't want it to take over my life any longer.i feel so lost and confused and i dont even have enthusiasm to go to the car and go for a drive and face the fear thats how scared i am.

please help me:(

[aggiecuttler]

Hello, this must be really annoying, i think its quite common to be nervous of driving as its still new, why not try and drive but not on your own take a friend or family member that way they can help you be a second set of eyes and will support you i hope you can get some confidence blessings

[gorjus]

thank u for the response

i have went out with my dad but his always judging and making me more nervous.other than that no-one else wants to help:weep:

[Skye2]

How about going out in the early hours when the roads are more quiet and build up from there? You don't have to go far - just up the road and back to start with.
I also share this but gave up my car a few years ago, as I couldn' afford to run it at the time. It always helped me though to start journeys really early.

[patt]

What could be good is to take some drives when the streets are empty. Possibly on Sunday mornings. That will make you more confident at the time to face the traffic.

[Nich]

You definitely need some support when you're driving. I was SO scared when i passed my test, and it's generally getting better.
Before i completely used to avoid certain roads, but i take my dad in the car with me when i go far out, going further and further out everytime.
Then it would make the smaller journeys not seem so bad! I'm gradually building confidence. You just need the right supportive company in the car for you!
I Know how you feel, i still don't drive in cities, but I'm starting to attempt driving to the cities :P

[priestbridge]

I used to go out early mornings to practice because I was so scared of driving. I drive pretty much anywhere now, so like others have said give it a go. hope this works for you.

[Sunflower2]

I used to love driving but all of a sudden I started getting panic attacks and became terrified of it! This started almost a year ago and it got to the point where I was too terrified to leave the house but if you work on it it gets better I promise! I had a refresher driving lesson which helped get my confidence up heaps and with some cbt sessions I've almost got rid of the anxiety. When I'm driving now I can recognise when I'm getting nervous and just start to control my breathing which gets rid of the dizziness, and I distract myself with anything at all. Then before you know it you're either at your destination or your anxiety has subsided. As of last week I had enough confidence to go on a dual carriageway alone again which was my biggest fear, and although I was nervous I was fine! It's horrible being scared of driving but you CAN get over it and get your freedom back!! Good luck!

[vaughanp99]

Fear of driving is quite normal when you first pass your test but it is important not to let that fear dominate you to the point where you don't go anywhere.

I would say that gradual exposure is the answer here - it is a CBT technique through which you understand that your fears are unjustified through facing them for increasing lengths of time.

For example, your first step might be to take to the roads when they are quiet late at night or early in the morning - just a quick trip to the shops perhaps. Once you have got used to doing this you take a slightly longer journey or go out when the roads are slightly busier. If you do this gradually but go out regularly, you will eventually reduce the anxiety it causes you.

Hope this helps

Peter
www.whatcbt.co.uk

[cymraig_chris]

Try the NLP fast phobia cure.

http://www.deep-trance.com/techniques/fast-phobia-cure.html
http://www.nlp-techniques.org/2013/01/fast-phobia-cure.html

Can take as little as three minutes of up to a few hours.

Or you can use this in combination with this approach.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PutswwmW_FM

Or try any EFT or Faster EFT phobia cure. Estimated time ... 10-100 minutes.

Or try hypnosis phobia cures, they use a similar principle to the NLP techniques.

Check with your doctor first and get guidance from registered practitioners if necessary.

They work.