Anxiety preventing me from driving

[Sleepy]

I have never liked driving in all of the 28 years I have been doing it, but did it routinely, going to work and ferrying the children around. Now I avoid it whenever I can and it is turning me into a hermit. We live in a semi-rural location, and you really need to drive to go anywhere.

If I have no choice, I dread the day as it approaches. Once I get going, my heart is beating through the roof, I'm shaking, my head buzzes and I'm just terrified. If I have a passenger, I'm much better. There's a sort of sense of shared responsibility that I can't explain.

I keep telling myself to just do it and it will get better, but it's just easier not to put myself through it?

[cattia]

I've been struggling with this for a while after I had a panic attack driving and had to pull over because I thought I was going to pass out behind the wheel. I can't bring myself to drive on the motorway as I panic that I can't stop I am afraid of stopping in the hard shoulder because I know it is dangerous and I am scared to rejoin the motorway.
I starred on medication for my anxiety and unfortunately one of the start up effects was increased anxiety. My daily commute to work is about 15 miles and I have been doing it for thirteen years. All of a sudden I was having to pull over multiple times, having full on panic attacks, having to take alternative routes to avoid places om the road that made me panic etc.
I stopped the meds and my anxiety went down enough to manage the drive to work. I still can't do the motorway. I still get panicky for no reason from time to time. I used to be a super confident driver. I had a job where I drove all over the UK. Now I struggle to do one junction on a motorway.
I wish I had the answers. I am going to try to build up my confidence over the summer when I have some time off work. I am at the point where even being a passenger on the motorway makes me anxious. I also started to experience dizziness on the motorway even as a passenger because I am so anxious. I want to be able to take my children to places. The older I get the more nervous I am about everything. I have a friend who drove her kids on her own to France. I would literally die of fear.

[Sleepy]

I've never driven on a motorway, and I don't like them as a passenger either. I think I should have been born in the era of the horse and cart.

[Colin_P]

Like Cattia I used to be a very confident driver and for many years.

And just like everyone has posted I hate it now.

I do believe anxiety is notifiable to the DVLA, who are very helpful. Doing that may help with any work pressures.

[Faith2017]

My piece of advice my therapist told me in dealing with anxiety and fearing places/things that cause panic attacks...
“Either we can increase our uncertainty by avoiding our fears OR we can increase our tolerance by facing our fears”
This helped me tremendously in overcoming my fear of being alone and driving to work with fear of having a panic attack.
Definitely take it a step at a time, but you’re all more than conquerors!
Hope this helps!

[Sleepy]

This is really what I need to be told. It makes good sense to me to face my fear and do it anyway. My husband has just said to get taxis, and although it would make my life easier in the short term, I know it's not the answer. Every time I have to drive it's been weeks since the last time or sometimes months, so the fear is all raw and new.

I have to drive next week, and probably the one after that. I'm going to try and grit my teeth.

Thank you for all your feedback.

[kelly135]

I very recently started having panic attacks while driving, after many years of loving driving and no issues with that at all. It's gotten bad enough that I think I'm going to faint behind the wheel and hurt someone else in an accident. My heart races and my hands start shaking. I'm a very independent person and this has quickly devastated my life. Also, my husband has no sympathy about this, but he doesn't realize that I can't just get over it at this point.