driving fear advice pleeeze!!

[bexy1970]

hi folks, just wondering if anyone has conquered a driving fear? ive driven for years but after having panick attacks after my dad died i havnt been able to drive case of(losing control)which i know we dont its just part of anxiety attacks.. also im meant to take 100mg of dothiepin at bed time, i take 75mg but cut it into tiny pieces as scared of taking a big dose in one go! know ths is all daft! and my cpn said would work betta if took in one go! ne advice would be lovely becca xxx

[beauty]

hiya becca,

I had a panic phase 2 years ago of about 6months, i stopped driving early on in this because i was scared to be alone, this meant that even when i started getting better i was terrified to drive alone, i could drive with other people in the car but not on my own. I gradually took small steps and i did beat it and was able to drive wherever i wanted after about 2months.
The

[bexy1970]

thanks beauty, i have tried with my boyfriend with me, scarey but i did it,, ive got out of doin that now tho! its been bout 3 months since ive driven and getting me so down as ive lost my independance etc xx

[beauty]

Hiya bexy,

I went through a similar thing 2years ago, i went through a bad phase of panic which lasted about 4months. Quite near the start of this i stopped driving because i was afraid of being alone, i could drive with other people in the car but never alone.
Even when i started to get better i found this particular thing hard to overcome, but with some determination i overcame it in about a month.
The first thing i did was a spur of the moment thing where i suddenly thought i would drive to the top of my (long) drive/lane, reverse at the top then come back down. I just did it and it felt really liberating (despite not having gone far!) then gradually i built it up. Everytime i would take my phone with me and have the windows open, radio on, and i kept telling myself if anything happened or i started paniking i would just either pull over and phone someone to calm down, or of the worst came to the worst pull over and ask someone for help. I never needed to ask anyone for help as knowing i could do if it happened kept me calm.
This summer the panic started again but i was determined not to stop driving again and (so far) i havent stopped even though its really scary at times, cos i know how easy it is to get into the habit of not doing, just accepting one lift off someone instead of driving yourself can leave you stuck in a rut.
I want you to know that it is possible, honestly i was considering selling up my car (and my freedom) cos i couldnt ever imagine driving again, but i did it and knowing i could drive again made every aspect of the panic seem better cos it made me feel in control again.
xx

[beauty]

sorry hun, i somehow pressed send half way through typing that...posted the full one above! xx

[bexy1970]

thaks chux thats a big incentive to me!! becca xx

[knightbabe]

Hi bexy
My first panic attack was whilst driving. Completely scared me. I started off driving with someone in the car with me. Then I progressed to driving round the block alone. I just kept make the block bigger each time. But OH and I went out the other day to go somewhere and I forgot which way to go!

[kate]

Well, I panic in fog, ice, snow, heavy rain, can't seem to drive in any of these conditions Oh, and I don't much like driving in the dark either.

Kate

[nomorepanic]

You have come to the right place for advice and support and my issue is driving as well.

I don't want to bog you down with too much to read but try this CBT thread that I did when I had CBT for my driving issues. Loads of tips in there.

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7162

Also have a read of the coping page on here - there are some great tips on coping whilst driving.

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7162

Have you also tried Rescue Remedy??

Hope those are both of some help to you.