fear of driving Or Social Anxiety?

[jack0194]

I'm not too sure exactly what's going on, to be honest. All I know is that sometimes I get random bouts of Anxiety either over nothing or over something really small that may have happened.
Originally I used to have a more general fear of driving altogether. I used to think I would most likely slam my foot on the accelerator and cause an accident. But these days I find driving like riding a bike. Unless...
I'm driving somewhere I've never been, I have to go in very heavy traffic or a very long distance (On a highway)
Basically, since I've had my licence I've:
Never been on a highway
and hardly driven in very heavy traffic

To be honest, the idea of driving on a high doesn't worry me that much, I feel like it's one of those things where once you have done it, it will be pretty easy to do. I worry more about driving all the way to the city for work and not getting a park.
So basically what I'm getting at Is this more a social anxiety thing? Or fear of driving?

[jtjt_4862]

Hi jack0194,

Welcome to the forums. Driving can certainly be a stressful activity to do, as you have your full attention on multitudes of variables on the road in order to navigate yourself from point A to point B. Even for myself, after having a licence for more than 13 years, I’m still intimidated by driving in heavy traffic, terrible weather, areas that are densely populated and with a low speed limit, or new areas that I’ve never been to before. So you’re definitely not alone here. But it is as you said, once you’ve done it the first time, it’ll naturally become easier and easier as you learn the routines and things to look out for in your surroundings.

Driving to the city for work and not getting a park is definitely any employees nightmare. I feel this is because, in the event that you don’t get a park, you’ll risk getting to work late, which may have an impact on your employment if this happens multiple times. If I had to go to a new area or the city, I try to make some plans on how I will be travelling/ route to take/ where to park. That gives you some idea on where you can park in the city, and if there’s another backup route/park that I could park my car at in case plan A is a no go. So the worries that you’ve mentioned, I feel it’s just fearing of the unknown, which is a natural human instinct. But with some planning, and maybe test driving the plan to familiarise with execution, can help you over come that fear.

happy to chat more with you jack0194.

Jt

[jack0194]

Hey jtjt_4862!

So how can I tell it's a fear of the unknown? If it is this what are some things I can do to help get over this fear?

[Petal22]

Hi jack0194,

Wellcome to our forums.

Sorry you have been feeling this way…

If the anxiety is effecting your life, I’d highly recommend you see a gp and do a mental health plan together this would give you access to a phycologist…. A phycologist can help you with many strategies for your anxiety…

your not alone

here to chat

[jtjt_4862]

Hi jack0194,

Our anxiousness holds us back from doing the things that we want to do (in other words, it induces fear onto us). There’s a thread in the Anxiety subsection of this forum, that contains a lot of useful information on how to cope with anxiety. Another would be as Petal22 said, you could visit the GP and explain how you’re feeling at the moment, and they can put together a mental health plan for you to visit specialists who will be able to help come up with strategies for you to cope with anxiety. It really sucks when our anxiety holds us back and prevents us from exploring life, so you’re not alone there jack0194.

If you’d like, I’d be happy to listen to your thoughts about driving into the city and finding a car park. Also happy to chat about anything else that you have in mind.

Jt

[jack0194]

T

jtjt_4862 said:

If you’d like, I’d be happy to listen to your thoughts about driving into the city and finding a car park. Also happy to chat about anything else that you have in mind.

Thanks, buddy.

It's not so much a fear of getting a park even though that is part of it. It's more the fact that I've never done it. I've had a lot of opertunityes but whenever I have to go somewhere that's not local I mainly Uber

I went into the city a lot for job interviews and a few other things over the last two years using And there were all by Uber. and I now I think about it, even more, I think I would break it down like this:

going on the highway for the first time

Driving on roads with three lanes or more

Driving on one-way streets (only really found in the CBD)

Another thing I've found is that if I'm going somewhere that hasn't been in a while I will constantly study it on google maps even if I know where I'm going then there's always the worry of parking.

[jtjt_4862]

Hi jack0194,

The worries and fear (anxiousness) of doing something that you've never done before is natural for a human, and while the feeling is unpleasant, it can me a motivator of sort to getting things done better to overcome the fear. If it starts to interfere with your everyday life, and you're constantly worrying about it with the feeling of the thought being intense and debilitating, then it becomes anxiety.

It's good to see that you're able to get around places with Uber, as it saves you the hassle of driving through busy streets and finding car parks. Would this be something that you'd like to continue long term? Or would you like to start driving into the city yourself for work? If you'd like to start driving into the city, but have the fear of doing it for the first time, you could take a weekend or a free day to practice and familiarize yourself with the route. For example:

• Free Day 1: A short drive on the highway and back home.
• Free Day 2: A medium distance drive on the highway and back home.
• Free Day 3: A long distance drive on the highway and back home.
• Free Day 4: Drive into the city and back home
• Free Day 5: Drive into the city, and find any parking spot. Park for a few minutes, and then drive back home.
• Free Day 6: Drive into the city, find a parking spot close to your working area. Park for a few minutes, and then drive back home.

You can take how ever many days you want to practice each break down step, and as you keep doing that, you'll build confidence in your driving ability. Take it nice and slow, one small step at a time. Eventually you'll get used to it. Hope that helps you jack0194. But as Petal22 said, if the fear and anxiousness is starting to hinder with your everyday life, do contact your local GP for a Mental Health plan, and they'll be able to refer you to a specialist to come up with coping strategies. Happy to chat more as well.

Jt

[jack0194]

jtjt_4862 said:

Hi jack0194,

• Free Day 1: A short drive on the highway and back home.
• Free Day 2: A medium distance drive on the highway and back home.
• Free Day 3: A long distance drive on the highway and back home.
• Free Day 4: Drive into the city and back home
• Free Day 5: Drive into the city, and find any parking spot. Park for a few minutes, and then drive back home.
• Free Day 6: Drive into the city, find a parking spot close to your working area. Park for a few minutes, and then drive back home.

Jt

A few other things I probably should have mentioned:

1. I haven't been driving for a year due to an unrelated medical condition. I start driving again hopefully within the next month. I'm not sure whether this changes things.

2. Another thing I think this whole fear may be about is simply the fear of asking or being asked where I'm going? generally, whenever mum and dad go away on holidays I'm a lot more active in doing things but whenever they're back home I don't do any thing. I'm not too sure why, but I think its to do with the fear of what my parents response would be when I tell them what I'm doing.

[jtjt_4862]

Hi jack0192,

1. Hoping for a speedy recovery for you my friend. I'd suggest taking driving nice and slow then, spend a few couple of extra days familiarizing yourself with driving when you start driving again, since you have not driven for a year. Once you've gotten the hang of driving again, you can work on building the confidence to drive down to the city as laid out in the previous post. The key is to go at the pace that you feel comfortable with, and slowly build your confidence one bit at a time.

2. Would you be alright with describing the fear of your parent's response with regards to what you're doing? Is it the fear of your actions being judged by your parents?

Jt

[jack0194]

jtjt_4862 said:

Hi jack0192,

2. Would you be alright with describing the fear of your parent's response with regards to what you're doing? Is it the fear of your actions being judged by your parents?

Jt

Sure! I probably should have explained it before. Basically yes. So it's the fear of their response to when I tell them I'm going somewhere.