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?

[jack0194]

jack0194 said:

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.

It's kind of to do with the medical condition and the fact that my parents have always assumed I won't drive more than 20km away. The other thing is that I drive better alone as it is. So I don't really want to go and say something and then if they are all supportive they suddenly insist on coming with me.

I know It sounds strange but I always find I get nervous with people in the car whereas when I'm by myself I'm fine.

[jtjt_4862]

Hi jack0194,

Thank you for expressing your feelings about driving.

Perhaps you could let them know about your preference of driving alone rather than having passengers in the car? Your parents may be concerned about your well being, which is a common thing for parents to do as they love and care for you. You could have a chat with them about your driving preference, and let them know that you'll appreciate if they can trust you that you'll be safe driving alone.

If they need extra assurance, you can let them know that you'll text them whenever you leave for work/coming home from work, just so they know you've arrived wherever you need to be safely. Give that go for about a month, and then check with them to see if they're fine with you to stop doing the check-in, or if they'd like you to continue for another month. This is to help them build confidence and trust that you're safe with driving alone.

Alternatively, you may need to overcome the fear of driving with a passenger in your car (which will benefit you for the long run). It can be nerve wrecking when the lives of other people are in your hands that's navigating the car. They could also be feeling the same way as well. You could build confidence by following the same strategy as how you would build confidence in driving into the city and finding a car park, except ask a friend or your parents if they can be a passenger for you. Start off with short distance driving first, and then slowly build up the distance from there. If your parents tend to back-seat drive a lot (telling you to do this/do that/don't do this/don't do that as you drive), maybe a friend can help you out instead. Back-seat driving can increase stress and nervousness.

Hope that helps!

Jt

[jack0194]

Thanks for the advice.

So how will I go about putting together a plan to getting back to driving?

I found this article that is really helpful and talks about people with an extreme driving phobia. Not me.

If you go down to part 4. I'm already at bullet point 5. Unless you include driving in the city.

https://www.wikihow.com/Overcome-a-Driving-Phobia

[jtjt_4862]

Hi jack0194,

That's great to hear that you managed to find some resource on overcoming fear of driving, and really glad that you got up to point 5 as well, you're doing well my friend.

To put together what we've discussed, we can summarize your plans as follow and in order of execution:

1. Speak to your parents about wanting to get back to driving, and your nervousness when having someone else in the car. Hoping that they will support your decision to let you drive alone. If they need some assurance that you'll be able to drive by yourself safely, let them know you can text them each time you depart/arrive, as a way for them to check in with you. You can try doing this for a month, and check back with them to see if they're ready to give you their full support with letting you drive alone.
2. If you want to start overcoming your fear of having someone else in the car with you. Start small and slow first. Ask a friend or family member to see if they're happy to volunteer some of their time for you to practice overcoming your fear. Start off by driving them short distance first, and then slowly build the distance up. Take your time as well, you could spend the first week driving about 4kms, the second week driving 5kms, and so forth. Increase the distance whenever you feel comfortable about your current practice.
3. To overcome the fear of driving into the city and finding a car park, follow the similar practice pattern as step 2. You can start this practice by driving alone first, until you're comfortable with Plan #2. Slowly build up the distance that you're comfortable with driving, and take your time. Planning your travel route is good. Having a backup route is also good too incase you're not able to take your original route.
4. If there's still trouble with overcoming your fear of driving, you can have a word with your GP, who can provide you a mental health care plan, and recommend you to a psychologist or therapist. The specialist will be able to assess your fear indepth, and provide a much well defined plan basing on your requirements.

Good luck jack0194, I believe in you. Happy to chat more with ya too.

Jt