Related Posts
Pro
Conversation Starter
Bowl Leader
More Posts
Enthusiast
Cat story 😻
Additional Posts in Consulting
Rising Star
Anyone heard of “Agile @ Edge” ???
What’s normal rent for SF Bay Area?
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
I would invest in taking a good defensive driving course. It will help you gain confidence behind the wheel. There are some great driving schools out there that will teach you how to handle different situations, drive in snow and rain, etc. and it's fun. Pick one that gets you out on a track where you can practice maneuvers in a controlled environment. You can often get a discount on your auto insurance upon completion.
I ride motorcycles, and in the motorcycle safety courses we talk a lot about risk and how to manage it. There will always be situations on the road that are scary and outside of your control, but training and knowledge will help you minimize those risks.
Rising Star
If you already dread the idea of driving for the first time again, get a professional involved from the start and don’t let yourself be pushed into trying it for yourself by people who think you should “just relax”. Follow your own feelings and perhaps bring someone along who has patience, understands your feelings but does support you in making this change.
You’ll be so happy when you’ve overcome this and are able to take yourself to different places again. It’ll be a victory over your fears plus it’ll give you so much more freedom and opportunities.
Good luck!!
Wow thank you all for your responses. It means a lot you’d take time away from your Sundays and give thoughtful replies to a stranger. Your empathy is greatly appreciated….it means a lot!
Or u could just start driving and get over it. Don't try to over complicate things.
Yeah I'm sure "just deal with it" is the solution to all anxiety/mental health problems 🙄
Sorry you're dealing with this right now. I think if it's hindering your daily life or soon to be daily life (if we're all going back to office) it may help to seek a professional.
I was just listening to a podcast i think it was This American Life. The person has an extreme fear of spiders it was debilitating. He would check and double check for spiders wherever he went, there was a spider in his car so he immediately sold the car. Etc.
He did some sort of therapy where they replaced the memories/emotions and reprogrammed it to less extreme ones so now he can handle life with spiders again.
I will check out that episode, thank you!
I was hit by a car several years ago while biking and had some major injuries. I primarily have dealt with this by forcing myself to bike, but fear definitely remains and is still pervasive in many ways. From my standpoint, I would recommend therapy if you can find someone who is a good fit. Obviously I haven’t found that you can just push through it to get back to normal. However, if you’re unable to find someone, you may also be able to take defensive driving courses and bring yourself out driving and find that it’s at least manageable, if not fun.
After I experienced my first traffic accident I didn’t drive for months (also because I was traveling so much I didn’t need to). But eventually I realized that I couldn’t not drive forever, so I started driving again to nearby places first. I.e 5 mins to the grocery store. Eventually It helped me realize that that driving wasn’t so scary or dangerous I also became a more defensive driver. I haven’t had another accident since. I hope this helps