Thread: Question
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Old Sep 02, 2012, 08:24 PM
Anonymous33425
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I can relate a little... I'm scared to drive anywhere new, as I started suffering with anxiety whilst I was learning to drive. I passed my test, but not long after that I started having panic attacks/anxiety/depression so bad I had to quit work. For a while I was in such a heightened state of anxiety I had to have dad drive me to see the therapist I'd started seeing - this went on for weeks, if not months - but eventually my T convinced me to try driving there on my own. I did a couple of test runs with my dad in the car helping to direct me (we had to take a different route so I didn't have to use motorways - I'm still not confident enough for those) but then I started driving there on my own. To begin with I would get there shaking and in a state, and have to sit by the road somewhere to calm down before my appointments, but each week the anxiety got less and less. Now, I actually enjoy that drive, and it has boosted my confidence in the car...

Maybe you would become less anxious when you got familiar with the route? Is there anyone (a friend?) who could maybe drive you there a couple of times, and then perhaps be your 'co-pilot' another time or two to give you confidence before you have to go it alone? I don't know if that's something that would work for you? Perhaps you could even enlist the help of a driving instructor to familiarise you with the route and gain you some confidence on the roads? - some of them do things like that, the one I had did all sorts of refresher training and confidence building for older drivers as well as teaching newbies

Psychicbaby makes a good point about the house calls, there are Ts who will do that - but I'm assuming they'll probably charge more for that, especially if it's a long drive.