growlycat, kudos to you for driving to your new workplace on your own it is nice to hear your progress! Funny how you mentioned the google method, every time I drive I feel that I make some sort of mistake even if it's the smallest thing like driving over a pothole..so by the time I get home I gather a list of things I felt I did wrong and how to improve them next time. I will take your advice and keep a note of what makes me uncomfortable I know sometimes I feel like it's a huge list but it's decreasing as time goes by, I hope!
Beaflower, you are not alone! Trust me! Like
Krminnj mentioned it is a tough phobia but it is possible to conquer. I am still very afraid of driving especially by myself, I know how you feel especially because this is a phobia that may play an important role in many people's lives. I feel that no matter what, I must learn to let go of my fear because as afraid as I am I actually do want to conquer this fear. I don't know anyone in real life with it either, other than my close friend but she lives in a different state and never drives. Or older people I know who actually push me not to drive because they feel it's dangerous. In the end, I know this is not a phobia where "oh, I'm afraid of spiders"..but chances are you probably won't see one.
What has helped me so far lately is rewarding myself. For instance, my husband would ask me to drop him off to work and since it's not too far away from our house, I would drop him off then go the the nearest store to shop. (It took me a lot to do this because this is a busy traffic area) So, perhaps you can start like that little by little driving near familiar areas. I know it's not all about "just drive", it's also mental and a matter of feeling relaxed within yourself. My husband pointed something out to me the other day, how I never congratulate myself even when I do a great job driving because since I am still afraid I feel that even if I did a good job, I still failed because the fear is still there. But, in the end no matter how the fear I still managed to do it so this helped me in believing I can do it again.
I know I sound real positive right now..I'm really not, especially since my anxiety kicks in before going inside the car and I do avoid driving a lot.. if it weren't for my husband I would probably still be procrastinating but I've learned the more effort you dedicate to learning (It being reading about it,watching videos,practicing where ever), the better you will do within time and as cliche as it sounds, it does take practice.. I am still learning that myself.
(Sorry for the long post, I can really talk about this all day

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