Hi KQiao, thanks for your reply, and for your advice!

Music actually is a big help to me when I drive, though it really only works when I'm already in my minimally-anxious, driving-on-well-known-routes mode. It can really take the edge off of focusing so much on the driving itself (not that it makes me less careful, just less hyper-aware of each possible thing that could go wrong). It does become a distraction in stressful situations, though.

I love your idea of planning errands all in one day, and on a route that minimizes distance between yourself and the house! This is an excellent idea, I'll definitely keep this in mind the next time I find myself having to run a lot of errands at once.

Your advice about doing a "test run" of sorts is great too. Actually, it gave me an idea for a tweaked version. I'm much less nervous when there's no traffic, so perhaps driving ahead to a place late at night could be a good idea. I'm a night owl anyway, so perhaps, when possible, I should try and get in driving practice at night. Of course, driving at night has its own hazards, but my night vision isn't bad at all and other drivers/vehicles, more than anything, are what terrify me about driving, so the more I can drive and practice without anyone else around, the better, and thus the more likely I think I'd be to decrease my anxiety when I am around more traffic.

Actually, a few months ago I had to follow my girlfriend to a hospital in an area I'd never driven in before (another state, in fact) as she had to bring a car to her sister (who had taken her son to the ER, long story, but with a happy ending so no worries). I was terrified at suddenly having to drive, but the fact that I was able to follow my girlfriend who was driving the other car, and the fact that it was in the early hours of the morning with barely any other traffic, made the whole thing tolerable.

This is all great advice, thanks once again!