Since the time I was having to ride between my mom and sister in the truck I have avoided riding in the middle, waiting in a vehicle for the driver, a buckling my seatbelt before the vehicle is started since they cause me so much anxiety. Normally, I am the driver and was normally a passenger in a vehicle no more than a few times a month prior to to Coronavirus Pandemic. My anxieties about these things have only gotten worse in the last 27 years, and have snowballed.

I am wondering if rather than trying to keep avoiding these, it would be better for me to find a way to face them head on. I could do this by riding in the middle of a truck and getting in and buckling my seatbelt before the driver is ready to get in. I know it would make me very anxious and on edge waiting in the truck and having two people in my space, but I wonder if after facing these things, I would be less anxious about them and could deal with them better. Unlike some other phobias that I have, I know there is minimal risk of injury or death if I try to face these.

I would be really interested in hearing thoughts from others who have faced anxieties about if doing so helped to deal the the anxieties better afterwards or if facing them had no change or made the anxieties worse. If I try to face them, I would want to wait until we get to the other side of the pandemic since now it probably would not be safe to be in small space with two people I do not live with.

Anything others want to share about trying to face anxieties would be greatly appreciated as it will help me to decide if I should try to face them in the future or keep avoiding them.