Hello folks...I have been having a bit of an issue for a while now...unfortunately, it has gotten me into loads of trouble. I get 'major' anxiety while driving. I visualize hurting my family, or others, in a wreck, and my driving is typically a very stressful experience. Just thinking about driving makes me want to cry. This anxiety is strengthened by the fact that I dissociate...a lot. I have no control over it. This makes driving extremely dangerous for me, as I fall completely from the grasp of reality (not that I ever have much of a hold on it, anyways), and it's like I'm practically sleeping! I once ran a stop sign on a FOUR WAY STOP, putting the lives of my entire family at jeopardy, and I got in soooo much trouble for it. The worst part is, I had no knowledge of it! All I remember is my parents screaming that it had happened. I try to explain this to my parents, but they simply state that I'm a selfish and ungrateful brat...which is pretty much the same thing they tell me when I try to explain...any problem to them, especially when I try to discuss my depression and paranoia. They refuse to take me to the doctor, because apparently, mental illness is just 'an opinion', and I have complete control over it, I just 'choose' to be miserable and not drive. -_- Unfortunately, I can't stop myself from dissociating. Attempting to force myself to focus only makes it worse. I do it all the time, during school, in the middle of a conversation, heck, it doesn't matter what I'm doing, I can just zone out without any control over it, even in the swimming pool! So long as I dissociate, the driving anxiety isn't going to go away. Has anyone else ever suffered this problem? Is there anything I can do? My parents demand that I get my license in January. I'll likely fail the test...which will mean I'll be grounded and probably spanked...and of course, yelled at and told how selfish I am...sooo, I need to find a way to figure this out before next month, or I'm screwed!
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