I used to be terrified of driving. I mean full blown panic attack; sweaty palms, crying, heart palpitations, shaking etc. I had my "beginner license" 3 times (In Canada we have a graduated licensing system) and would always let them expire. I believe this fear of driving stemmed from a reoccurring nightmare I would have as a child, of being left alone in the car and the car moving.
In my 20’s, I knew I had to eventually get over this fear. So I kinda threw myself into a position of having to drive; we moved 40 mins away from where I worked at the time, so I HAD to drive.
Luckily I had a friend who was very patient and loving to help me learn how to overcome my fear.
Here is a list of tips of how to get over a fear of driving:
1. To try to find someone who is VERY patient and doesn’t make you nervous, to teach you.
2. Baby steps: We started out just driving down a side road and in parking lots. These small steps helped to prevent overwhelm.
3. Consistency: In order to get over your fear, you need to practice in order to build confidence in your abilities.
4. Visualization: I would lay quietly daily and visualize myself calmly driving. And I was very specific. I would imagine familiar intersections, what I would be wearing, sounds I would hear etc.
5. Educate yourself: I watched YouTube videos on how to park, road rules etc.
6. Turn the nervousness into excitement: I would try and feel excited about the freedom I would have to just get up and go and not have to depend on someone else or worse yet: public transportation.
7. Realize that you won’t be perfect at first: You will probably F*CK up but, with practice you will get better and more confident.
8. Think of a time when you overcame a fear of something and how good you felt after. For example: maybe you were nervous about doing a speech but you nailed it.
9. Reward yourself for any progress made even if it’s tiny.
10. Record your progress: I journalled how I felt after each drive and how I improved. I would read the previous journal entry before each driving lesson to remind myself that I did well and didn’t die the last time.
I hope these tips help if you yourself have a fear of driving. These can also be applied to other fears you may have such as: public speaking, making videos etc. I can now say that I have my full license and actually LOVE driving.
Cheers & chin up!
Jen
