Fear of Driving Phobia
Up until I was 40 years old (and I am 56 now), I had a very severe driving phobia. That fear held me back in my life for years. I felt like I was living my life in slow motion, because I had to take buses everywhere or walk to wherever I needed to go. I was angry a lot, mostly at myself. Sometimes, I would have to take several buses just to go somewhere that would take maybe 30 minutes to get to. I was also quite embarrassed by my fear of driving phobia.
I am writing this post, so that all of YOU who have a fear of driving can understand it more. If I can overcome my fear of driving, SO CAN YOU. The fear of driving, for me, stemmed from a fear of losing control and a fear of my own power. There was an incident when I was in junior high when one day my mother dropped me off across the street from the school. I don't remember if I was in front of her car or in back, but the car either lunged forward or back. It hit my arm with great force (for me) and left me with a huge severe and painful bruise. All I remember is that I had to "cover it up" to protect my mother. Noone new, not even my mother. I wore long sleeves until it disappeared. I was pretty tramatised by the incident (now that I look back). It took me until my 40's to tell my mom. She cried.
When I was 40 years old, I started taking the bus to Codependents Annonymous (CODA). I actually started going, because my romantic relationships weren't working out. I knew I needed to change that. I got a sponsor, and started doing the steps. The funny thing was that I didn't work on relationships. I did the steps on my fear of driving. When I got to the 3rd or 4th step, my parents called and told me that they were sick of me not having a car and that they were going to buy a new car and give me their old car. I totally freaked (silently). How could I pass up a gift like that? They did whatever they had to do to make the car like new (which took a couple of weeks) and then one day called and said "Ok the car is ready for you". I hung up and cried out of pure fear. I called a girlfriend of mine to meet me at my parent's house, so she could follow me home. It was scarey and for awhile everytime I would drive a block or two, I would stop and cry. Then it started getting easier and now after 16 years of driving, I don't know how I ever lived without a car. I am not too crazy about driving at night; however, I do drive at night more than I used to.
IF I CAN GET OVER MY FEAR OF DRIVING, SO CAN YOU!