Damn driving anxiety kicking in

[crosinski]

6. YES! I've always had driving anxiety!

My driving anxiety has been with me since I started driving when I was sixteen … and I’m seventy now. The only thing I’ve found that helps is to treat my anxiety like a young child who is frightened. I tell her I love and accept her and invite her to come along whenever I drive. I find that when I fight the anxiety or try to ignore it, it just gets worse. I actually set in my car and have these accepting and loving conversations with myself before I drive anywhere, so people might think I’m odd. And that’s okay with me.

Parking is my worst thing, by the way. We have a big van and I haven’t learned how wide the thing is yet. I miss my small Toyota!