Driving in the Dark

A few evenings ago, when my broken and surgically repaired elbow had healed sufficiently to be able to turn the steering wheel, and I had already driven my car to physical therapy two days before without a problem, I still asked Tony to drive me to my next PT appointment,…

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Talking Back to Anxiety

Anyone who suffers from anxiety knows what it feels like to be told, “you should just…” followed by some oversimplified answer. Or the sentence ends in some technique you’ve already tried (and tried). My favorite advice regarding my driving issue is, “Just get on the highway.” This pearl comes straight…

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Driving with Bruce and an Uncomfortable Truth

It occurs to me as I approach the Interstate, that I’m about to follow a sign that I’ve been avoiding eye contact with for years. And this time I’m on my own. Well, except for Bruce the psychedelic sea turtle, a stuffed passenger I’ve named after my driving instructor. With…

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Thought Field Therapy: Out in Left Field?

Did I want to try “Thought Field Therapy” for my fear of driving on highways, one of my therapists recently asked. I had read not long ago that a somewhat related therapy, one I’d years ago rejected out of hand as unscientific and not worth trying, has since gained acceptance…

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Aren’t There Drugs for That?

Yes, there are medications for anxiety. Why am I not taking them? A year after my first panic attack, my therapeutic plan was to force myself to drive and continue to get onto highways, the stimulus for my panic attacks. You know, “getting back on the horse.” It wasn’t the…

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