Driving lesson

annie118

I’ve been doing my driving lessons on and of for about 3/4 years now, and I’m still no where near ready. I was ‘test ready’ before covid, but then my driving instructor quit and I have managed to find a new one, but every time I have a lesson I get really bad anxiety and also dread because I keep thinking ‘what’s the point in carrying on as I’ve wasted all this money for so long and still haven’t passed?’ Any advice? And also how to help with my driving lesson anxiety?

seven-day-weekend

It WILL be a waste of money if you don't carry on.  You will eventually pass your test.  It took me four goes!

Are you anxious about anything in particular?  Or is it just some sort of nameless dread?

AFF8879

Not sure this belongs in House Buying, Renting and Selling forum

But for what it’s worth, my doctor prescribed me some sort of antihistamine before my 3rd driving test which worked a charm - my foot kept shaking because of the nerves which, as you can imagine, didn’t help with clutch control! 

annie118

seven-day-weekend said:

It WILL be a waste of money if you don't carry on.  You will eventually pass your test.  It took me four goes!

Are you anxious about anything in particular?  Or is it just some sort of nameless dread?

Just a nameless dread tbh, I keep making mistakes because of it which keeps stopping me from my driver putting me in for my test

annie118

AFF8879 said:

Not sure this belongs in House Buying, Renting and Selling forum

But for what it’s worth, my doctor prescribed me some sort of antihistamine before my 3rd driving test which worked a charm - my foot kept shaking because of the nerves which, as you can imagine, didn’t help with clutch control! 

Can you remember what the antihistamine was called?

seven-day-weekend

annie118 said:

seven-day-weekend said:

It WILL be a waste of money if you don't carry on.  You will eventually pass your test.  It took me four goes!

Are you anxious about anything in particular?  Or is it just some sort of nameless dread?

Just a nameless dread tbh, I keep making mistakes because of it which keeps stopping me from my driver putting me in for my test

OK.  Even experienced drivers make the occasional mistake. As long as it is not a dangerous mistake, the answer is to take a deep breath, think about it, and correct the mistake.  I even did this on my 4th driving test, when I knew I had done a manoeuvre incorrectly , so just asked the examiner if I could do it again.  I actually passed  that test!

If you are making mistakes BECAUSE you are anxious, maybe some counselling might help?

Owleyes00

Just came here to say it took me 11 attempts to pass my driving test between ages 17 and 23 but it was 10000% worth all the agg. 

For me it was performance anxiety on test day.

Driving is freedom and gives you options.

You can do it 🤗

dimbo61

Maybe if your really struggling with the clutch control you might consider taking your driving lessons and test in an automatic car.
Within the next 10 years nearly everyone will be driving automatic cars

pinkshoes

dimbo61 said:

Maybe if your really struggling with the clutch control you might consider taking your driving lessons and test in an automatic car.
Within the next 10 years nearly everyone will be driving automatic cars

I totally agree with this!

A friend of mine suffered dreadfully with anxiety when it came to any sort of test and said her limbs went to jelly. She failed so many driving tests because of this, but then switched to an automatic car and passed first time! 

Drawingaline

Can you survive without driving? My husband never passed, he said he hated every moment behind the wheel. It's annoying, but not the end of the world for us. I love driving, our daughter is learning and also loves it, husband commented how she will be fine, he hated it from the first moment. 

And yes, maybe explore an automatic car instead. 

Section62

annie118 said:

I was ‘test ready’ before covid, but then my driving instructor quit and I have managed to find a new one, but every time I have a lesson I get really bad anxiety and also dread...

Is it partly down to the change in instructor?  We all learn in different ways and respond differently to different people.

Ask a class of schoolchildren who their favourite and least favourite teachers are and you'll get a whole range of responses.

Some people can become anxious if the teacher/instructor has the wrong type of approach/personality for that person's needs.

A good teacher/instructor will adapt their style to meet the needs of the individual - but not all teachers/instructors are self-aware enough to understand how important that is.

I had a similar experience just before the test I passed - my normal instructor was a kind and patient old chap who'd been instructing for decades.  I really liked him, and he built my confidence up.  On the day of the test he was double-booked so got a younger colleague to do my pre-test drive.  This ?*~#head had a real attitude problem and picked up on every minor error - culminating in "You've got no hope of passing if this is what you drive like".  That annoyed me so much I was too angry to be anxious - I'm pretty sure that wasn't intentional on his part, but it worked.  I passed just to annoy him.

TL;DR - If driving with this instructor is making you nervous/anxious, try a session with a different one to see if that helps.