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Autism & driving stress

Dindles-p

Hi! I drive a lot for work and can’t change this, but I absolutely hate it. Driving causes me so much anxiety and sensory overload. I struggle to cope with traffic a lot. I’m self employed and I can’t make any changes to this as the driving part of my job is essential, but I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how to cope a bit better? Any fidget toys that are good for having in the car, exercises to help calm down? Safe ways to help with the stress of it all? Thanks!

Parents

  • I also hate driving. It overwhelms me. During my driving lessons I’d sometimes start crying because of how stressful that was for me. It has gotten a bit better, but especially on days when I’m already pretty much on edge it’s hard to cope. Talking to myself out loud actually helps me. I’ll tell myself what to do, what is going on and how I’m going to react to this (e.g. “Okay, there’s a traffic light, I’m pretty close and there’s a car right behind me. It is turning yellow but I’m already basically passing it. Hitting the break would be too dangerous so I’ll still cross it.” or telling myself about all the steps to take while turning and so on).

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  • I also hate driving. It overwhelms me. During my driving lessons I’d sometimes start crying because of how stressful that was for me. It has gotten a bit better, but especially on days when I’m already pretty much on edge it’s hard to cope. Talking to myself out loud actually helps me. I’ll tell myself what to do, what is going on and how I’m going to react to this (e.g. “Okay, there’s a traffic light, I’m pretty close and there’s a car right behind me. It is turning yellow but I’m already basically passing it. Hitting the break would be too dangerous so I’ll still cross it.” or telling myself about all the steps to take while turning and so on).

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